In Tense (Whirlwind Recordings)
Harish Raghavan
Released July 2022
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2022
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About:
In Tense is the
latest record from New York- based composer and bassist Harish Raghavan,
following his 2019 debut Calls For Action. This new and all-original output was
recorded at the end of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The album’s
six tracks were written especially for the exceptional band of drummer Eric
Harland, guitarist Charles Altura, Joel Ross on vibraphone and marimba, and
Morgan Guerin on woodwinds.
Raghavan has forged an impressive reputation through his work with the likes of
Ambrose Akinmusire, Kurt Elling, Taylor Eigsti, Vijay Iyer, Charles Lloyd,
Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson and Eric Harland; and is widely lauded for
his work as leader. Inspiration for this new album came from responding to the
monumental events of that year, particularly the globally shared experience of
the pandemic.
Opening track ‘AMA’ is ethereal and calm, yet also driving with a virtuosic
bass solo over the hypnotic and pulsating groove in the mid-section, serving as
a beautiful opening to the cohesive album. The energy switches up a gear with
‘Circus Music’, which was written to be indicative of how tough the world can
be and in direct response to turbulent times and being forced to learn how to
adapt. The music paints a picture of walking the tight rope at a circus looking
for a safe landing.
Title track, ‘In Tense’ moves slowly but with purpose. “I wanted it to feel
like something vast was happening, but nothing was happening at the same time,”
explains Harish. With heavy bass throughout, the track is rooted in an
exquisite tension reminiscent of the confusing lockdown feeling of being safe
at home but with great intensity.
‘Eight-Thirteen’ is also about the unknown. The track name comes from the time
exactly a minute before Harish’s son was born. There’s a part of the
composition that slows down tantalizingly for a moment, invoking visions of
looking over a precipice and capturing the precise moment before everything changes.
‘S2020’ was inspired by how we’re already living in the future. “I was born in
1982, so 2020 is big,” Harish states, “like oh, we’re in 2020. It’s the future,
everything is supposed to be better.” This sentiment is manifested via the
heady and otherworldly exchanges on the dystopian track.
Album closer, ‘Prayer’ is an ode to the times we find ourselves in, featuring a
thrilling trade-off between Morgan and Charles. “I wrote it as a prayer for
before you go into battle,” says Harish, “there’s a part of it where it gets a
little free and kind of mellow, then it’s like you’re at war for a moment.”
Harish Raghavan is a thoughtful composer and enigmatic musician, his latest
work, In Tenseis a commanding and immersive oeuvre that enchants from start to
finish. Harish says: “the album is called In Tense and for me that means trying
to stay present and in the moment.”
This record offers that mindful clarity through its captivating compositions
and hypnotizing intensity.
Track Listing:
1. AMA (Harish Raghavan) 06:16
2. Circus Music (Harish Raghavan) 04:24
3. In Tense (Harish Raghavan) 06:07
4. Eight Thirteen (Harish Raghavan) 06:13
5. S2020 (Harish Raghavan) 04:38
6. Prayer (Harish Raghavan) 05:50
Personnel:
Harish Raghavan: double bass
Eric Harland: drums
Charles Altura: guitar
Joel Ross: vibraphone/marimba
Morgan Guerin: tenor saxophone, electric wind instrument, bass clarinet
Recorded December 10 – 11, 2021, at GSI Studios, NY, by Josh Giunta
Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington
Produced by Harish Raghavan
Executive Producer: Michael Janisch
Photography by Emra Islak
Original Album Artwork by Martin French
CD/LP Graphic Design by Hugo Piper
Review:
Prior to making his debut as a bandleader in 2019, New York jazz bassist Harish Raghavan amassed an impressive résumé, gigging with a wide range of players and recording high-profile projects with artists like trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, saxophonist Walter Smith III, and drummer Eric Harland. The latter of those three joins Raghavan’s band on In Tense, his marvelous second solo outing for the Whirlwind label. Aside from returning vibraphonist Joel Ross, this is an entirely different quintet than the one employed on Calls for Action with guitarist Charles Altura and reeds player Morgan Guerin joining Harland to round out the bassist’s new five-piece. Reflecting the tone of the period during which it was made (late 2020), In Tense is an altogether heavier record, with a reassuring earthbound heft and a number of sturdy low motifs that anchor its floor plan. Opener “AMA” is a perfect example of this with a slow and deliberate groove that rolls like a dark, frothing river through a lush valley while Guerin and Ross spray an ethereal mist high above it. It’s the musical equivalent of a weighted blanket, both cool and calming. The title track, though quicker on its feet, occupies a similar territory, suggesting cosmic chaos and drama unfolding nearby while feeling somehow protective and shielding. That Raghavan and his bandmates were able to create such reflexively therapeutic and imaginative music during the overwhelming tumult of 2020’s final months is a testament to the power of collaboration and to jazz as an art form. It was a period of global separateness and fear to the extent that, when these five souls came together in a room, a palpable sense of both relief and heightened intensity spilled into the proceedings. As they shift into gear on the more frenetic passages of “Circus” and “S2020” before coming to a dizzying crescendo on “Prayer,” the band sounds both fluid and resolutely focused on the moment, like tomorrow may never come. Fortunately, it did.
Timothy Monger (AllMusic)
