Evolving Silence Vol. 1

When Israeli sax player Albert Beger joined Roy Campbell’s Pyramid Trio for the group’s final piece at the 2005 Tel Aviv Jazz Festival five months ago, I was doubtful that he would be able to cope with the rhythm section of bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake.

They excelled that night, taking Campbell’s music so far that it seemed almost no one could penetrate their highly innovative communication, and Beger seemed a bit in awe of the two masters. But on the following morning, when the three convened to record their first collaboration, all doubts were gone.

On the small and familiar Israeli free jazz scene, Beger has not found many musical partners who can come to terms with his willingness to push boundaries and take risks on so many levels.

But there are not many musicians like Parker and Drake, who can offer such imaginative support at any time. On the first volume of Evolving Silence, Beger’s sixth release, he makes the best of this opportunity, presenting himself as an equal peer to this unique pair of musicians.

The 42 minutes of Evolving Silence are divided into four pillars, each presenting Beger in a different form. The opening piece, “Naked Truth,” is a head-on volcanic eruption.
Beger pushes through the upper registers of the tenor sax, flying on the powerful rhythms that Parker and Drake constantly deliver. Six minutes into the piece, Beger leaves Parker and Drake to build and dismantle grooves, and then he ignites his sax again and leads into an uncompromising coda.

The second piece, “Duo #1,” is based loosely on a Jewish chant. Parker sets the repeated meditative rhythm and Beger improvises on his alto flute. Beger stresses the folk melody by using sounds that are close to eastern bamboo flutes, speaking through the flute until he reaches a percussive tone that Parker matches by using his bow as a percussive instrument on the bass strings.

The following piece, “Duo #2,” is a more open encounter between Beger and Drake, alternating between rhythms, gaining tension and then releasing it. Drake encompasses Beger with his rolling polyrhythms, supplying a gentle platform for his high flights on the tenor sax.

The closing piece, the enchanting “Rain Is Coming,” chills out the relentless energy. Parker plays the douson ngoni (West African hunter’s harp), Drake percussion only, and Beger breathes sweetly through his sax, leading this emotional and peaceful piece as if it were a modern rain dance.
Beger concludes by chanting an Indian mantra: shanti, shanti, shanti. Peace. Clearly a landmark recording for Beger, and a very convincing document of his skills as composer and improviser.

Haaretz
Review by: Ben Shalev’s – Ha’aretz

Albert Beger’s superb new album “Evolving Silence, Vol.1” reveals the underlying principles that drive all of the saxophonist’s work. It consists of two primary directives: Every new album that Beger produces has a distinctly different character than the one that preceded it – and is consistently better.

On his previous outing, Beger bolstered his basic trio format with a guitarist and an additional saxophonist, creating a group interplay with extremely high energy levels. On this latest offering, he returns to the trio format – or more accurately – the super trio format. Bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake form a virtually unsurpassable rhythm section. On the day before the recording, the two laid down a firm foundation for trumpeter Roy Campbell during his performance at the Tel Aviv Cinemateque, creating the most powerful groove that this reviewer has ever heard. Beger was a guest artist at this gig, and although he performed extremely well, was unable to navigate the storm of sound that the two created. It is, however, immediately evident upon first listening to this album, that in the recording session that followed the next day there prevailed an impressive balance among the three. As the session’s proclaimed leader, Beger even attains and sustains a status of “first-among-equals” throughout.

The first track, “Naked Truth”, is characterized by a dynamic that free-jazz musicians love to embrace: It opens with a short, simply stated (and very beautiful) melody, which quickly erupts into a musical volcano – Beger’s fire-and-brimstone saxophone riding over a torrential attack of bass and drums.

For those of you who prefer free jazz in small doses, the second cut on the album, “Duo #1”, is a welcome respite. It presents a decidedly different musical milieu than the preceding track, and we begin to see the justification for the album’s name: If “Naked Truth” serves as an exorcism of all the players’ demons – an eruption that swells up to approach the very borders of noise – the second track ensues from silence. Only two musicians perform on this fully-improvised piece: Parker plays a tense rhythmic mantra that repeats itself consistently with only slight variation; Beger trades his sax for alto flute and the occasional vocal declaration, wrapping the rhythmic skeleton in gentle and meditative ruminations. The deep mutual listening that ensues between the two is underscored as Beger punctuates his playing by tapping on his flute and Parker responds in kind on the bass.

The 42 minutes of Evolving Silence are divided into four pillars, each presenting Beger in a different form. The opening piece, “Naked Truth,” is a head-on volcanic eruption.
Beger pushes through the upper registers of the tenor sax, flying on the powerful rhythms that Parker and Drake constantly deliver. Six minutes into the piece, Beger leaves Parker and Drake to build and dismantle grooves, and then he ignites his sax again and leads into an uncompromising coda.

“Duo #2”, the album’s third track, is also an improvised duet from start to finish, this time offering interplay between Beger (returning to tenor sax) and Drake. Once again, we are witness to a whole new musical environment, one that contains elements of playfulness and humor. If the previous tracks were deep conversations, this duet is about two friends speaking informally with one another, all the while delighting in making the other laugh and enjoying the occasional friendly jibe. And Beger, who typically draws inspiration from the endless well of John Coltrane’s legacy, sounds here like the student of another exemplary player – Sonny Rollins.

“Rain is Coming” is an appropriate final track. The journey that Beger and his band mates have embarked upon for us has clear milestones: It begins with a great cry, continues with self-introspection, segues into playful interaction, and concludes with a sense of release. Parker trades his bass for an African hunter’s harp, Drake abandons the drums in favor of percussion instruments, and Beger leads with a clean and emotive melody line. The entire piece sounds like a selfless declaration of musicians who are willing to give up on their individual egos and merge with some greater, abstract presence – a magical voyage from start to finish.

Beger performs next Wednesday with his quintet in Tel Aviv’s ArtSpace club, followed by a gig at Milestone in Binyamina on Thursday. At the end of August, they are bound for South Africa where they are invited to perform at the Johannesburg Jazz Festival. At a time when patrons of the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat will have to make due with a somewhat mediocre offering of local talent, Jazz fans in South Africa will be treated to the wonderful music of an individual who is steadily establishing his reputation as the premier jazz artist in the country.

All About Jazz
Review by: Jeff Stockton

The Wyman and Watts of jazz, bassist William Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, traveled to Israel to perform with Roy Campbell in the Pyramid Trio in February, 2005. The next day, after having sat in with the band, Israeli saxophonist Albert Beger recorded his own trio session with Parker and Drake in the studio.

The resulting Evolving Silence Vol. 1 is just a taste: four tracks across 42 minutes. But each composition stands individually to represent a different aspect of Beger’s blend of free jazz and Middle Eastern lyricism (along with the unquestionable spiritual authority of his bandmates) and the recording is vivid, crackling with immediacy and brimming with soul.

“Naked Truth” opens with a serene invocation from Beger on tenor, then transforms into an improvised burner as Beger overblows with rising intensity. After Parker and Drake play furiously, the tenor comes screaming back, concluding decisively before a tranquil coda. Two duets occupy the midsection. The first, for alto flute and bass, is the session’s most visceral performance, with Beger drawing audible breaths and Parker’s repeated plucked motif in support. The bass responds quickly to slight changes in tempo before answering Beger’s percussive flute pops with a bouncing bow. The second, for tenor and drums, is in the style of Coltrane’s “Countdown”; Drake’s loose-limbed double-timing seems to inspire torrential sheets of sound from Beger as he runs up and down his horn.

We already know what Parker and Drake are capable of, whether leading their own groups, playing as sidemen, or simply supporting each other. With any luck, Albert Beger’s capabilities will become even more apparent and impressive on Volume Two.

Le Son Du Arisli Blog (In French)

Appelé à rejoindre le Pyramid Trio de Roy Campbell en clôture d’un concert donné au Festival de Jazz de Tel Aviv en 2005, le saxophoniste israélien Albert Beger rencontrait Hamid Drake et William Parker. Quelques heures après, les trois hommes enregistraient en studio quelques compositions signées Beger.

Témoins de cette rencontre, deux volumes ont déjà paru. En introduction du second, la section rythmique installe un décorum complexe et chaleureux sur lequel le saxophone entre prudemment, avant de révéler, plus nonchalant, un goût pour la redite, le tout rappelant les manières de Ken Vandermark (Evolving Silence).

Passé à la flûte, Beger peine ensuite à se montrer capable d’audaces sur un Duo #3 qu’il improvise en compagnie du contrebassiste. Revenu au ténor, il se laisse heureusement porter par le jeu de Drake sur Funky Lacy, pour sublimer enfin, motivé par l’insistance avec laquelle ses partenaires l’invitent à dérailler, une composition un brin dramatique, Skies of Israel.

Sur Evolving Silence, Vol.2, Albert Beger parvient donc à oublier sa politesse, et se permet quelques interventions convaincantes, quand Parker et Drake donnent d’autres preuves de leur talent, ajoutant à leur créativité coutumière une habileté salvatrice.