Pi Recordings: Pi62
http://www.pirecordings.com/album/pi62
* Chris Speed : tenor saxophone, clarinet
* Matt Mitchell : piano
* Chris Tordini : bass
* Dan Weiss : drums
http://www.chrisspeed.com/
http://www.mattmitchell.us/
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-tordini-mn0002608290
http://www.danweiss.net/
Recorded by Mike Marciano at Systems Two Studios,
Brooklyn, NY, on January 8-9, 2015.
Reviews
By Tim Niland
http://www.jazzandblues.blogspot.com/2016/01/matt-mitchell-vista-accumulation-pi.html
Pianist Matt Mitchell has become one of the most in demand musicians in jazz,
playing with the likes of Dave Douglas, Tim Berne and Rudresh Mahanthappa. This
is his second album as a leader for Pi, a double CD that allows him to stretch
out and explore longer forms of his original compositions. Chris Speed on
clarinet and tenor saxophone, Dan Weiss on drums and Chris Tordini on bass join
him on this album. The music is complicated but accessible and Mitchell uses
Speed’s hollow, open sounding clarinet and alternately soft and gritty tenor
saxophone to great effect in setting the tone for these performances. “Utensil
Strength” is very powerful, moving into a dynamic format that begins with
deeper toned saxophone and then an eerie middle section of uneasy calm
punctuated by Tordini’s creatively raw bowed and strummed bass. This develops
into a beautiful duet with Mitchell who adds quiet drops of piano to the
proceedings. The full band comes together at this languid but attractive pace,
before taking their bows and closing the piece. Speed brings a gravelly form of
saxophone to the intricate “Wearing the Wig of Atrophy” where the music deals
with tension and release with a section of bass and milder saxophone followed
by crystalline piano shimmering through the music, that is quietly emotional
but never melodramatic. “Hyper Pathos” sets a tone of mystery, with mummers of
percussion bubbling underneath and the other musicians harmonizing above. There
is a sad quality to the music but never pity, and Speed’s clarinet is
particularly melancholy as if he is pining for something lost that can never be
regained, as Mitchell’s piano swells around him. “The Damaged Center” comes out
of the gate hard with the full band pulling, but Speed is the key, jabbing and
weaving his way through the music with Tordini playing thick powerful bass
alongside him. They edge faster in a very exciting manner, really pushing and
the music surges forward. Mitchell drives the band forward from the lower end
of the keyboard and everybody responds, as the music keeps getting heavier, and
then he develops one of his best solos on the album. This is a double album
that doesn’t feel overlong in the slightest, Mitchell’s compositions and the
band’s performances are very exciting and consistently engaging
throughout. It’s a group of team players, and Mitchell is not flashy but
thoughtful, allowing his music to speak for itself in a very affirming fashion.
--
By Troy Dostert
http://www.freejazzblog.org/2015/10/matt-mitchell-vista-accumulation-pi.html
By Dan Bilawsky
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/vista-accumulation-matt-mitchell-pi-recordings-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
By Hrayr Attarian
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/vista-accumulation-matt-mitchell-pi-recordings-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php
By Mark Corroto
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/vista-accumulation-matt-mitchell-pi-recordings-review-by-mark-corroto.php
By Craig Premo
http://www.improvisedblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/matt-mitchell-vista-accumulation.html
By Nate Chinen
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/arts/music/review-on-vista-accumulation-matt-mitchell-plays-tension-like-an-instrument.html
Józef Paprocki (pl)
http://www.multikulti.com/vista-accumulation-2cd.html
Maciej Krawiec (pl)
http://www.jazzarium.pl/przeczytaj/recenzje/vista-accumulation
Da Vincenzo Roggero (it)
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/vista-accumulation-matt-mitchell-pi-recordings-review-by-vincenzo-roggero.php
Da Ema (it)
http://freefalljazz.altervista.org/blog/?p=14760
Por Sergio Piccirilli (es)
http://elintruso.com/2015/10/18/matt-mitchell-quartet-vista-accumulation/