“I find that when
one addresses oneself
to the idea
that
improvisation
is
composition
things about life
become much clearer
and begin
to make more sense.”
(Bill Dixon, Nov. 1971)
By Stef Gijssels
The liner notes of this album consist of the Bill Dixon quote above. It’s a nice and enigmatic statement, one you can long reflect upon: what does it actually mean? This sense of mystery and wonder permeates the music on this album, a duet between long-time collaborators Alexander Hawkins on piano and Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet and flugelhorn. This is already the third great trumpet piano duo that we can recommend this year, together with Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith with “Angel Falls” and Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura with “Ki“, “Aloft” and “Kazahana“.
The pianist and cornettist have had a long-standing collaboration with the excellent Convergence Quartet, with Dominic Lash on bass and Harris Eisenstadt on drums, with several easy to recommend albums: “Live in Oxford” (2007), “Song/Dance” (2010), “Slow and Steady” (2013) and “Owl Jacket” (2015).
“A Near Permanent State of Wonder” fully delivers on the promise of its title. Anchored around two Bill Dixon compositions—“Q” and “X”—Hawkins crafts delicate, spacious pieces that feel intimate, tender, and perfectly suited to Ho Bynum’s warm, expressive horn tone. The abstract framework of the music is full of bright openings that let the light and the outside world filter in, creating room for lyrical exploration. The ensemble’s technical palette is broad and eclectic, blending elements of jazz, free improvisation, and classical chamber music into something that resists easy classification. The result is music that flows with quiet, effortless grace. That doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of raw intensity or surges in volume.
On the last two tracks – “Catalogue (part 2)” and the title track, Hawkins plucks the half-muted strings of his instrument rhythmically like a percussion instrument comparable to Benoît Delbecq’s sound, while Ho Bynum’s initial growls and squeaks gradually evolve into a more coherent phrasing supported by the pianist’s right hand working on the higher notes. The album ends with a repetitive rhythm on the strings, and a subdued lyrical improvisation of the cornet. A beauty.
We have been privileged with great music this year. This is definitely an album to cherish.