Jon Irabagon

Dave Douglas
Songs of Ascent Book 1: Degrees
Greenleaf Music CD 1096

Working the edges of mainstream and expanded improvisation are New Yorkers saxophonist Jon Irabagon and pianist Matt Mitchell. Songs of Ascent finds them both part of another project by trumpeter Dave Douglas, while Mitchell is part of the combo featured on Irabagon’s Rising Sun.

Mixing the sacred and the secular, the Douglas’ eight selections reflect biblical psalms known as “Song of Ascent”. Unlike overdone religious Jazz however, the brief tracks express spirituality through the harmonies and improvisations of the trumpeter’s long-standing quintet filled out by drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Linda May Han Oh. A looser collection of mostly Irabagon-composed tunes, Rising Sun joins the keyboardist and reedist’s sounds to those from electric bassist Chris Lightcap’s and drummer Dan Weiss, with trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and guitarist Miles Okazaki added for two separate tunes each.

Most of the psalms are introduced by a group head, but Douglas still gives ample space for each player’s ideas, Ranging between beauty and bellicose on his own, the trumpeter varies his output among delicate arpeggios, heraldic straight lines and sympathetic flutters at his gentlest, and at other times uses extended slurs, vibrating triplets and bugling high pitches. Meanwhile, it’s Irabagon logically developed tonal proficiency which adds fire and fury.

Tracks such as “Deceitful Tongues” and “Mouths Full Of Joy” find the saxophonist extending Coltranesque squeaks and split tones to carefully examine every microscopic tone or widening his reed output to multiphonic overlays from scoops to doits. Often his lines become speedier and speedier, yet are shaded by Mitchell’s shading glissandi or pinpointed pulses. Otherwise he sets up duets with Douglas, swaying and sliding from high to low pitches and creating fluid movements until the three main soloists extrude to recapture the connective head. With such extensions upfront the bassist and drummer do their work fluidly but quietly with the only the soulful “Scepter” allowing for some overt string thumps and drum shuffles between modal keyboard lines and repeated horn vamps. Among the portamento, ascending and descending themes intensely emphasized and then subdued, “Enthroned” stands out. That’s because the exposition which begins with cumulative harmony and ripples along as the saxophonist constantly comments on the trumpeter’s developments ends when the two horn in unison literally reach a high note.

Looser and more relaxed than Songs of Ascent, Irabagon’s leadership disc also gives him more space for timbral examination since he’s the only horn on all but two of the seven selections. From “Sundance”, the first selection his energetic tone sourcing and emphasis dominates, but without overshadowing the others’ work. While the first track may be a saxophone tour-de-force with extended split tone and shakes, tongue stops and irregular peeps and scoops, Mitchells’ reflective piano chording and keyboard rolls, Lightcap’s electrified string strums and Weiss’ forceful percussive fill any voids in the sound. Irabagon’s sonic generosity is highlighted even more on those tracks where the guitarist or trumpeter join the quartet. While some sequences suggest a contest between Okazaki’s flashing metallic twangs and Irabagon’s high pitched staccato smears and split tones, détente is reached as timbral intensity is parceled out among the other players. On the title track for instance chunky rhythm guitar licks join with toy-piano-like clanks from Mitchell to slither into a near ballad mode until the saxophonist’s straight-ahead blowing takes a sudden detour into altissimo flattement. The response from the drummer is to weigh in on his beats and from the guitarist to twist knobs and slur his fingering until his trebly string shakes lead the section back to an approximation of the head. O’Farrill and Irabagon challenge one another on the concluding “Needles” matching sax overblowing and siren-like reed emphasis with brassy triplets and half-valve slurs. Still, electric piano sweeps and electric bass string pops trigger the sequence back to moderation by the finale.

That’s why the saxophonist and trumpeter’s coordinated expression on the nearly 12-mimute “Mammoth”, the set’s only pseudo ballad, is notable. Starting with a bass obbligato to Irabagon’s flutter tonguing and half-valve emphasis from the trumpeter, the piece opens up into a bouncing exposition as the two horns elaborate variations on the theme. When head repetition appears in a thicker and more concentrated fashion, it’s a combination of Mitchell’s feathery plinks, O’Farrill’s portamento shakes and the saxophonist’s blowsy smears which redefine the narrative downwards to satisfying end.

Accomplished musical ideas and execution characterize Mitchell’s and Irabagon’s efforts on these discs as well as their interactions with others on the same musical wavelength. Together they contribute to distinctive sessions which outline another facet of Douglas’ burgeoning musical thoughts and Irabagon’s intuitive creation of another solid program.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Songs: 1. Never Let Me Go 2. Deceitful Tongues 3. Lift Up My Eyes 4. Peace Within Your Walls 5. Enthroned 6. A Fowler’s Snare 7. Scepter 8. Mouths Full Of Joy

Personnel: Songs: Dave Douglas (trumpet); Jon Irabagon (sopranino, tenor saxophone); Matt Mitchell (piano); Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums)

Track Listing: Rising: 1. Sundance 2. Alliance 3. Hoodootoo* 4. Bebop^ 5. Mammoth+ 6. Rising Sun* 7. Needles+

Personnel: Rising: Adam O’Farrill+ (trumpet); Jon Irabagon (sopranino, tenor saxophone); Matt Mitchell (piano and Fender Rhodes); Miles Okazaki* (guitar); Chris Lightcap (electric bass and bass^) and Dan Weiss (drums)