Reptet Cadence Review Here

[Dan Gould]

Why I'm doing this for Johnny after our last to-do when he declared me to be a "coward" I'll never know.

Chalk it up to not being involved in the Political Forum anymore, and a belief that by doing this I am in for some major positive karma.

Any-whoo, John's band, Reptet, is reviewed in this month's (May) Cadence. Its in a group with two other west coast "creative music" groups, but I'll just transcribe the Reptet part of the review. Its written by Phillip McNally.

"Cooperative is more than just a group name in this type of music, it is a ruling concept. So it is when you come to the Monktail Creative Music Concern, or the MCMC, your eye has led you to expect Co-op to fill that last "C." In describing themselves, they roll out a few of the other likely C's: Coalition, Collective. But by choosing "Concern" this Seattle based collective seems to indicate an openness to influence and direction, a seriousness to their endeavor, but also an indication they are not about a subordination of individuals to the group as much as they are a group of individuals with a shared vision. They open the CD with 4 group improvisations, recorded without overdubs or edits, and then perform two lenghty pieces based on graphic scores.

These two compositions have the feel of a conduction, as they are clearly more organized in terms of rising and falling in pitch and volume for the whole ensemble. But, perhaps surprisingly, the group improvisations are their stronger work. MCMC likes to begin with long, droning monotones and slowly out of that one of the musicians erupts with an idea. That's when the group cohesiveness really shows, for they are adept at responding to the musical implications of that evolving idea. I particularly like "Whisper Skin", where the group reminds me of the Sun Ra Arkestra, opening with a few slightly astringent chords in ballad time, and then strong trumpet and bari sax solos follow until we reach a Ra-like blast or two from the whole band, and then the music devolves again into the opening chords tailing off into silence.

In all three of these recordings, different though they might be, there is a common interest in extending the sounds of instruments played, in particular by exploring the "little sounds" an instrument can make, the squeaks and whistles that are usually trained out of a musician in learning the instrument. There is also a form that seems common among them, since the music seems largely to be about atmosphere and shape, and not about melodic statement. If a melody occurs, it has evolved out of a bedrock of long tones in various colors. So the common approach is to put down some sounds, usually elongated and monochrome and then to allow other musical voices to comment or counter that foundation, which leads to different voices commenting until somehow we seem to return to the beginning bedrock."

I skipped the opening reviews of the other two pieces, and the sum-up, which basically says that this is the way "creative music" is being played round these parts at this moment in time.

Congratulations, John, on a positive review from a magazine that probably covers your style of music better than any other publication.

[Johnny E]

Thanks Dan. That you would do this after our spat shows reveals alot about your character. I get a little carried away in the political forums (as some of us tend to do at times), but it is jazz that brings us all together and it is this aspect of talking politics here that makes it hard to hold grudges (at least for me anyway). So, thanks.

Actually, that review is for my other group Non Grata. Reptet and Non Grata both have CD's out on our new label Monktail Records. We have three more discs slated for this year...in June FLOSS will be releasing it's first CD, then the death jazz trio Special OPS will release their debut in late summer/early fall, and then Non Grata will be releasing it's second recording at the end of the year...and I believe it is much more smokin' than the first (if I do say so myself).

[ghost of miles]

"Death jazz?" Man, I am not yet hip to that... bring on the black goths and the Bauhaus!

[7/4]

death jazz?

[ghost of miles]

death jazz?

Ain't dat some kinda crazee Lester Bow-eee tune? Or was it "Jazz Slaughter?" Shee-it, the memory jes' goes 'n goes...