François Houle 5

In the Vernacular: The Music of John Carter

***** “This stunning tribute surely will establish him as a first-rank improvisor…The five players create a tremendous feeling of intimacy, even on fast-paced pieces…A recording full of sublime moments.”

— James Hale, Ottawa Citizen

Clarinettist/composer John Carter created a profound body of contemporary music expressing the African-American experience through its folk idioms. Vancouver-based clarinettist Houle has been inspired by Carter’s music since 1991, when out of curiosity he picked up a copy of Fields : “I plunged into an intense listening period of his work on CD. For me Carter’s clarinet playing not only offered a clear path to follow in terms of my own development as an improvisor but also confirmed my convictions that the clarinet could (and should) occupy a privileged place in contemporary improvised music.” In 1992 Houle arranged a number of Carter pieces for octet and performed them at Vancouver’s jazz festival in tribute to his memory; included was an unrecorded score, “Three Dances in the Vernacular”, which guest artist Vinny Golia had provided. Finally last year the Carter project was recorded in New York, with François’s long-time Vancouver collaborators Lee and van der Schyff matching their concepts with Douglas and Dresser (both of whom François had previously performed with). Instrumentally it’s the classic John Carter-Bobby Bradford quartet with the addition of cello. As Art Lange points out in the liner notes, Houle “resurrect[s] the spirit of the original, freeing his own ensemble’s unique capabilities…In improvisational music, form is feeling…” And the feelings here are tender, buoyant, and generous.

Dave Douglas has released 9 CDs as a leader: three of his Tiny Bell Trio (Songlines, hatART, Arabesque), two of his String Group (Soul Note), two of his sextet (dedicated to Booker Little and Wayne Shorter, on New World and Arabesque), a quartet tribute to Joni Mitchell (DIW), and his extended piece for double quartet, Sanctuary (Avant). As co-leader he has recorded with Han Bennink (Songlines), Guy Klucevsek (Winter & Winter), New and Used (two CDs on Knitting Factory), and the Mosaic Sextet (Konnex). He toured Europe with the Clusone Trio, and recently completed a Concerto for Trio and Orchestra. He is on recordings with John Zorn (Masada, Film Works III, and Bar Kokhba), Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz, Myra Melford’s The Same River, Twice, Mark Dresser’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Force Green, Greg Cohen, Fred Hersch, Anthony Braxton/Mario Pavone, Michael Formanek, Ned Rothenberg, John Lindberg, Steve Beresford, Vincent Herring, Orange Then Blue, and Dr. Nerve, among others. Dave and François have previously performed together in the Vancouver Company Week and François’s Carmen Perpetuum project.

Mark Dresser co-leads Tambastics (Music & Arts) and the string trio Arcado (three CDs on JMT, plus Avant and, with the Trio de Clarinettes, Enja), and a trio with Marty Ehrlich and Andrew Cyrille, and leads his quintet Force Green (Soul Note). His other recordings include a solo CD, Invocation, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (both Knitting Factory), Banquet (two chamber works, on Tzadik), and October Meeting 1994 (Bim Huis). He performs/records in groups led by Gerry Hemingway, and is a member of groups led by Bob Ostertag and Jane Ira Bloom. He appears on record with Tim Berne, Bobby Bradford, Anthony Braxton (9 CDs as a member of Braxton’s quartet), Tom Cora, Marilyn Crispell, Anthony Davis, Dave Douglas (Parallel Worlds and Sanctuary), Fred Frith, Diamanda Galas, Vinny Golia, Earl Howard, Oliver Lake, George Lewis, Misha Mengelberg, Ikue Mori, James Newton, Evan Parker, Ned Rothenberg, Sonny Simmons, Louis Sclavis, Vladimir Tarasov, Henry Threadgill, and John Zorn, among others.

Peggy Lee comes to jazz and improv with a classical training. She has performed/recorded with Vinny Golia, Veda Hille, and as a duo with Carlos Zingaro (Hatology), and is a member of Standing Wave. With Dave she performed in Sanctuary and the Vancouver Company Week, and both Peggy and Dylan van der Schyff were part of Carmen Perpetuum. They also have a new duo CD, These Are Our Shoes, on Spool, and both perform/record with Talking Pictures and the NOW Orchestra (projects with Barry Guy and René Lussier) and are members of the Tony Wilson Sextet. Dylan has performed with Evan Parker, Georg Graewe, Myra Melford, Michael Moore, John Butcher, Mark Helias, Vinny Golia, Eyvind Kang, and Andy Laster.

Nominated for a Juno Award, 1999

**** “Houle has assembled a body of recorded work unsurpassed in Canada in its originality, intelligence and vitality…In Carter’s creative spirit, Houle takes [Carter’s] material as a place to start, rather than as an end in itself…His settings have plenty of subtlety and intrigue but in no way impede his fellow musicians’ freedom of movement. And these are musicians who move very freely…Indeed, it’s hard to say what’s more brilliant here, the concept or its execution.” — Mark Miller, The Globe & Mail

“An incisive exploration…Houle, who has impeccable technique, carefully builds his solos deliberately, smudging, cross hatching, and layering to achieve a multiple perspective in a single statement. Douglas is the perfect foil; the trumpeter gets down on ‘Old Blues’ (one of Carter’s ‘Three Dances In The Vernacular’ making their debut on the disc) and generally provides jazz flavors that fully animate Carter’s music. Still, the project is clearly Houle’s, and he deserves enormous credit for its realization.” — Bill Shoemaker, Jazz Times

“One of the finest albums ever to come out of the Vancouver jazz scene…Luminous contributions from Douglas, Lee, van der Schyff, and Dresser.” — Alexander Varty, Georgia Straight

“The five musicians work magically well together…This CD has all the elements one wants in contemporary improvised music. The quality of musicianship is extraordinarily high, and the musical content ranges from swinging and burning to slow and tristful. The harmonization of instruments and melodic statements tell emotional stories that leave the listener’s imagination free to roam…Houle has once again turned out a masterwork, one that needs to be called an essential release of the year.” — Laurence Svirchev, 5/4 Magazine

“Houle is expert at everything from the music of Iannis Xenakis to post-bebop jazz, always finding ways to weave musical worlds together. Here he takes on the astonishing, underappreciated music of composer and clarinetist John Carter, who merged a virtual tapestry of African American musical forms in his avant-garde jazz from the 1960s to his death in 1991. Houle captures Carter’s deep-wood shades on the clarinet, also maximizing the buoyancy Carter created in all his groups. With New York-based trumpet maestro Dave Douglas and bassist Mark Dresser, Houle makes jumping, soulful avant-garde jazz, full of space for winding clarinet lines yet still crowded enough to quicken the ears. Houle’s frequent collaborators, drummer Dylan van der Schyff and cellist Peggy Lee fascinate with their combination of arco cello and tumbling percussion. But all along, Houle does an incomparable job of pulling both Carter’s compositional intellect and his own improvisational power to the forefront. This is a monumental release — a stunning celebration of one of jazz’s undersung giants.” — Andrew Bartlett, Amazon.com