Cline / Shoup / Corsano – “Immolation / Immersion ” – [Strange Attractors Audio]

Thurston Hunger   12/13/2005   CD, Jazz

Archie Shepp isn’t the only promethean player to spark fire
music, this trio ignites things with a 2.5 minute flarefest
and then gets on with the “I and I”. It starts with Nels
bouncing around the bassier notes and leave the effects
pedals alone for a bit, Wally Shoup swoops high and higher
and Chris Corsano’s drums sound fantastic…recorded in the
epicenter you hear them coming at you from all sides and
angles. Nels frantic runs build, rising up the fretboard
and eventually the effects are launched (he’s the top gear
wizard in my opining). At 7 minutes in the drums fall out
and we get a series of screes from Shoup and icy harmonics
(and bowing? bridge flinking?) from Nels. I love this
Immersion phase, good liquid ripples from Nels (maybe a
wired-up Corsano too). At 18 minutes in, this ice melts
into a cycling drone that is just gorgeous, it gets fuzzed
over by Nels and Shoup slowly slows up while Corsano lays
down heavy tom rolls. Talk about a slow burn…before you
realize it, you are re-engulfed in free blazing, ultimately
it ends with a tiny fuse of guitar, then alto alone. The
whole album continually rises to lyrical moments in the
midst of mighty maelstroms… Riches!