There aren't many jazz bands lead by the guy playing the bass, but the tradition is strong (remember Mingus?), so strong that we can feel it in the DNA of the music performed by Re:Action. This quartet formed by Sean Conly consists of the free jazz drumming legend Pheeroan Aklaff, the ever in demand, and rock solid veteran of the present New York scene, Tony Malaby, and a saxophonist in fast ascension to international fame, Michaël Attias. As with many other jazz musicians of his generation, Sean began to play rock as a young teenager, but through the discovery of the music of Charles Mingus (of course), Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Scott Lafaro and The Revolutionary Ensemble, he quickly turned his attention to jazz in it's many different forms. A student of Rufus Reid, he soon established himself as a sideman with big names like Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, James Moody, Stefon Harris, Regina Carter, Nicholas Payton and Ray Barretto, but also as an equal voice among the younger innovators, from Anthony Coleman to Russ Lossing. In a recent interview Sean said “I have always enjoyed the challenge of playing a wide variety of music as there is a lot you can learn from others, but at heart my favorite thing is to compose and play my own music", and this new Clean Feed recording is just that: music based in the idea of action and reaction, with the scores functioning as aural plots to be elucidated on by the players, music written “to let people play the way they play”. It is important to say that Re:Action's first gig ever was voted one of the best concerts of the year by All About Jazz magazine and that the music of the CD is all first or second takes without overdubs – facts that only serve to give you an idea of the in the moment freshness you will find on this fantastic Clean Feed release. |