Another Holiday Season has passed us by, and another Nubdug Ensemble disc has arrived! Leader Jason Berry continues his musical quest towards tightly constructed, thoughtful, swinging American Music!
Volume 2: Blame brings these elements together in fresh ways, and Disaster Amnesiac has pretty well marveled at it since it showed up in my mailbox. Berry clearly didn't rest on his laurels after 2020's
The Machines of Zeno. Not that I can hear anyway. Recalling Varese's quote, "the modern composer refuses to die", Jason's music lives in all kinds of exciting ways.
Blame starts off with two vocal tracks, Blues and Bluff. On the former, bassist Brett Warren blazes the path with drummer G Calvin Weston; his flows really move the listener into the song. When Steve Adams and Chris Grady supply the horn harmonies, one can hear the astuteness of Berry's writing, all juicy and jumpin' in ways that are pleasing. Jill Rogers has a powerful alto voice that delivers the lyrics, seemingly about shady financial transactions, with clear articulation. More Jazz than Blues, really, but it works. On the latter, Weston's big tom tom sounds push Amanda Chaudhary's keyboard lines, Rogers hits a bit higher note, and the horns again showcase a sophistication in Berry's writing. Disaster Amnesiac can't stress this enough: Jason Berry writes charts that are MORE THAN GOOD. Look out Gil, stay sharp Carla, you've got some competition.
Again with those horns on Bloom! Dear reader, are you picking up on a theme here? Clocking in at under two minutes, this song has had Disaster Amnesiac pondering, and then more deeply appreciating, the ways in which Jason Berry can compact a ton of musical information into a tiny bit of time, and not lose any interest. As I've listened, I've thought about an interview with Black Flag from the early 1980's when they defended their songs' brevity as having all of the elements of a "normal" song, but just compressed with energy. It seems to me that the same applies to much of Berry's writing. He gets so many elements packed in, but doesn't lose the idea's thread.
Moving on, Bleep gets a righteous push from Chaudhary, Weston, and Warren before Jason introduces noir soundtrack elements and the Adams/Grady team again evokes the classic Jones/Lewis wing of Big Band awesomeness. Rogers' clipped delivery breathes life into the surreal lyrics. What mystery is being addressed here? And how does this film for the ears give so much in its 2:54 duration?
The next two cuts, Blood, followed by Blaze, return to the purely instrumental zone. Blood pumps with lovely flute from Adams over a casual ostinato from Chaudhary, with the solid beats of Weston, then cracks into bright trumpet sounds from Grady. It roils and pops throughout its duration, leading into futuristic synthesizer and drum pairings on Blaze. Much like their work together on Chaudhary's Meow Meow Band disc, Amanda and Grant get all sorts of bizarre going within their interaction. Weston's double bass riffing is great, and Chaudhary pulls out the battery of gizmo-delic whatzis, then, suddenly, you're within a straight 4/4 post-Bop rampage, with the cutting guitar of Myles Boisen leading the charge. Great solo there, Myles! Bet you thought Disaster Amnesiac hadn't noticed you!
Myles shines again on album closer Block. This one's got a street Funk swagger that pulls from the Harmelodic side, made legit obviously from Ornette's star student of such, Weston. Surely Coleman would've smiled at those computer game lyrics, too. Adams is again hella sharp, Warren's bumpin' bass shakes the low end, and you're going to feel pretty happy yourself as well, unless rhythm isn't your bag. Can this dance spark the revolution? What would this revolution entail? Would it be particle or wave? Choose wisely, and be sure to move that ass. It's good for the heart.
As Disaster Amnesiac sits here, it's 322 days until Christmas. That's plenty of time in which to familiarize myself and re-visit Nubdug Ensemble's Volume 2: Blame. Rest assured, that will happen. Just like I said last year, anyone desiring tightly focused, well constructed Fusion music should find a way to connect with Jason Berry and then look forward to his Yuletide greetings. He's putting them out there, are you going to receive or what?
