When liner note writer and co-producer of Black Sun Ensemble's Whirlpool Ocean Fred Mills first encountered the band, Disaster Amnesiac was likely also just hearing about them also, via Forced Exposure magazine, and only just down the road from him in Virginia. After that, though, Fred went on to get to know Black Sun Ensemble and its main figure, Jesus Acedo quite well, while they just remained an imagined sound for this listener. Thankfully, that situation changed recently as Whirlpool Ocean is affordable and easily accessible. Yes of course I was going to grab a copy and listen to it.
The sense that's gotten from the writings of Mills and Rich Hopkins is that Jesus cut a chaotic path throughout his earthly stay. What's also becomes clear after repeated spins of Whirlpool Ocean is that his musical intelligence and creativity cut diamond bright as long as his perceptions were not beset by what was at one time called "demons" and currently more summarized as "chemical imbalance". Let us pause here to acknowledge the travails that Jesus Acedo endured before continuing on to the musical vision that was quite clearly a gift that he had.
Now, having paused, let us continue on and talk about the main focus of Whirlpool Ocean, that being the guitar playing of Jesus Acedo. The album is full of examples of what made him such a special player. There are the crazed tones on Baby Serpentine Love Sea, the wild solo action at the end of Dangerous Pussy, his off the cuff hitting on Dove Of the Desert, his feedback mastery on Children Look Like Burnt Paper and the shredding action of Lord Of the Fleas. This album abounds with examples of his cold mastery of the electric guitar and its sonic potentialities. Jesus was clearly a player that could execute anything that he heard going on within his musical imagination. That he had such a grooving and supportive rhythm section from Odin Helgison on guitar, Mike Glidewell on bass and Ratshit on drums certainly did not hurt his musical efforts. The ways in which this band grooves and shakes and rolls and rocks on the album is always compelling. Just dig on their Sonoran style Harmelodic pulsing on Blues For Rainer In C Minor and the Surf/Spy Music tones of The Hunger for ample evidence of just how greased Black Sun Ensemble could be when they were hitting right. For further convincing one can spin the title track or the very SST 1987-88 of 667 or It's Not The End Of The World with its driving, Prog Funk moves and its elastic syncopations. This was a tight group that pushed and pulled and drove its music into highly creative zones of musical exploration, led by a player who was clearly touched by some divine fire and inspiration.
It saddens Disaster Amnesiac to realize that, despite being resident in the home town of Jesus Acedo, I will never get a chance to hear him play live. There's consolation, however, in knowing that Whirlpool Ocean and its fine, powerful playing is easily accessible. Its sounds will continue to enhance my views of Tucson. That said it would rock in whatever town where it gets played.
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