Brooklyn composer, conductor, and bandleader
Darcy James Argue returns to his ambitious big band
Secret Society with the group's wildly inventive, harmonically lush fourth album, 2023's
Dynamic Maximum Tension. Initially marketed as a "steampunk" big band,
Secret Society is essentially a sophisticated modern big band in the tradition of bandleaders like
Gil Evans,
Maria Schneider,
Toshiko Akiyoshi, and
Stan Kenton, with a bit of
John Zorn's avant-garde genre experimentalism underpinning their sound. Like those artists,
Argue brings together a bevy of adept instrumentalists and improvisers to bring his rhythmically kinetic, harmonically vibrant works to life. Among
Argue's ensemble this time out are trumpeter
Ingrid Jensen, pianist
Adam Birnbaum, trombonist
Ryan Keberle, bassist
Matt Clohesy, trumpeter
Seneca Black, and many more. Conceptually,
Dynamic Maximum Tension finds
Argue exploring themes of futurism and technology and how the tension between the two can lead to a sense of dystopia. "Dymaxion" (a portmanteau of the album title) is the central track, where
Argue builds dissonant tension between the reeds and brass instruments over a driving groove as baritone saxophonist
Carl Maraghi dives into a roiling solo. Similarly, on the evocatively titled "Codebreaker," the low brass punches against sharp trumpet and sax lines. While
Argue's work certainly draws deeply from the jazz tradition, there are other influences at play here. He pays homage to the country-influenced rock of
Levon Helm and
the Band on "Last Waltz for Levon," while "Ferromagnetic" showcases his love of bass-heavy funk and fusion and features an effects-laden solo from
Jensen. More traditionally jazz in tone is the album closer "Mae West: Advice," in which Grammy-winning vocalist
Cecile McLorin Salvant comes on board to impart some of iconic actress
Mae West's most famous sayings. Other richly attenuated jazz atmospheres pop up throughout, as on the bluesy "Your Enemies Are Asleep" and the shimmering and impressionistic "Tensile Strength." Try and imagine something along the lines of
Gil Evans and
Miles Davis exploring the cartoon music of
Raymond Scott and
Carl Stalling, and you'll get a bit of the wry, future-past energy
Argue and
Secret Society summon on
Dynamic Maximum Tension. ~ Matt Collar
![Space Is the Place [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0090771826725_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Space Is the Place [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Deluxe Edition]")
