Tom Hull on the Web
sonic openings under pressure: muhheankuntuk
(2006 [2007], Clean Feed)
Tom Hull
2007
Alto sax trio, led by patrick brennan, who’s recorded under this group name with other people before — this time it’s Hilliard Greene on bass, David Pleasant on drums, etc. brennan came to New York from Detroit in 1975. He plays tight, fast, complex runs over free rhythms, with a hard tone; unpretty, but rigorously functional. Need to play it again, but I’m impressed so far. Don’t know how many records he has, but this is the first I’ve heard.
Don’t get as much free jazz as I’d like, but I manage to hear enough to have gotten used to it. Still, my standard for recommendation is that it has something non-devotees can grab onto, which leaves me with a widening gap of stuff I like well enough but can’t see breaking out of its narrow niche. Most of this falls in that range, but two cuts in the middle stand out: The Hardships starts with a fast, regular beat, then erupts in a torrent of even faster words — thank David Pleasant for both beats and words, while leader patrick brennan’s alto sax settles into a skronk groove. That’s the hook cut, pop materials done with avant flair. It then sets up prosified with brennan taking over, writhing snakey improv lines against the beat. B+(***)