Most “super groups” come together at the behest of the record company, sit down in the studio for the lesser part of a week and milk name recognition for sales. Saxophonist and flutist Samil Washington’s Harlem Arts Ensemble is not such a group. Many of the 14 musicians on the Ensemble’s latest recording, “Harlem Homecoming” (UJam Records, 2006), are well-known bandleaders in their own right. But for one night a week, these musicians leave their solo projects behind and come together at Harlem’s St. Nick’s Pub.
The unique sounds that have formed at this extended gig are a product of time, and the ease with which Washington’s compositions bend all the standard bases of traditional jazz comes as much from his knowledge of his fellow musicians as from his compositional skill; Duke Ellington’s famous line that “you can’t write music right unless you know how the man who’ll play it plays poker” rings beautifully true throughout this session. Flowing easily from the lazy-Sunday charm of “Morning is the Time for Miracles” to the old-style New Orleans fun of “Harlem Homecoming and Country Walk” to the distinct, Harlem elegance of “Maestro Joe” and “Horace T,” the Ensemble’s effort is as pleasant a listen as you’re likely to come across on the New Jazz shelf. Turn on WSRN tonight from 2 to 4 a.m. to hear the record, or check out the trusty podcast at http://www.wsrnfm.org to hear the music at your leisure.
Mat Maneri weaves together sounds ranging from trudging classical threnodies to looping wah-wah meditations and full-on breakbeats and sass, and his music is at least as abstract as this opening sentence. But there is a forward-looking quality to his most recent album, “Pentagon” (Thirsty Ear Recordings, 2005), that separates his efforts from the tedious and unwashed mass of “avant-garde” music, an irony-laden genre that has sounded basically the same for half a century or more. With vaguely ominous track names (“The War Room,” “America”) and the album’s terse and vapidly mournful liner notes (“don’t shoot before you see the whites of their eyes”), the album first appears to be yet another political polemic ready to clutter the racks. But going beyond the unfortunate album art and emptily suggestive track names, the music isn’t concretely political. Instead, Maneri is a musical sponge, sucking in the sound of the techno club, the beatboxer, the overly soulful soul singer, the street-corner scat singer … All of these sounds wash in and out over a background of dreamlike disillusionment, with melodic strings and spooked piano that would sound equally appropriate in a horror film score or a contemporary art gallery. Probably pretentious but certainly good, Maneri’s latest effort is worth absorbing. Clearly schooled in the detached and introverted electric jazz of the late ’60s (Miles Davis’s “In A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew” were likely early influences), this music demonstrates the continued relevance and possibilities of early jazz experiments. A worthwhile addition to Thirsty Ear’s wonderful Blue Series, a collection of collaborations between jazz and hip-hop artists, Maneri’s Pentagon Ensemble is not to be missed on its frequent trips through Philadelphia and regular gigs in New York City. Tune into WSRN tonight at 2 a.m. or podcast the album at any time throughout the semester.
