Evan Parker, The Transatlantic Art Ensemble

Evan Parker, The Transatlantic Art Ensemble
Boustrophedon
(ECM)

Boustrophedon is an unwieldy title, describing an unwieldy and rare convergence in the free-improvised music scene. The Transatlantic Art Ensemble consists of 14 musicians, half selected by U.S. saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and half selected by U.K. saxophonist Evan Parker. Both Mitchell and Parker are eminent free improvisers, with Mitchell’s sources being Chicago, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and “Great Black Music — Ancient to the Future.” Parker’s, on the other hand, include the European free jazz community, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and playwright/novelist Samuel Beckett.
Boustrophedon contains a performance of the Ensembled by Parker, following a recording released last year of the Ensemble under Mitchell’s direction (Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3). While Mitchell and Parker both employ “structured” free improvisation — transcribed guidance around which the musicians are expected to freely improvise — the title of this CD captures Parker’s distinctive approach. The word “boustrophedon” describes the writing of alternate lines of text in opposite directions, its Greek root referring to oxen plowing a field. To emphasize the point, Parker has titled the movements of his composition “Furrows.” Each “Furrow” features a pairing of musicians from the two schools, thereby highlighting the contrasting characteristics of each, as they encounter each other traveling opposite directions on a hairpin trail.
“Furrow 5” is among the most rewarding, with bassists Jaribu Shahid and Barry Guy in seductive duet, a thoroughly successful blend of styles oddly intruded upon by a repeating 12-note piano figure. Another success is “Furrow 6,” a Parker/Mitchell pairing, with Parker opening on soprano saxophone supported by strings, morphing a sequence of simple Middle Eastern figures into a mesmerizing, almost palpable edifice. Mitchell follows, accompanied by an unexpectedly swinging rhythm section, distributing a blizzard of notes in all the alto’s registers. It’s an auspicious finish to an unlikely moment in the rarefied environment of contemporary improvised music. Nevertheless, there are moments when the plodding associations also suggested in the title are more apt than intended.