Great Bliss, Vol. 2

Album review

Great Bliss was always brainstormed as a two-CD project and the second installment of the maiden voyage by Ware's quartet again finds the leader spreading his playing among four instruments. Tenor sax takes the most outings (three) this time, but more importantly, the music has the organic feel of being centered in a group sound, rather than of fragments arbitrarily touching down a lá Volume One. The solo "Saxelloscape Two" throws this difference into sharp relief -- the extended flurries here feel like a strategically inserted side-trip to the fringes of the group sound. Gongs kick off the opening "One Two Three," with an atmospheric, mysterious spare opening with Shipp's sinister piano line under Ware's stritch, and builds steadily to a climax. "Emptiness" is a brief flute feature with band backing, while "Primary Piece III" sports a balladic intro before a screaming explosion, one minute in, that moves on to a demented march motif before turning peaceful to launch an extended Shipp solo. By "The Child Without--The Child Within," Marc Edwards has really worn out the chimes' welcome, but Ware's ruminative flute plays effectively with silence and space against Parker's bowed bass. The racehorse "Stritchland" takes off running, with Ware playing the reedy instrument like his tenor, Shipp dropping crystalline pearl notes a bit like Cecil Taylor, but with a lighter tone, and Edwards in full push mode underneath. "Low Strata" starts with a down-slidin' tenor melody that triggers a series of more abstract interactions that change up quite organically. "Reign Of Peace" again features his tenor delving deeply into the spirit force before Shipp and Parker take it outside without taking it abrasively. If you can only have just one, Great Bliss, Volume Two is definitely the pick for painting a much better picture of David S. Ware's quartet as a cohesive musical entity. The liner notes (again) are informative and extensive, but the interview excerpts here feature the other three musicians far more than the leader. So information junkies who want the full story on how Ware and Shipp (for example, since it's just Shipp's second session, ever) view music at this early career point, will have to wait.
© Don Snowden /TiVo