What we have here are two pills, a pink one, and a blue one.
Even those of us not acquainted with drugs beyond the occasional
aspirin will probably guess which of these is the ‘upper’ and
which the ‘downer’, the advantage with these little mood-altering
discs being that there is plenty of in-built contrast and relief
from the ups and downs in each, and you can take your emotional
trip with them as often as you like without frightening and
unhealthy side-effects. Joanna MacGregor is one of those rare
musicians who crosses between musical worlds with the ease and
freedom of a hedgehog moving under the barbed wire of politically
set borders. Current educational thinking is supposedly encouraging
musicians to widen their experience beyond the narrowly set
fields of specialism which still form the clearly defined boundaries
of artistry: jazz and classical for instance, with their subdivisions
frequently as clearly separated. The truth is that musical worlds
beyond lessons and departmental projects are all too frequently
seen by reactionary students and teachers of the older generations
as peripheral, and at worst as a necessary evil. There should
be and will always be space for exceptional specialists, but
exceptional musicians who are enthusiastic about learning as
wide a variety of styles and genres as possible are more often
than not the ones which you hear more from after leaving education.
Sadly however, performers who can create convincing and inspirational
music from ranging from Messiaen to Moondog are rare, but one
thing is sure, Joanna MacGregor is one of these rare individuals,
and actually so rare as to be unique.
In sequence of recording date we begin with Deep River,
a collaboration between two musicians who have worked together
frequently, and who have a superb empathy for each other’s artistic
vibe and sense of direction, both in the concept of a performance
and in the minutiae of its execution. I suggested this might
stand for our ‘blue pill’, and there is a feeling of soulful
seriousness which infuses the album. The fact is that if you
put almost anything against the Moondog album it will
tend seem soulful and serious, but with Deep River we
do search the less upbeat side of human emotions and experience.
Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child sets the tone,
with a still and gentle intro on the piano, and Andy Sheppard
crying over those chords like an abandoned infant. Wringing
us out emotionally is however not the only intention of these
musicians, and there are surprises in store. About four minutes
in we change radio channels into quasi-looped saxophones and
a piano ostinato over which the soprano sax and piano trills
call out like a distant train whistle. This is a serious emotional
journey, though one which doesn’t outstay its welcome. Everybody
Help the Boys Come Home opens with William and Versey Smith’s
vocals reaching out to us from 1927, soon to be joined by rhythmic
damped bass strings on the piano, and built on as if the voices
were a drum backing track with a powerful range of variations.
The ‘remix’ version of this introduces doom-laden drums, and
samples the voices in extended ‘noise’ blocks. This serves as
an introduction to Up Above my Head which introduces
contrast by way of a recorded loop of an infectious slide guitar
loop, and some harmonic additions to the sax sound. This is
also given a ‘remix’ treatment later on, with added drums and
vocals, and an interesting treatment of the sax which makes
it sound like a tuba. Johnny Cash’s Spiritual is taken
tenderly at first, Sheppard’s reeds taking on the whispering
quality of Ben Webster. This builds into a mighty improvisation
over the song’s elemental chords. Tom Waits’ Georgia Lee
by contrast remains restrained, the last tune before the
lights are turned off in a bar which has seen enough of angst-ridden
hormones and wine for the day. The title track, Deep River,
becomes a rumbling undertow of piano over which the saxophone
can elaborate. Bob Dylan’s Ring Them Bells becomes another
tear jerker here, the deceptively simple material speaking directly
to some part of us which wants to believe, simultaneously trying
to disarm that part of us which claims to be too sophisticated
for such sophistric subtexts. The Mercy Seat is given
plenty of filtering and echo effects, with the piano given a
harder ‘rock’ feel and Andy Sheppard’s sax momentarily turning
into a mixture of Don Ellis’ trumpet and Terry Riley’s Phantom
Band. The final track, Picture in a Frame, is another
Tom Waits portrait of life-worn longing, of which the duo emphasise
the more tender sentiments.
Dizzyingly eccentric and prolific, Moondog, born Louis Thomas
Hardin in 1916, lived and made his music on the streets of New
York for about 30 years starting in 1943. Blinded in an accident
at the age of sixteen, his formative years included experiences
with Indians on the Arapaho reservation and an education in
harmony and counterpoint in Braille. His own performing involved
self made percussion instruments, but while living rough on
the streets he still managed to mix with top jazzmen and gain
recognition as a composer. His own recordings are often quite
grungy and basic, but possessive of an unavoidable sense of
energy and drive. Joanna MacGregor admits that the re-arrangements
on this recording are “re-imaginings for larger forces”, developing
on his own “short and snappy” originals but with the intention
of retaining the integrity of the originals. In almost every
case this ‘pink pill’ does just that, kicking in with resonant
energy with Single Foot, one of a number of pieces which
grow out of a single note or chord. All of these pieces are
given an extra twist of nuance, through intriguingly arranged
winds, the characteristic ‘talking’ tabla, and the refinement
and poise of MacGregor’s own piano contributions. As with Deep
River there are a few fun samples, such as the drum riff
on which Dog Trot is built in typical jazz format, with
space for a saxophone solo in the middle. An oasis of stillness
appears like a shock with the miniature All is Loneliness,
paired with Voices of Spring, a round or canon given
1960s clappy-hippy colour with vibrato-laden flute, harpsichord
and recessed voices. Rabbit Hop revives our ‘up-ness’:
described as a “whelping, dustbin-lid-banging double canon.”
Invocation is an intriguing incantation-like canon on
a single tone which in concept calls to mind the first of Ligeti’s
Musica ricercata. Reedroy was written as a saxophone
solo for another great player John Harle, creating a vehicle
for extemporisation over a compulsive ‘Charleston’ string chaconne
which I’ll bet Michael Nyman wishes he had written. Further
highlights include Good for Goodie, a remarkable counterpoint
in swing dedicated to Benny Goodman, and the final Heath
on the Heather, another irrepressibly up-beat canon over
a cracking ground bass, and including some of Kuljit Bhamra’s
raga-rhythmic vocals.
How to sum up this recording? Think of Loose Tubes mixed in
with a bit of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and you might approach
something of an impression. This is all great fun, but I do
have one or two mild and subjective criticisms. A bit like Ensemble
Modern’s expert performing of Frank Zappa’s The Yellow Shark,
the Britten Sinfonia and soloists are so well disciplined
and superlatively impeccable that I tended to long for a few
more of the rough edges which make the originals so distinctive:
proud pedigree-trimmed poodles rather than whiskery mutts which
are appealing and repulsive at the same time. I’m afraid there
is also one track to which I can’t listen with equanimity. One
of my all time favourites, Bird’s Lament is played here
f a r t o o s l o w l y, losing all of that upbeat quarter-note
= 120 march character which makes it such a glorious original.
I can imagine that they wanted to do something different with
the music than just reproduce the famous recording, but here
it’s turned into more of a sad quarter-note = ca92 New Orleans
funeral procession, like the one done by the London Saxophonic.
I suppose this is a valid approach given the Charlie Parker
memorial subject of the piece, but is not the one I want to
take home.
With Joanna MacGregor’s influential creative input and superb
musicianship, both of these nicely produced CDs have an undeniable
imprimatur of quality and are a highly enjoyable listen. I’m
not sure whether they belong in the jazz more than the classical
category, but that’s partly the point – they can belong in both,
and are capable of widening the ears and experience of either.
Dominy Clements
Full track listing
Deep River
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child [7:39]
Everybody Help the Boys Come Home [4:40]
Spiritual [4:51]
Georgia Lee [5:55]
Everybody Help the Boys Come Home (remix) [2:10]
Up Above My Head [3:24]
Deep River [7:05]
Up Above My Head (remix) [2:33]
Ring Them Bells [3:37]
The Mercy Seat [5:26]
Picture in a Frame [3:38]
Sidewalk Dances
MOONDOG - (Louis Thomas HARDIN 1916-1999)
Single Foot [2:23]
Bumbo [3:56]
Sextet [2:20]
Dog Trot [4:08]
All is Loneliness [1:24]
Voices of Spring [2:53]
Rabbit Hop [2:57]
Invocation [5:28]
Reedroy [1:47]
Double Bass Duo [2:38]
Good for Goodie [2:34]
Birds Lament [3:54]
Theme and Variations [3:30]
Heath on the Heather [4:09]
Andy Sheppard (saxophones) 
