A recording session featuring Adam Kolker, John Abercrombie, John Hebert and Paul Motian might have been average, but it would never be bad. And here the recording date surpassed even the highest expectations. I remember sitting in the recording booth listening to first takes that had me wanting to stand up and cheer, simply because of the music’s humanity, the concentration of knowledge in each tune, the sort of achievement that fights decay and entropy. It achieved something of great beauty, and a few hours later I walked out of the session willing to keep fighting the good fight against stupidity and ignorance. From the beginning of the session, where Abercrombie and Motian started joking around, it was clear that the musicians were ready. Motian, inquisitive and funny and sharp, Abercrombie, quiet and intelligent and funny. They hadn’t played together in many years, and had maybe recorded once together (neither could remember exactly), and they were willing. From the first note, the whole session just gave off a type of light. It glowed, it was effortless. |