Jimmy Giuffre • Free Fall

 

Review by Thom Jurek
Jimmy Giuffre's 1962 recording for Columbia with his trio is one of the most revolutionary recordings to come out of the 1960s. While Coltrane and Coleman and Taylor were trying to tear music down from the inside out to discover what it really counted for, Giuffre was quietly creating his own microtonal revolution that was being overlooked by other avant-gardists in jazz. On Free Fall, Giuffre, pianist Paul Bley, and bassist Steve Swallow embarked on a voyage even farther-reaching than their previous two Verve albums, Fusion and Thesis (both recorded in 1961), in their search of pointillistic harmony, open-toned playing, and the power of the nuanced phrase to open new vistas for solo or group improvisation. The original album is comprised of five clarinet solos, two duets for clarinet and bass, and three trio pieces. The CD reissue adds five more clarinet solos to the bank and makes it a stunning view of Giuffre as a master of the idiom of not only jazz free improvisation but also a fine interpreter of the musical languages being discussed by classical composers Darius Milhaud, Stravinsky, Messiaen, and even Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. All of Giuffre's clarinet studies -- particularly "Man Alone," "Yggdrasill," and "Present Motion" -- are studies in tonal coloration, where phraseology opens onto second and third tonal ideas being layered atop one another to de-emphasize one or the other. Of the group interactions, "Threewe" and "Spasmodic" offer the view of intertwining chromatic pointillism as it shapes itself linguistically between one instrument and the next without concern for a dominant harmony, rhythm, or melody. Indeed, Free Fall was such radical music, no one, literally no one, was ready for it and the group disbanded shortly thereafter on a night when they made only 35 cents apiece for a set. Reissued in 1999, Free Fall predates all of the European microtonal studies and is indeed an inspiration to all who have embraced it.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/free-fall-mw0000042360

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Reseña de Thom Jurek
La grabación de Jimmy Giuffre en 1962 para Columbia con su trío es una de las grabaciones más revolucionarias de la década de 1960. Mientras Coltrane, Coleman y Taylor intentaban derribar la música de adentro hacia afuera para descubrir para qué valía realmente, Giuffre estaba creando silenciosamente su propia revolución microtonal que estaba siendo ignorada por otros vanguardistas del jazz. En Free Fall, Giuffre, el pianista Paul Bley y el bajista Steve Swallow se embarcaron en un viaje aún más lejano que sus dos álbumes anteriores de Verve, Fusion y Thesis (ambos grabados en 1961), en su búsqueda de armonía puntillista, interpretación de tonos abiertos y el poder de la frase matizada para abrir nuevas perspectivas para la improvisación en solitario o grupal. El álbum original está compuesto por cinco solos de clarinete, dos dúos para clarinete y bajo y tres piezas de trío. La reedición en CD agrega cinco solos de clarinete más al banco y ofrece una visión impresionante de Giuffre como un maestro del idioma no solo de la improvisación libre del jazz, sino también un excelente intérprete de los lenguajes musicales que discuten los compositores clásicos Darius Milhaud, Stravinsky, Messiaen, e incluso Morton Feldman y Earle Brown. Todos los estudios de clarinete de Giuffre, particularmente "Man Alone"," Yggdrasill " y "Present Motion", son estudios sobre coloración tonal, donde la fraseología se abre a ideas de segundo y tercer tono superpuestas entre sí para restar énfasis a una u otra. De las interacciones grupales, "Threewe" y "Spasmodic" ofrecen la visión de entrelazar el puntillismo cromático a medida que se forma lingüísticamente entre un instrumento y el siguiente sin preocuparse por una armonía, ritmo o melodía dominantes. De hecho, Free Fall era una música tan radical que nadie, literalmente nadie, estaba listo para ella y el grupo se disolvió poco después en una noche en la que ganaban solo 35 centavos por set. Reeditado en 1999, Free Fall es anterior a todos los estudios microtonales europeos y, de hecho, es una inspiración para todos los que lo han abrazado.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/free-fall-mw0000042360

Tracks:
1 - Propulsion - 3:07
2 - Threewe - 4:11
3 - Ornothoids - 2:43
4 - Dichotomy - 3:57
5 - Man Alone - 2:18
6 - Spasmodic - 3:27
7 - Yggdrasill - 2:32
8 - Divided Man - 1:53
9 - Primordial Call - 2:17
10 - The Five Ways - 10:19
11 - Present Notion - 3:41
12 - Motion Suspended - 3:16
13 - Future Plans - 3:56
14 - Past Mistakes - 2:05
15 - Time Will Tell - 3:49
16 - Let's See - 3:26

Credits:
    Art Direction [Reissue] – Howard Fritzson
    Clarinet, Composed By, Liner Notes [1962] – Jimmy Giuffre
    Design [Reissue] – Randall Martin
    Double Bass – Steve Swallow (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12)
    Engineer [Recording] – Fred Plaut
    Liner Notes [1998] – Steve Swallow
    Mixed By [Remixed By], Mastered By – Mark Wilder
    Piano – Paul Bley (tracks: 2, 6, 10, 12)
    Producer [Original Recordings] – Teo Macero
    Reissue Producer – Michael Cuscuna

Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Sudio, New York City, on July 9 (tracks 1, 11, 13-16), October 10 (tracks 2, 5, 6, 10 and 12) and November 1 (tracks 3, 4, 7-9), 1962.
Tracks 1 (in edited form) and 2-10 previously issued as 'Free Fall' (Columbia, CS 8764).
Track 12 previously issued on 'The Giants of Jazz' (Columbia, CS 8770).
Tracks 11 and 13-16 are previously unissued.

Label:    Columbia – CK 65446, Legacy – CK 65446
Country:    US
Released:    1998
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Free Jazz, Avant-garde Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/3151523-Jimmy-Giuffre-Free-Fall

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