Matt Lavelle

A cornucopia of inferences and inspiration The Crop Circles Suite is multi-instrumentalist Matt Lavelle’s newest and long-awaited disc by his 12 Houses orchestra. Although Lavelle says it’s the result of his move to upstate New York and spiritual teachings, the drive and dynamics expressed seem as close to the grit and energy he and the other musicians express as part of New York’s so-called downtown scene.

The six sequences blend and extend tonal contributions from players whose double and tripling interpolate sonorities from flutes, brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion. Furthermore as motifs advance, retreat and brush up against one another, timbres associated with Jazz improvisation, notated formalism and rhythmic departures are arranged so that the unexpected becomes a leitmotif. Sections are also cannily allied with associations more thrilling than dauting. The almost 31 minute “Crop Circle One” expresses Lavelle’s ideas and the ensemble’s interaction in macro form, with the subsequent shorter tracks emphasizing aspects of the program.

Within “Crop Circle One”, light clarion puffing and aviary whistles from the reeds and flutes quickly moves from countrified to cadenced as a hearty drum back beat, plunger tones from the brass and saxophone vamps reconstitutes the exposition as out-and-out swing with Jose Luis Abreu’s percussion adding a Latin tinge. Hilliard Greene’s waking bass line continues throughout, although emphasis shifts to more formal flow from violist Stephanie Griffin and some of the six flutists. Further underscored by echoes from guitarist Jack DeSalvo, the broken octave narrative overcomes the engendered tension to balance Griffin’s syrupy faux Mittle European strokes and the Mingusian power of stalled traffic horn cacophony from the rest of the band.

Before tutti connections gradually becomes louder as the band ascends to a polyphonic crescendo with maracas shakes and Ben Stapp’s tuba smears, Christopher Forbes’ keyboard tinkling, distant flutters from trumpeters Matt Lambiase or Nicole Davis and Charles Waters yearning alto saxophone solo reconfirm the band’s Jazz affiliations. Further unexpected half-valve slurs from trombonist Art Baron and a raucous Ras Moshe tenor sax solo add to this until a second tutti crescendo brings the narrative to the edge of atonality. A pivot to piano key plucks, Gabriel style brass triplets and trombone slurs ease the tune back to a defining stop-time finale.

Miniaturized versions of quick changes among the themes are expressed on other tracks with motifs like symphonic overblowing, glossy pastoral asides and menacing vamps advanced, expressed and quickly dispatched. Lavelle’s skill as an orchestrator is highlighted with the introduction of rare instrumental mixes such as a clarinet trio’s overlapping vibrations; boisterous Blues pressure that emphasizes bongo pops as well as Claire Daly’s baritone saxophone honks; and a search for the lowest note from his bass clarinet and Moshe’s tenor saxophone completed by gong resonation.

Throughout the suite’s detours and experiments an undercurrent of cheerfulness remains. The final sequence which returns the band to the rootsy swing of the first track completes the cycle. Drawing on multiple musical strands this is a suite worth savoring.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing:  1. Crop Circle One 2. Crop Circle Two 3. Crop Circle Three 4. Crop Circle Four 5. Crop Circle Five 6. Crop Circle Six

Personnel: Matt Lambiase (trumpet, flute); Nicole Davis (trumpet); Art Baron (trombone, didgeridoo); Ben Stapp (tuba); Matt Lavelle (alto, bass clarinets, pocket trumpet) Lee Odom (soprano saxophone, flute); Charles Waters (alto saxophone, clarinet, flute); Ras Moshe (tenor saxophone, flute, gong); Claire Daly (baritone saxophone, flute); Claire De Brunner (bassoon); Mary Cherney (flute, bass flute); Cheryl Pyle (flute, alto flute); Christopher Forbes (piano); Stephanie Griffin (viola); Jack DeSalvo (guitar, banjo, oud); Hilliard Greene (bass); Jeremy Carlstedt (drums); Jose Luis Abreu (percussion)