Proof Of Light (Moonjune)
Mark Wingfield
Released June 29, 2016
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lYVIP-SRDjYhb2VZuRRjhHKVovfRPCjto
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2L1mUtcVNtBoAlBsO6cPJV?si=BlkPwDdlSByWGnX58bfJ_A&dl_branch=1
About:
It’s not often an album is released that is so daring in its approach and revolutionary in its delivery that it actually changes one’s perspective of how music can be expressed and expands their vision of a genre. It is the great privilege and honor for MoonJune Records to present just such an album, with the MJR debut of the otherworldly guitar stylings of critically-acclaimed guitarist, Mark Wingfield, on his transcendent new album, “Proof of Light.”
From the album’s opening chords, it is immediately apparent that this is a very special outing. This trio — featuring the dynamic Vituos/Weber-esque upright bass work of the incomparable Yaron Stavi (Robert Wyatt; Phil Manzanera; David Gilmour; Richard Galliano), and his acute, intuitive counterpart, seasoned master drummer, Asaf Sirkis (John Abercrombie; Larry Coryell; Gilad Atzmon; Tim Garland; Jeff Berlin; Nicolas Meier) — possess a chemistry of the most perspicacious and unpretentious variety. The music is enticing and ethereal — with Wingfield’s articulate vocabulary and unique vision for his instrument clearly in evidence, singing high above the palatial profferings of fellow messengers, Stavi and Sirkis. This is supreme melodic “avant jazz”, where any lines separating music and art vanish, as three extraordinary oracles bare their souls, follow their instincts and squeeze out every ounce of emotion and grandeur from the album’s nine glistening tracks.
Throughout “Proof of Light” the listener is enveloped and transported, soaring along with the music as it seeks out new, previously-untrodden sonic destinations. Mark Wingfield has crafted an exquisite masterwork: majestic, and in many ways reminiscent of ECM’s golden years! It is an album of exceeding faculty, whose strength lies in the bold, pioneering approach of its participants and their unwavering trust in their own individual and corporate intuitions. This is gloriously sensitive, nuanced trio work, with a preeminent level of musical communication that borders on the telepathic.
Track Listing:
1. Mars Saffron (Mark Wingfield) 06:10
2. Restless Mountains (Mark Wingfield) 04:14
3. The Way To Etretat (Mark Wingfield) 07:55
4. A Conversation We Had (Mark Wingfield) 04:50
5. A Thousand Faces (Mark Wingfield) 03:22
6. Voltaic (Mark Wingfield) 08:37
7. Summer Night’s Story (Mark Wingfield) 05:40
8. Koromo’s Tale (Mark Wingfield) 05:16
9. Proof Of Light (Mark Wingfield) 07:05
Personnel:
Mark Wingfield: guitar
Yaron Stavi: upright bass
Asaf Sirkis: drums
Recorded May 20 – 21, 2014, at Lost Boys Studio, Cranfield, England, by Ru Cook
Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Mark Wingfield
Artwork: Jane Wingfield
Executive Producer: Leonardo Pavkovic
Review:
The sound of this music is bigger than its component parts. Maybe it’s guitar marvel Mark Wingfield’s careening reverb, his vibrato or sustain, or the accompanying deep-end spaciousness of Yaron Stavi’s double bass. Only Asaf Sirkis’ drumming seems capable of remaining earthbound, his persistent snare stabs serving as a constant punctuation in concert with his bandmates’ slightly otherworldly, tuneful ruminations on Proof Of Light, Wingfield’s sixth as a leader. The American-born Englishman Wingfield (add SMQ, Scapetrace and the Internet band ResRocket to his full resume) allows his mates to shine right along with him. Stavi, for one, leads the way through “A Thousand Faces.” The song’s lumbering gait provides a forest bed for what’s now apparent midway through Proof Of Light: Wingfield’s guitar as a piercing, darting, spectral sound full of artful glissandi and single notes perhaps in need of Stavi’s more measured sustains, a kind of necessary sonic complement. By way of contrast, “Voltaic” follows in sudden, rock-like blasts like the clearing of one’s throat, only to be followed by even more dreamy sustain. Stavi’s resonant plucks are strewn amidst Wingfield’s selective electronic sheens in place of chords, the rubato eddies a place where all three enter at opportune moments to make hay with a bit of outlandish guitar-hero wailing. Clocking in at eight minutes and 38 seconds, “Voltaic”—ending as it started with its pesky, in-your-face arrangement—serves as Proof Of Light’s longest piece, rightly positioned as the album’s most articulated example of this trio’s group cohesion. “Summer Night’s Story” and “Koromo’s Tale” are features for Sirkis and Stavi, respectively, stories with different plot lines but similar, wayfaring moods. “Summer Night’s Story” encapsulates a lilting beat and an eery melody with cymbal washes and lightly plodding lines from both players as Wingfield essentially takes to the wings. “Koromo’s Tale” furthers that serene, untethered vibe as Stavi “sings” the melody lines to what becomes Proof Of Light’s most subtly dramatic, ambling entry. And, perhaps rightly, the following track, the album-closing title song is as close to a showcase for Wingfield even as he once again puts his compositional stamp on a tune of varying moods and textures. “Proof Of Light” provides both heat and light, airiness and cool breezes, tight orchestration and ethereal openness, the guitarist seemingly winging it but really guiding the song’s intricate contours (in the spirit of at least one influence Allan Holdsworth), the trio swinging and sashaying around tune’s end with more subtle touches that suggest they’re having a hard time letting go of the song. Proof Of Light’s nine compositions are penned by producer Wingfield (someone also active in contemporary classical music), and it’s his project from start to finish. And yet, listening to it, one might just come away with the distinct impression that this isn’t a guitar showcase but rather the more difficult achievement of a group creation, full of life from a generous spirit. Sticking to the pared-down trio format, Wingfield has, indeed, allowed his band to be his sound, but with three individual voices playing as one, the music full of light due to its author’s perceived intent to allow for much space and room for exploration.
John Ephland (DownBeat)
