Make a Move is
Henry Threadgill's electric band in one sense of the word. Though guitarist
Brandon Ross and bassist
Stomu Takeishi play acoustic instruments as well, their primary focus in
Make a Move is to make their stringed instruments scream unto the heavens. Filling out the group is
Threadgill on alto and flute,
Bryan Carrott on vibes and marimba, and the only holdover from
Zoo-Id,
Dafnis Prieto, on drums. This set is issued simultaneously with
Zoo-Id's
Up Popped Two Lips, also on
Pi. This set opens abstractly enough with
"Platinum Inside Straight," a meditation on extended mode and interval, with
Brandon Ross playing a gorgeous acoustic line on top of
Carrott's marimba and then delicately chorded vibes.
Takeishi's bass holds the thing to the ground by playing a small series of tone frames over and over, and
Threadgill grabs one short flute solo. Things heat up and get funky on
"Don't Turn Around," which is driven by the
funk in the rhythm section's approach. There's a knotty arpeggio here and there by
Ross and
Carrott before
Threadgill turns
"Harlem Nocturne" inside out with his alto. This is film noir soundtrack music
George Clinton-style. There is also the trace of the
Ornette Coleman-styled
Texas blues slithering in and out of
Threadgill's playing. The vibes' solo is so off-kilter, it barely holds the time signature and would move off into inner space if it weren't for the chunky, groove-laden bassline of
Takeishi. The hippest track on the set, though, is
"Shake It Off," with the staggered bass and guitar solos that constitute the track's opening melodic statement. The drive
Prieto puts in to keep the pair in track is considerable, and
Takeishi just takes off against the snares, followed closely by the arpeggios and razored riffs of
Ross. But before it moves off into
fusion land,
Threadgill and
Carrott bring it back, with flute and marimbas whirling around each other and staggering the atonality of the strings with wondrously loopy and flighty playing grounded in minor-seventh modalities and open-toned sonorities, which keep the bassist a part of the rhythm section and
Ross in painterly position. This is deft footwork on the part of
Threadgill as a leader, who lets his musicians shine and keeps them focused on the task at hand.
Everybody's Mouth's a Book is as solid top to bottom as its companion release on
Pi. ~ Thom Jurek
