The Voices of the Composer, His Wife, & His Ensemble

 Many albums are released in the final three months of every year and 2021 was no exception.  Among the recordings this reviewer had anticipated and yet failed to review was the latest from a composer whose work never fails to catch my ear, make me laugh and think, music that crosses numerous barriers, is "Galeanthropology" (JCA Recordings).   

Composer, arranger, guitarist, and educator Darrell Katz organized the Jazz Composers Alliance in Boston, MA, in 1985, creating a place for New England-based composers and musicians to make music, present concerts, and to work with musicians from throughout the country. The JCA Orchestra commissioned works from artists such as Marty Ehrlich and Muhal Richard Abrams and played concerts that featured their large ensemble (as many as 21 musicians and singers) with guest artists that included Sam Rivers, Julius Hemphill, Henry Threadgill, Tim Berne, and others.  Over the decades, Katz has emerged as the primary composer, producing 10 albums with the Orchestra as well as a Saxophone Quartet and another drummer-less ensemble known as OddSong. For that group's first album, "Jailhouse Doc With Holes in Her Socks", Katz created music for poetry composed by his wife Paula Tatarunis (1952-2015) as one piece with text by Sherwood Anderson by the album's titular septet plus a sextet known as JCA Winds and Strings as the 19-member JCA Orchestra, all ensembles featuring the lead voice of Rebecca Shrimpton. 

The new album belongs to OddSong (personnel below). Nine of the 14 songs are Katz compositions and there are pieces by Jimi Hendrix, The Standells, James Taylor, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and one traditional piece ("I am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger").  That last piece is a highlight of an album filled with fascinating music.  Katz's arrangement for the saxophones plus the fascinating work of Vessela Stoyanova on marimba and Helen Sherrah-Davies on five-string violin. Ms. Shrimpton's vocals are stunning, her range (and her clarity) are impressive as is her depth of conviction. Other pieces such as the title track (in case you wondered galeanthropology is defined as a condition when a person believes he or she is a cat) and "Outta Horn", a Tatarunis poem that takes its inspiration from a story about John Coltrane and one night how he removed the saxophone from his mouth and sang into the mouth because he had already played all the notes he knew. Paired with a poet who has writer's block, the piece has a little bit of loud sax, dancing violin, inside-outside music, playful, loud, and, at times, profane.  

Rebecca Shrimpton

Later in the program, there's a lovely take on Taylor's "Sweet Baby James"; listen to how Katz frames Ms. Shrimpton's voice and how pure her tones are. Hendrix's "Belly Button Window" shows off the vocalist's blues chops with the four saxophones as her accompaniment. Each of the musicians––Rick Stone, Lihi Haruvi, Phil Scarff, and Melanie Howell Brooks––gets to solo in the big improv in the middle but it's their work behind the vocal that is most impressive.  Ms. Shrimpton goes it alone on Mingus's "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love"; it's a tour-de-force for the singer whose impressive range and clarity stands out.

Ms. Tatarunis's poetry for her husband's piece "Microtonal" sets a film noir mood for a funky take of The Standell's "Dirty Water"...yes, that "Dirty Water"! The great arrangement for the four saxophones––dig Ms. Brook's delightful baritone work–– is as playful as Ms. Shrimpton's vocal.  "Galeanthropology" closes with the short "New Prayer", a piece for wordless vocal and the entire ensemble.  In 1:35, each saxophone, the marimba, and the high-pitched violin frame the vocal without detracting from her quiet intensity.

While the music Darrell Katz creates for most of his ensembles can be labeled "jazz", what OddSong does is mess around with the idea of music needing a label. Should that lack of a definitive genre push prospective listeners away?  It just might but curious listeners will find a lot to like on "Galeanthropology", not the least of which is the wondrous sounds of Rebecca Shrimpton.  Take a chance––it's worth your time!

For more information about the composer, go to www.darrellkatz.com/ (although this site needs to be updated, you'll find a lot of information about his groups). 

Hear "Guiding Narrative": 

Braithwaite & Katz · Guiding Narrative - Darrell Katz & Oddsong

Personnel:

Rebecca Shrimpton –– voice

Rick Stone –– alto and tenor saxophones

Lihi Haruvi –– alto and soprano saxophones

Phil Scarff –– tenor, soprano, and sopranino saxophones

Melanie Howell Brooks –– baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, background vocal on "Guiding Nar-

rative" + spoken word on "Women Talking" 

Helen Sherrah-Davies –– five-string violin on seven tracks, backing vocal on "Guiding Narrative" + 

spoken word on "Women Talking" 

Vessela Stoyanova –– marimba and vibraphone on eight tracks + spoken word on "Women Talking"

+

Mimi Rabson –– five-string violin on "I am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"

Darrell Katz –– narration on "Outta Horn"