artist: bruce saundersjob: fragment Extra Panel (folds in) Back cover Front cover

Safety margin

Bleed line

CD600G 6pg Gate Fold QuarkXPress 4.4 8/13/02

t h e b r u c e s a u n d e r s q u a r t e t

f r a g m e n t

14 fair warning

24 just

34 joe

44 like you said

54 fragment

64 opener

74 blues or not

84 chronic

94 logic

104 light blue

ultimately it seemed to work better with me playing both lines simultaneously.” No overdubs here, just a remark-able example of contrapuntal guitar.

The Weather Reportish “Joe” is, of course, a reference to Joe Zawinul. “The tune was originally writtento use in the group Bluth (Pete Davenport, Tim LeFebvre and Zack Danziger) but it didn’t really work there” saysSaunders. “Again, I had some changes written out for the soloists but we ended up deciding that it worked bestjust keeping it open, so we just played over the vamp.”

The acoustic guitar feature “Like You Said” is marked by a labyrinth of intricate, harmonically active turns,somewhat reminiscent of Egberto Gismonti’s writing. But actually, Saunders’ inspiration came from anothersource. “I had been listening to David Berkman’s third cd, Leaving Home. I really loved the piece ‘TangoedWeb’ and I was trying to write something in the same spirit. Kolker displays impeccable technique on bass clar-inet here in doubling Saunders’ mercurial line before taking an inspired solo on the technically demanding instru-ment.

“Fragment” builds from the opening Ornette-ish theme and leads into a free section where, literally, thebottom drops out from under the musicians. “We just decided not to play on the changes I had written and keepit open rhythmically as well as harmonically,” says Saunders.

“Opener,” another showcase for some open-ended playing by the quartet, is elevated by Takeishi’s swing-ing, interactive pulse and anchored by Hebert’s deep-toned mantra on the bottom end. Saunders and Kolkeragain come out bristling with tight unison lines on the head before the piece opens up to successive sparklingsolo excursions by Bruce, Adam and John. “The original melodic statement is from Joe Henderson’s solo on theMcCoy Tyner composition ‘Passion Dance,’” says the composer. “The harmonic structure is an asymmetricalform that we stick with through the solo section.”

Saunders’ “Blues Or Not,” one of three trio offerings, was inspired from checking out the three-tonic sys-tem that Coltrane employed on energized anthems like “Giant Steps,” “26-2” and “Satellite.” As Bruce explains,“This piece is written with those kind of changes but I was trying not to spell them out during the solo.” Also notehow Takeishi funks up the proceedings by subtly weaving a taste of second line groove into the mix.

On “Chronic,” patience becomes a virtue. Says Saunders of that delicate, slow-moving ballad, “Again, wetried not to have a head-solo-head kind of situation but keep it more interactive, even at the very slow tempo.”

The very obtuse “Logic,” the album’s other trio offering, was inspired by one of Bruce’s guitar playing col-leagues. “I was listening to Ben Monder’s ‘Excavation’ and really admiring the way he writes and plays in a veryangular, beautiful way. I tried to write something in that vein -- odd-metered and over the bar line.” The collec-tion closes with a precious gem -- an unhurried and gorgeous rendition of Thelonious Monk’s “Light Blue.”Satoshi’s rubato mallet work here is delicate and thoughtful while Saunders enhances the delicate vibe withwell-placed volume pedal swells behind Kolker’s keening soprano line. Dark and mysterious indeed.

Next time I do a Blindfold Test with John Abercrombie, I’m going to slip this disc into the mix, sit back andwatch him smile. -- Bill Milkowski

Bill Milkowski is a contributor to Jazz Times and Jazziz magazines. He is also the author of “JACO: TheExtraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius” (Backbeat Books)

artist: bruce saunders Extra Panel (folds in)

CD600G 6pg Gate Fold (backprint) QuarkXPress 4.04 8/15/02

satoshi takeishiadam kolker john hebert bruce saunders mike marciano

T here was a moment several years back during a Blindfold Test with guitarist John Abercrombie where Imischievously slipped in a New Agey disc, just to tweak his acerbic wit. Abercrombie went off on an inci-sive rant about the lameness of “music on the white keys only” and then proceeded to extoll the virtues

of what really grabbed him. “I’ve always been attracted to music that has a darker edge to it, something notso obvious but instead has a sense of mystery to it.”

Abercrombie would no doubt dig this music by guitarist-composer Bruce Saunders and his quartet ofAdam Kolker on reeds, John Hebert on bass and Satoshi Takeishi on drums. Saunders’ playing is imbuedwith dark hues and opaque tones and underscored by a pensive but probing nature while his compositionsreveal themselves gradually in layers of intrigue and allure. The forms are thoughtfully plotted out with a keensense of harmonic logic and melodic development but Saunders will frequently, provocatively, leave gapingholes in his compositions for his comrades to react while in freefall. And these cats -- high-level improvisersall -- always land on their feet.

“I’ve known these guys for a long time and played with them in many different situations,” saysSaunders of his seasoned New York sidemen, “so we really didn’t need to rehearse that much for this ses-sion. I guess over a period of a year and a half we had only three rehearsals. And when I wrote the materialI was really thinking of them, the way they interpret a chart, particularly when things get pretty open. So therecording session unfolded very naturally.”

A prime example of that organic approach can be heard on the startling title track, where in the middlesection the bottom drops out and the collective intuitive powers of the group take over. Drummer Takeishi, anextraordinarily sensitive colorist who has a wealth of varied playing experience with the likes of Brazilianpianist Eliane Elias, Afro-Cuban percussion master Ray Barretto, Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time guitarist KenWessel and Columbian saxophonist/composer Antonio Arnedo, is particularly adept in these freewheeling sit-uations where his imagination and instincts always elevate the proceedings. New Orleans-born bassistHebert has, since moving to New York in 1992, become in-demand for live performance and studio sessions,appearing over the years with pianist Andrew Hill, saxophonists Greg Osby and Rick Margitza, KennyWheeler, drummers Brian Blade and Matt Wilson, the Maria Schneider Orchestra while also recording twoprojects with the Friedrich-Hebert-Moreno collective and one fascinating take on the music of Bela Bartok inChange of Time with partners Russ Lossing on piano and Adam Kolker on reeds. Hebert’s approach to thebass shows a healthy respect for the bottom end while his zen-like use of space adds to the intrigue of such

hauntingly beautiful compositions as “Just” and “Chronic.” The immensely talented Kolker has worked with the VillageVanguard Orchestra, Bobby Previte’s The Horse, Bruce Barth, Dominique Eade, David Berkman, Gunther Schuller,the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and the Kenny Wheeler Large Ensemble.

The leader of this session is a Florida native who moved to New York in 1988 and two years later appearedon pianist Michael Cain’s 1990 debut as a leader, Strange Omen (Candid). Over the years he has appeared withCain, drummer Bobby Previte, singer Lucia Pulida, Dave Pietro, Sam Newsome, Antonio Arnedo, Lindsay Hornerand many others. Bruce’s own debut as a leader came in 1996 with Forget Everything (Moo Records), which fea-tured Cain, drumming great Jack DeJohnette and bassist Tony Scherr. That same year saw the release of the bril-liant but overlooked guitar summit Raising The Standard (Moo Records) in which Saunders played alongside kin-dred spirits and fellow guitar Talents Deserving Of Wider Recognition, Steve Cardenás and Ben Monder. In 1988,Bruce appeared on saxophonist Pietro’s Wind Dance (A Records) and a year later followed up his own debut withLikely Story (Moo Records), featuring drummer Peter Erskine, bassist Dave Carpenter, saxophonist Pietro andpianist Otmar Ruiz.

Which brings us to Fragment. Saunders’ impressive third outing as a leader is buoyed by a swinging, highlyinteractive rhythm section and fueled by a collective spirit of discovery. From a purely guitaristic perspective, thisrecording is notable for the sheer six-string virtuosity that Saunders exhibits from track to track. But what’s moreremarkable -- aside from Bruce’s seamlessly flowing lines and unclichéd choice of notes -- is the chemistry of theband as they navigate their way through his rather involved compositions. Hebert and Takeishi have a positively mag-ical hookup, whether they are throwing down a bubbling second line groove beneath “Joe,” setting the fragile less-is-more tone with deft brushwork and dramatic use of space on “Just,” negotiating the myriad changes on the crack-ling “Like You Said,” reacting purely in the moment on the title track or laying back with uncommon finesse andrestraint on the luxurious ballad “Chronic,” which creeps along at a molasses-slow pace.

The opener, “Fair Warning,” is a piece that masterfully balances odd meters and harmonic complexity whileretaining the illusion of relative openness. “It’s a little more involved harmonically but I wanted it to seem open,” saysthe composer. The challenge here was to have the odd-meter but try to open it up and not be so rhythmically strictwith it. Ideally, we want to make it sound really easy and open but actually there’s some difficult things to deal withhere.”

The exquisitely dark “Just” is one that Saunders originally conceived for quartet with piano. “There are two con-trary lines and originally I had the piano playing the bottom line and the guitar playing the top line,” he explains, “but

RECORDED / feb. 14-15, 2002

MIXED & MASTERED / mar. 19 & 29, 2002

ENGINEER / mike marciano

STUDIO / systems two, brooklyn, ny

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS / yoshio j. maki & hiroyuki hayashi

GRAPHIC DESIGN / strangeplanet graphics

PHOTOS / carmen pujols & bruce saunders

Extra special thanks to Satoshi, Adam and Johnfor your personal, brilliant, indispensable take on this music.

Special thanks to Mike for your beautiful recording.

Thanks to Nancy and Joe at Systems 2.

Special thanks (once again) to Yoshio Maki and Hiroshi Okura.

I would also like to thank Mike Magilligan, Masa Kamaguchi, Lisa and Art at Detourfor many special nights of music.

To Carmen.