Sunrise in the Tone World
The second album from bassist and composer William Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra,Sunrise in the Tone Worldpresents an imposing set of challenges to the listener. For one, it's simply a lot of music--22 musicians working through more than two hours of material. Secondly, it's a substantial portion of unruly (some might say "difficult") high-octane free jazz. Parker's compositions are tightly packed and built on insistent rhythms that careen from idea to idea, sometimes with more force than grace. But far from being simply a wild-and-wooly free orchestra, Parker's direction allows light to shine into the work, highlighting the brilliant, tangled knots of melody worked up by the band. As director, Parker never seems interested in untangling these knots. Instead, he's content to simply marvel at the sound cluster, turning it over to allow observation from various angles. Songs are generally built around grand themes featuring the orchestra blowing at full bore. Once the theme is stated, Parker does his best to clear space for solos, but with a lineup this committed to unbridled self-expression, even passing remarks are met with an abundance of busy horn chatter. What's remarkable aboutSunrise, however, is not its defiant untidiness, but its radiant energy. This CD is a furnace where brass melts and woodwinds ignite like tinder sticks. If you're not a fan of that sort of jazz heat, stay far away from this kitchen. If you are a fan, dinner is served.--S. Duda