Beat Therapy (Bridge Records)
Dmitri Tymoczko
Released April 13, 2011
All About Jazz The Most Exciting Jazz Albums Since 1969
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nN0OPUepX8yRe2YJVMzrHj1uHee5KSt7o
Spotify:
About:
Beat Therapy combines the sounds and rhythms of jazz with a classical sense of form and development. Ideas change and grow and return in unexpected ways, with literal repetition being rare. Though the music is largely notated, most tracks contain at least some improvisation.
The music grows out of the thought that jazz and classical music are fundamentally continuous—that the technical developments of early twentieth-century composers like Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky come to fruition in the improvisatory music of Art Tatum, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and John Coltrane. Beat Therapy tries to imagine that these seemingly different styles comprise a single tradition in which notation and improvisation can coexist seamlessly.
Track Listing:
1. Loop & Swing 6:06
2. Kachunk 6:27
3. Katrina Stomp 7:47
4. Sweet Nothings 6:08
5. The Misterious Stranger 6:20
6. Earthquake 7:46
7. Dreams May Come 6:30
8. Sayonara 6:27
Personnel:
Dmitri Tymoczko: composition & synth programming
Thomas Bergeron: trumpet
Jon Irabagon: alto sax
Alejandro Aviles: alto sax
Geoff Vidal: tenor sax
Rane Moore: bass clarinet
Ken Thomson: bass clarinet
William Stevens: piano
Vladimir Katz: piano
Daniel Kelly: piano
James Johnston: synth
Michael O’Brien: bass
David Skidmore: drums
Composition & Synth Programming: Dmitri Tymoczko
Recorded by Alex Kass and Andrés Villalta (3, 4, 7)
Mixed by Dmitri Tymoczko and Andrés Villalta
Mastered by Chris Landen at Audio Mechanics
Review:
On his website, Dmitri Tymoczko says, “I am a composer and failed former philosopher who loves to think about how music works.” Apparently, he did a lot of thinking about this album, his only jazz work amongst three other releases. He says, “I am currently developing a number of games, compositional utilities, and electronic instruments, most of which involve geometry in some way.” We might wish he had applied his talents to more jazz albums like this one, but we’ll have to settle for this excellent piece of music of which he says: “Beat Therapy combines the sounds and rhythms of jazz with a classical sense of form and development. Ideas change and grow and return in unexpected ways, with literal repetition being rare.”
But make no mistake, this album’s concept might be heady, but the octet he’s assembled here grooves like mad. When classical music and jazz collide, the results can be stilted, with the classical elements suppressing the jazz groove. But not here. The jazz is front and center, while the classical structure keeps things dynamic and multi-textured. The opener, “Loop & Swing” starts hesitantly with a hi-hat and bass groove that evolves into a full-blown, joyous celebration. “Katrina Stomp” conjures images of dancers on a Harlem stage. And the finale, “Sayonara” is a Japanese-tinged road song—yet another unique jazz thriller.
Robert Middleton (All About Jazz)
