Smith, Ches/These Arches - Hammered CD
SKU
Clean Feed CF 270
Tim Berne, alto sax / Tony Malaby, tenor sax / Mary Halvorson, guitar / Andrea Parkins, accordion, electronics / Ches Smith, drums.
Do I need to mention what a simply great band this is?
"Though drummer Ches Smith has a penchant for christening his compositions with playfully oblique names, the name he chose for the title track of the second album by his band These Arches couldn’t be more straightforward. “Hammered” is relentless, pounding, fueled by a driving, recursive pulse that goads tense, urgent playing fromSmith’s quintet of master improvisers.
The piece is a vivid illustration of the precarious balance that Smith strikes between the worlds of avant-garde jazz and experimental rock. He’s in demand as the drummer for such forward-thinking jazz artists as Tim Berne, Darius Jones, Mary Halvorson and Trevor Dunn; and at the same time he’s provided the backbone for adventurous rock acts like Xiu Xiu and Secret Chiefs 3, not to mention uncategorizable hybrids between the two like Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog and Smith’s own Good For Cows.
The merging of sonic worlds on Hammered is no accident; several of the pieces began life as songs penned for rock bands that evolved into more open frameworks for These Arches’ expansive improvisation. “A lot of these tunes were meant for a rock band but are being played by something that’s not a rock band at all,” Smithsays. “They’re sort of rock reject tunes, and that gave a shape to the whole record.”
These Arches may not be a rock band, but its membership has no problem providing the power and ferocity of one. Since the release of the band’s debut, Finally Out of My Hands, its ranks have been swelled by the addition of alto saxophonist/composer Tim Berne. He joins tenor powerhouse Tony Malaby, guitarist Mary Halvorson, and accordionist/electronic musician Andrea Parkins.
“These Arches is basically about me writing for a set of my favorite improvisers,”Smith explains. “The tunes I ended up coming up with for Hammered were more hard-hitting and straightforward than the earlier ones, but they’re also more expanded and developed.” The pieces make inspired use of these musicians’ ability to navigate fluidly between composition and improvisation while evoking the force and direct communication of heavy rock tunes."
- LabelClean Feed
- UPC5609063002706