Absolution

Album review

Kristjan Järvi's 18-piece Absolute Ensemble brings irreverence and rhythmic mettle to the world of contemporary classical and third stream music. This is the group's fourth release, and it features works by six composers -- the last of which is Jimi Hendrix, whose "Purple Haze" is given a warped reworking by Daniel Schnyder. (In the liners, Hendrix's tremolo bar is hilariously described by Schnyder as a "joy slide stick tool.") Schnyder's own "subZERO," a three-movement concerto for bass trombone featuring David Taylor, is one of the disc's centerpieces, a marvelous showcase for an instrument seldom pushed to the foreground. The late Lepo Sumera's relatively lengthy "Play for 10," with its maddening staccato repetitions and stark mood swings, is another major highlight. Denman Maroney is unaccompanied on his own "Par 3," an astonishing work for prepared piano; he returns to wreak inspired havoc on "Purple Haze" as well. Pianist Matt Herskowitz contributes "Serial Blues," an energetic, improv-heavy jazz/funk vehicle that highlights his own virtuosity, as well as that of the ensemble's rhythm section (drummer/percussionists David Rozenblatt and Pablo Rieppi, bassist Mat Fieldes). Slap-bass funk and sectional counterpoint collide on Charles Coleman's "Absolution," while a sneakier sort of percussive engine propels the opening "Dance Machine." Riotously complex, thoughtful, and often uplifting, the music defies categorization even as it upholds the rigors of classical orchestration.

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