Produced
by Scott Amendola and Jeff Gauthier
Recorded by Adam Muñoz at Möbius Music, San Francisco,
CA, January, 2002;
Recorded by Jeff Gauthier at Goatwood Manor, Venice, CA, May, 2002;
Recorded by Rich Breen at Casa Dogmatica, Burbank, CA, June, 2002;
Mixed by Rich Breen at Casa Dogmatica, Burbank, CA
Assisted by Eve and Daisy
Mastered by Rich Breen
The
Album Reviewed:
"This is drummer Scott Amendola's second recording as a leader,
although his first, recorded in late 1999, was an independent release
and not widely distributed. Amendola's debut on the West Coast Cryptogramophone
label (with better distribution, hopefully) has him retaining four-fifths
of his quintet, with label regular Nels Cline newly added on guitars.
Jenny Scheinman continues on violin, Todd Sickafoose remains on
acoustic bass, and Eric Crystal is once again on saxophones. Amendola
wrote or arranged all the compositions on this CD, and he definitely
has an interactive group sound in mind. Solo space is quite generous
(the eight tracks are seven to eight minutes long on the average)
but the blend of violin, sax, and guitar also makes for a great
ensemble sound, and the musicians frequently comp behind each other,
providing additional texture and ear-pleasing counterpoint.
Jazz
musicians of Amendola's age, disposition, and talent are anything
but rigid when it comes to interests and influences, and Cry is
not only tight and passionate, but also highly eclectic. As a drummer,
Amendola never seems to be striving for any specific effect, but
he has a great sense of dynamics, and is always deep in the groove.
He's a percussionist who seemingly can't help being funky (quietly
or exuberantly) no matter what he's playing. His bandmates are equally
versatile. Scheinman has classical training, has played with hybrid
avant-rock groups such as Charming Hostess, and is a student of
Eastern European/Jewish folk music. Guitarist Cline has acquired
a substantial reputation, both as leader and bandmember, for effortlessly
navigating a stylistic range that runs from nuanced acoustic picking
through thrash, grunge, and free playing, and into Hendrix-style
blues. The reputations of saxophonist Eric Crystal and bassist Todd
Sickafoose are perhaps more closely bound to the San Francisco Bay
area, but they too are experienced musicians who have played in
a variety of musical contexts -- folk, blues, pop, alt-rock, and
jazz. Crystal's playing on this CD is particularly fluid and confident.
He has some great exchanges with Cline, and the two of them sound
like they are having enormous fun testing each other's mettle.
The
imaginative program on this CD begins with a traditional Christian
hymn, "His Eye is On the Sparrow," featuring Scheinman's
ravishingly ethereal violin, and then jumps into the jaunty worldbeat
fusion of "Bantu," followed by an affecting but propulsive
"A Cry for John Brown," where Crystal, Cline, and then
Scheinman, queue up one after another to dazzle with their invention,
passion, and technical skill. Cline's solo, especially, is a model
of controlled chaos, building to an apex of totally fuzzed-out distortion
before slipping deftly back into the theme. Every track has new
treasures to offer, from the angular post-bop of "Streetbeat,"
the combination of dissonant, unsettling free improv, and introspective
lyricism on "Whisper, Scream," the modal mysticism of
"My Son, the Wanderer," the chilling, funereal vision
of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" (with guest vocalist Carla
Bozulich), and the spare, understated beauty of the closing "Rosa,"
which features Cline's pensive and delicate acoustic guitar work.
Indeed, this one has it all."
-Bill
Tilland, All
Music Guide
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