Genre: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Label: CIMP
Quality: MP3 / 320 K
Recording Date: 2005
Size: 160 MB

Not Just.... is not just a meeting of two of the most distinctive trombone voices, but also of two very fine musical conceptualists. Both Steve Swell and David Taylor have benefited from the patronage of CIMP. Swell has accumulated a startling body of work on the label that has spun off into projects elsewhere and raised his profile as one of the best players on the scene today. Taylor’s output has been smaller, but equally distinguished. An in-demand sessionman, his solo projects give full expression to his boisterous, serio-wacky muse. But this is not just Taylor and Swell pairing up. They have enlisted a trio of string maestros—Billy Bang, violin, Tomas Ulrich, cello, and Ken Filiano, bass—as collaborators, and with characteristic care, they assembled a set of original compositions leavened with a couple free improvs, all of which make good use of the unique instrumentation.

Anyone familiar in the least with either leader’s work will not be surprised that these are not simple heads-and-solos constructions. Rather they are intricately plotted narratives that draw on the instrumental resources of all involved. The opener “ETA-Now” is a characteristic Swell line, a high scrapping accent by the strings, answered by the ‘bones with a two-note declaration and followed by a bit of bop filigree. Solos, initiated by Taylor dipping into the nether regions of his bass trombone, follow. Swell’s spot evolves into a two-trombone break. “SOFAR Channel” is a collective improv based around an idea from Taylor and inspired by undersea channels that carry oceanic sounds. The piece is built around drifting long tones like whale moans.

“String Theory” is an urgent jam with wild duets by Swell and Ulrich followed by Filiano and Taylor, punctuated by interjections by the ensemble. The diptych “3 Moon Skies Are Not Rare/Interplanetary Stroll Time” reflects Swell’s fascination with astronomy. The piece opens with spectral strings and Taylor sounding the vastness of the cosmos with pedal-register shouts. Filiano, a linchpin throughout, morphs his solo into a jaunty vamp. Bang’s solo builds outward from that groove with Swell joining him with some jubilant counterpoint before the trombonist takes his own space walk over Filiano’s buoyant bass. The title tune is a collective improv that at times evokes the Bartok string quartets. It shows the same sensitivity to structure as the composed pieces.

Bang’s “Down Home”, with its Asiatic flavorings, echoes the concerns of the violinist’s ongoing Vietnam project on Justin Time. Here the pentatonic theme is explored by pizzicato strings and light percussion, before being framed by the trombones. Filiano pads along through the thicket like a lion on the prowl.

The set concludes with three Taylor compositions. “Vamps Dance” opens with a moody theme on cello and violin and a pouncing arco bass figure underneath. The trombones contribute a martial call, which sets up a pattern of reiteration set against episodes of explosive free improvisation. In the middle Swell and Taylor deconstruct two of the figures, then jam in mutes to creating a buzzing sound like a party scene in a science fiction cartoon. Just as quickly the strings sweep in with broad romantic bowing.

“Lament” opens with a Middle-Eastern sounding melody on violin and bass, until Taylor enters with muted horn, whizzing around then picking up the theme. The ensemble in shifting combinations teases out the theme, before it ends with a sudden shift to a major key. Taylor hints at his humorous side with the closing “Hoppy Daze...” a lazy, loping piece that inspires some serpentine Bang bowing. This provides a happy close to a session that brings out the best in both leaders.


Trombone [Bass] – David Taylor
Trombone – Steve Swell
Violin – Billy Bang
Cello – Tomas Ulrich
Bass – Ken Filiano

01 ETA-Now
Composed By, Arranged By – Steve Swell
9:20

02 SOFAR Channel
Composed By, Arranged By – Billy Bang, David Taylor, Ken Filiano, Steve Swell, Tomas Ulrich
3:41

03 String Theory
Composed By, Arranged By – Steve Swell
6:17

04 3 Moon Skies Are Not Rare / Interplanetary Stroll Time
Composed By, Arranged By – Steve Swell
12:24

05 NOT JUST
Composed By, Arranged By – Billy Bang, David Taylor, Ken Filiano, Steve Swell, Tomas Ulrich
4:04

06 Down Home
Composed By, Arranged By – Billy Bang
7:17

07 Vamps Dance
Composed By, Arranged By – David Taylor
10:17

08 Lament
Composed By, Arranged By – David Taylor
11:59

09 Hoppy Daze Is Here Again
Composed By, Arranged By – David Taylor
3:06

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