Sheer improvisation was the main event Friday night at The Bishop. The lucky few in attendance witnessed real, raw music from Joe McPhee's Survival Unit III. It was magnificent and engaging, like nothing you've ever really heard before.
Even though the majority of us pin jazz as a structured genre of music with sections of improvisation saved for specific times, McPhee, cellist/guitarist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and drummer Michael Zerang were able to do something different than what most people think real music is. They used improvisation throughout the whole thing with only a little bit of structure to give the audience one hell of a ride. It takes a modern ear for music to understand that what seems to be utter musical anarchy is actually, in it's own way, music in its finest, most pure state and independent of any modern structure. It was pure art.
The show was exciting, powerful, and somewhat perplexing, requiring real thought to piece together what you were hearing. The music was extremely raw and gritty in nature. Each number put imagery in my head and told me an original story filled with emotional sound rather than tonality and melody - a story in which each member of the trio spoke through his instrument. Loberg-Holm played mosquito-like guitar parts while Zerang abused the toms and snare with back scratchers and mallets, creating sounds with original textures. Avant-garde jazz is an acquired taste, but it's always worth the experience. Friday night, McPhee's Survival Unit III proved this to everyone.
Post by Julian Eisner
