Henry Grimes Solo

構成数 : 2枚
合計収録時間 : 02:33:55
Personnel: Henry Grimes (violin). Audio Mixers: Thomas Vang; Kresten Osgood. Recording information: Brooklyn, NY (03/22/2008). Bass player Henry Grimes has returned from a lengthy and unfortunate exile to play across the world once again the decade of the 2000s, and it is great to know his spirit is still inexhaustible. It's also evident that Grimes has a desire to catch up from all of the inactive years he spent off the scene. So it is not surprising that this double-CD solo studio date comprises an uninterrupted 154 of improvising. While it certainly has its moments, the recording goes on and on and on to the point that it makes for a challenging listening experience, even for the most devoted Grimes fan. Moving back and forth between bowed or plucked contrabass and violin, the tones and themes he constructs tackle a combination of harmonic overtone techniques, soulful bluesy inferences, and soaring stratospheric demonstrations within a relative no-time framework. As one listens, occasional melodic themes do crop up, but you have to be patient in order to get to them. There's a playful attitude as Grimes rambles though whole, half, and quarter notes, plucked or explored harmonics with his bow. On the violin he recalls the busier aspects of peers Leroy Jenkins, Ornette Coleman, or Billy Bang, and you hear a lilting jig on the first CD. The second half of the program has Grimes beginning in a choppy, animated violin discourse, moving to very deep bowed bass with overtones, then back to violin for a much longer passage with childlike musings. The end game finds Grimes in a more jazz-like, thoughtful, and tuneful proportion. How you listen to this gargantuan effort depends on your patience for purely abstract music. In the long run, you will have heard all you need to understand where Grimes comes from in about 20 minutes. As admirable as the unedited and unrestricted factor of this solo performance is, and that very few of even the most expert bassists could pull it off, most will find the tedium greater than the overall reward. ~ Michael G. Nastos
録音 : ステレオ (Studio)