There is a big difference between Joe Morris the bassist and Joe Morris the guitar player. The former is a rhythmic and lyrical player, the latter is more abstract user of his own parlando style : the former sings, the latter speaks. That's a world of difference. To be honest, I prefer the bass player, which does not mean that he did not release fantastic albums as a guitarist, including his recent duet box with Braxton, to name only one. Here he is joined by Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, trumpet and flugelhorn, Allan Chase on baritone and tenor sax, and Luther Gray on drums. Gray and Morris have performed on several albums together, and actually also recently, together with Allan Chase, in the Steve Lantner Quartet. The music is as free as you can expect it from these musicians, but always very rhythmic, boppish even at times, with Gray and Morris providing the solid, yet shifting foundations for the two soloists, two strong sylists by the way, to interlock and carry the tune, if that's the right word for this music. There is composition, there are themes, however implicit, but the real treat is how these four musicians comfortably move it into zones of opennes and surprise, adding to it, creating depth and emotional power to it, and most importantly, enjoying it. Tracks like "Land Mass" illustrate this well, starting with a unison theme over a solid rhythm, then Ho Bynum taking the first excursion with muted trumpet, with low growls and sad howls, against which Chase responds with more lyrical playing, working around the same tonal center, pushing Ho Bynum into even wilder territory of voiceless cries, while bass and drums keep away from the two struggling horns, leaving them to their battle, while maintaining the rhythm all along. But not all tracks are wild and uptempo, "Bearing" brings a calm and slow theme, with sensitive playing by all four musicians, and it suits them as well as the high energy parts. The theme of "All In One", on the contrary, could come directly from a 60s bop tune, full of the nervousness you may expect, finger-popping as it moves on, with walking-bass and great free soloing. "Super Spot" is a little darker, offering Luther Gray some opportunity for high energy percussion to support the gloomy horns. And the album ends as it began, with free-flowing sounds, more adventurous in approach, but also more interesting musically. One thing is sure : they must have had as much joy playing all this as I had listening to it. - freejazzblog.org
Joe Morris has often switched between guitars and bass throughout his rather fruitful recorded legacy. He's spiraled toward the zenith of modern day progressive/avant-garde jazz artists via his numerous solo ventures and collaborations. High Definition might well stand as one of his crowning achievements, where he performs exclusively on bass while serving as the director of operations.
Morris remains entrenched in the winners' circle, given the impressive scope of this top-flight band. With multi-reedman Alan Chase and multi-hornist Taylor Ho Bynum chairing the front line, the musicians chart a sense of urgency due to contrapuntal free-bop choruses and buoyant flows that occasionally dissolve into fragmented patterns. Moreover, it's a democratic engagement where the instrumentalists are afforded numerous opportunities to stretch out and delve into insightful expressionism.
The Bass Quartet executes that very fine line between structure and free form-based proclivities amid several radiating meltdowns. It's a bit akin to an action-packed adventure flick, awash with complex sub-plots. Yet the band by no means embarks upon a cacophonic course of activities. It displays regimentation while occasionally lowering the temperature, partly due to Chase's introspective clarinet phrasings and Bynum's talkative, muted cornet lines. Although they incorporate a few chamber-like measures into the grand schema, it's more about cohesive bop and free-bop, often-dappled with a sense of urgency.
Morris' fluent and sturdy bass parts, coupled with his longtime musical companion, drummer Luther Gray, add gobs of pop and sizzle to the entire program. The hornists sprinkle harmonically appeasing choruses during the swinging and prismatic "All-In-One." Here, Bynum's brash and darkly woven trumpet phrasings generate a stark contrast to the brisk and memorably melodic primary theme.
With the undeniably synergistic interplay of the ensemble, Morris pursues a striking balance between ultra-modern mainstream, and avant-garde tinged progressive jazz. The band seems to hit all the right notes and, perhaps more importantly, renders a series of performances that traverses a broad array of jazz-based methodologies, where the freer elements translucently intersect the core compositional attributes.
A mighty-fine exposition it is. - Glenn Astarita
Tracks
1. Skeleton
2. Morning Group
3. Land Mass
4. Topics
5. Bearing
6. All-In-One
7. Super Spot
8. The Air Has Color
ALLAN CHASE alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone
TYLOR HO BYNUMcornet, trumpet, flugelhorn
JOE MORRIS double bass
LUTHER GRAY drums
All music composed by Joe Morris
Recorded December 15th, 2007 at Firehouse 12, New Haven, C.T.
hatOLOGY – hatOLOGY 670