Nubdug Ensemble-Third; Catsynth Records, 2024

 

It was only after six or seven spins of Nubdug Ensemble's Third that Disaster Amnesiac was hipped to the fact that there is an overarching theme to the album. According the the band's Bandcamp page, said theme is that of Julius Ceaser's reign within the then emerging imperial Rome. Nubdug Ensemble composer and leader re-posted what I am sure is a very astute bit of writing that compares William Shakespeare's play about Brutus's victim at said page, and I'm sure that it's an intellectual whopper wholly worth reading while one listens to Third. Disaster Amnesiac makes it a habit to not read reviews of releases that I'm currently preparing to enthuse upon, so that piece is unfamiliar to me, at least for the time being. What is familiar to me is the astuteness and clarity of Berry's musical compositions. Any music listener that is interested in enthused harmony, active rhythmic structuring, and melodic invention beyond what is usually deemed acceptable for these compositional elements will find many reasons to dig Third. As with all of the previous Nubdug Ensemble albums, Jason assembled a group of first call players/composers/improvisors for the realization of this current one, and it's no surprise that they do not disappoint; while every one of them deserves mention, and I admonish you to check the list of stellar musicians involved, I will single out guitarist Myles Boisen for his great six string performance and Amanda Chaudhary, who engineered Third really well. That said, there's no one who is not completely kicking ass as they contribute to this release. Third is a damn fun recording that shows Jason Berry to be reaching ever new heights of compositional and performative plateau within his singular musical vision, and Disaster Amnesiac enjoys it from front to back. What a great album Third is! I'm keeping this review short and encouraging you to scroll over to Nubdug Ensemble's Bandcamp page in order to buy a copy for yourself. I'll be heading over in short order to read that review, which will no doubt be much better than mine at elucidating the finer points of Third. Not like that's a complaint mind you. Hit us with more music soon, Jason and your cohort!