Alliance for Improvised Music |
Inside the Outside - October 1988 |
Let me hip you to the Morris/Borgmann/Nicholson trio. Some of you will remember Wilber from his stop here with Noah Howard last April, and others of you will know him for his work with David Murray, Charles Gayle, and others. He's a wonderful bassist, a friend and mentor to many on the NY scene, including William Parker. In addition to his lovely deep, driving tone, this trio also showcases his composing. The tunes are centered around the rhythmic interplay of bass and drums, allowing Borgmann to fly free.
Reggie Nicholson is probably familiar to many of you from his drum work with Myra Melford, Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, and others in the AACM. He replaces the recently departed Denis Charles in this trio. Reggie Nicholson is among my favorites of the more "traditional" sounding avant-garde drummers. He retains a solid rhythmic base you can hold on to while both propelling the other musicians in interesting directions and impressing with his own improvisational comments on the music.
Thomas Borgmann is probably the wild card for most of us, certainly was for me. He plays in an exciting, "freeish" style, but not overly skronky - in fact some of his strongest work are the ballads. For lack of a better comparison, I'll liken him to the sound of Peter Brotzmann over these last few years - a somewhat slower, less busy, less "in your face" version of Brotzmann. Another not quite right comparison would be Mats Gustafsson without the "sound effects" and sparse playing. If those sound like damning with faint praise, then I'm not coming across well. This guy knocks my socks off.
The original trio has released at least 2 cd's. Organic is a mature, exciting album which showcases Borgmann's improvisational prowess and the compositional talents of Morris and Charles. They've recently released Stalker Songs on CIMP, guest starring Peter Brotzmann. I've only heard one track (from the CIMP sampler), but it sounds great. I have heard Organic and it's, music certainly more consciously "outside" than what Morris played with Noah Howard. The songs often play like duets between Charles and Borgmann, with Morris providing the rhythmic foundation.
So please, please, please make the drive to Winston-Salem to catch these guys. We tried very hard to book them here but couldn't find a spot for them so we're lucky that the folks at the Wherehouse were able to step up and take over. The doors open at 8, and the show will cost only $5. If you're interested in car-pooling, call or e-mail AIM.