Evolving Silence, Vol. 2

All About Jazz
Review by: Eyal Hareuveni

Evolving Silence, Vol. 2 follows a year after Vol. 1, which documented the first ever meeting in the studio of Israeli sax player Albert Beger and the great rhythm section of William Parker and Hamid Drake. This disc was recorded a day after an unforgettable performance by trumpeter Roy Campbell’s Pyramid Trio on which Beger was featured as a guest player, on the same day as the first volume.

Like its predecessor, this album features four different perspectives: three original compositions by Beger and one free improvisation with Beger and Parker. The close musical affinity of the trio’s members and their religious, zen-like, egoless attitude is still present, marking one of Beger’s finest appearances on disc. With Parker and Drake’s spiritual, modest playing and their openness and embracing compassion, there is no way but to take off. It’s clear that Beger, in his body and soul, was ready for such an opportunity.

The opening track, the thirteen-minute “Evolving Silence,” begins with an intense, two-minute duo segment with Parker and Drake, and only then does Beger add his percolating tenor sax and lead the trio through alternating themes. Beger leaves Parker and Drake for short, muscular interplay, and then brings this piece to a safe harbor. “Duo # 3,” a free improv duet between Beger’s alto flute and Parker bass, begins with Beger talking through his alto flute and ends as kind of a ceremonial tribal duet. “Funk Lacy” is indeed a sweeping rhythmic masterpiece.

The closing “Skies of Israel” is a beautiful and poetic piece that features restrained arco playing by Parker, gentle, crying lines by Beger, and spare and imaginative drumming by Drake—sounding in these painful days like a humble plea for peace and humanism, in the same vein that this great trio explores throughout. Warmly recommended.

Free Jazz Blog

It must be clear that I am more than a little crazy about Hamid Drake and William Parker, the best “drum&bass” duo of the world. And “Evolving Silence, Vol. 2″ confirms this again. This is the second CD of a series of recordings that the duo had in Israel with Albert Beger, an Israeli sax-player/flautist, who is not really known, but he deserves otherwise. His playing is creative, precise, sensitive, melodious. It’s bizarre that the CD was issued as two albums because they actually form one, and with some effort they might even have fit into one CD, because both are relatively short : 42 and 40 minutes. Other downside : you can only order them in Israel, but the good news is that they arrived within a week’s time.

Then there is the music : exactly as I like it. Pulsing and complex rhythms with seas of freedom to move for the whole trio. You can hear the players enjoy the interplay, reacting to each other, coming back to the main theme, just to move away from it through free improvisation. The first piece is powerful, furious even, but also melodic. The second one is a free improv of flute and bass. Beger sings, howls, snorts and heaves through his instrument, but rhythmically and ending with a slow and beautiful solo. On “Funky Lacy” Drake takes the initiative, and we get his typical powerful beat, with little touches in between, drum-rolls, deleted shots, funking like hell. Beger and Parker join the fun. “Skies of Israel” is a menacing and slow piece, lead and controlled by Parker who conjures a beautiful melody out of his arco. Then unisono with Beger, in a serpentine interplay. You can hear the pain, the loss, the fear, the despair, … Parker plays some wonderfully shrill tones in the high notes, piercing your heart, then the trio brings the song to an end, sensitive and joined by common feelings. Remarkable! This last piece alone makes the purchase worthwhile.
Parker’s daughter studies in Israel, which explains his presence there.
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.