Clark, Scott - Dawn & Dusk CD
SKU
OOYH 021
Laura Ann Singh – vocals
Bob Miller - trumpet, flugelhorn
J.C. Kuhl - bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Michael McNeill - piano
Adam Hopkins - bass
Scott Clark - drums, composition
“There is a Richmond sound much like there is a Chicago sound, and drummer Scott Clark has been at the center of it for the last 20 years and counting. Dawn & Dusk is his most refined and inventive to date, and this dark, slow moving (heavily influenced by Morton Feldman), drone-focused suite is a perfect example of the Richmond improvised sound that is very much of Clark’s own making.
Dawn & Dusk combines elements of his previous releases (Bury My Heart + ToNow on Clean Feed and This Darkness on OOYH Records) into a four movement suite by his new sextet, but explores something entirely different as well.
This is the first recording of Clark’s that features voice and lyrics, and he and longtime collaborator vocalist Laura Ann Singh worked closely on that essential element of the suite. On This Darkness (2011) he expertly used space as an instrument, and while easier said than done to play with such patience and musical maturity, it only requires one person to do so on a solo record. To apply that concept to a sextet as he does on Dawn & Dusk, and have the entire band play with such restraint is a major statement. This music requires focus, and after repeated listens start to finish, entire worlds of sound open up.
For a so-called improvising ensemble, made up of six of the finest improvisers in Virginia, there is no open improvising or solo statement until the fourth and final movement. More restraint, and this music is much more about the ensemble than the individual. Finally on ‘Above the Gray,’ JC Kuhl on bass clarinet and Bob Miller on flugelhorn step forward, and the rhythm duo of Clark/Hopkins unleashes a telepathic and elastic time that pushes and pulls to the album’s satisfying conclusion. It is worth noting that this is the first release of our nearly 30 albums that features both label curators, Scott Clark and Adam Hopkins, performing together.”
- LabelOut Of Your Head
- UPC198015672449