Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me

Tim Berne has been around the jazz scene for over thirty years and has recently released his third disc under the ECM moniker titled You've Been Watching Me. The players are Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Oscar Noriega (bass, B-flat clarinets), Ryan Ferreira (electric and acoustic guitars), Matt Mitchell (piano, electronics) and Ches Smith (drums, percussion, timpani, vibraphone).

From the frenzied woodwind attack of the album's first track "Lost In Redding" you know this will be one complex ride. Even though this is a 'jazz' album there are epics here, the first being the eighteen plus minute "Small World In A Small Town" featuring sax and clarinet solos with a touch of dissonance and tangential piano lines twisting and weaving through the bulk of the song. Noriega's clarinet solo is at times quite furious carrying an exotic Middle Eastern bent. In "Embraceable Me", it is all about discord and chaos as the instruments furiously set a blistering pace until gentle sax takes us out of the maelstrom. There are some really ominous tones here as the song alters its course once again and Ryan Ferreira's electric guitar has plenty of bite. The darker tone continues with "Angels" and its freeform jazz freak out whereas "You've Been Watching Me" is all gentle acoustic guitar.

You've Been Watching Me will take you on a wild, tumultuous ride through experimental discord and stellar musicianship. I would have preferred the melodies to be more fully realized but there is no denying this is one talented quintet.

Track Listing:
1. Lost In Redding (6:58)
2. Small World In A Small Town (18:26)
3. Embraceable Me (14:12)
4. Angels (2:26)
5. You've Been Watching Me (1:46)
6. Semi-Self Detached (10:23)
7. False Impressions (13:22)

Added: July 6th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
Hits: 1851
Language: english

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