“The Southeast is the best part of the country for free improvisation.”
I’d been meaning to ask Jack Wright to expound upon this, a statement the octogenarian sax player offered up while he and I spoke prior to Wrest’s set at the B-Side in Memphis in the summer of 2022, coincidentally the night before this particular recording was made.
Upon hearing this performance from Wright and his partners Evan Lipson (bass) and Ben Bennett (percussion), I kinda feel like I get it without further explanation. Recorded in Jackson, Miss., on a hot summer afternoon by Evan Gallagher, Yaw represents the trio of improvisors at the height of their chemistry. Thanks to the excellent stereo quality of Gallagher’s recording, I was transported back to my live experience watching and listening to Wrest. Wright’s horn in my right ear and Lipson’s upright in my left with Bennett’s skittering and
clattering floor-bound percussion in the center, pulling it all together.
Wright is the acknowledged “Johnny Appleseed of free improv,” as he was dubbed by Davey Williams, but Lipson and Bennett are every bit his equal on Yaw. The three musicians pull a wide variety of sounds - both beautiful and beautifully unorthodox - out of their instruments while participating in the act of spontaneous composition. At times you really have to lean in closely to determine who’s making what sound.
Maybe it was the heat and humidity. Maybe it was the catfish lunch that they had from a BBQ joint on their trip down through the Magnolia State. Whatever the inspiration, their interplay is magical. The beauty of free improvisation is that you’re experiencing music that didn’t exist prior to the musicians picking up their instruments and playing. It’s a very “in the moment” kind of thing. Yaw proves that sometimes it’s a good thing to document those moments.
— Tim Lee, musician, author, promoter
credits
released November 29, 2023
Jack Wright - saxophone
Evan Lipson - bass
Ben Bennett - percussion
Artwork by Mindy Solis
Recorded by Evan Gallagher live at the Mosquito,
Jackson, MS on July 9, 2022
Mastered by Don Forks
Layout by Patricia Neckerson
Amazing album! Such high energy avant guard jazz. Great interplay between the musicians and Mette’s solo in the beginning of track 2 is mind blowing. So many different sounds. Really great. torzano