Notes
On The Language OF, PEvans/CEvans, No Relation
Current mood: introspective
The Language Of has chosen to exploit the dichotomy within our compositional/improvisational approaches as well as the status quo of our collective musical existence. As musicians thoroughly schooled within the contradictory elements of modern jazz academia, we have attempted to both revolt against the obvious constraints of bebop traditionalism as well as revere the jazz tradition we hold dear. We believe the pursuit of musical freedom that occurred in the 1960's free-jazz era shouldn't be ignored by the conformists of this institutionalized genre. It is simply duplicitous to say that the bebop graduate can play and the free-jazz outcast can't. For the experienced educator, it is easy to hear a young musician fail to play the changes. Lack of study in other, equally deserving avenues of jazz history unfortunately leaves this same educator unable to differentiate between the proficient improviser and the unmusical, yet open-minded, avant-garde poser. This disaster has stalled jazz's evolution and contributed to the misunderstanding and inaccessibility of free jazz. Ayler or Bird, late-Trane or early, it all deserves equal scholarship.
My compositional approach is rooted in the jazz tradition, consisting of the creation of bizarre, microtonal Contra-facts that are played over the pre-existing chord progression. Peter Evans utilizes a Post-Braxton progressive continuance to simply draw 'inspiration' from the original, rendering music that has virtually no relation to the standard tune.
Intent also differs within the Language Of. Peter Evans' music (both within his Evan Parker-inspired solo work as well as his Post-Braxton quartet) contradicts and collapses on itself; he is a master of pyrotechnics undermined by virtuosic extended technique. Bassist Moppa Elliott strives to create humorous dada-jazz that mocks the crisis of jazz academia while simultaneously bowing to its power. Moppa's group "Mostly Other People Do the Killing" (www.moppaelliott.com) with its obvious political undertones, succeeds in combining light-heartedness, freak-out vocabulary, and chord change tradition. Perhaps it could be said that they are serious about removing "seriousness" from their musical expression. The results of my endeavors may bare sonic similarities, but are achieved through differing intentions.
In contrast, my jazz music is inspired by the seemingly unachievable seriousness and spirituality of a Coltrane. Many times I've noticed that listeners will be drawn to laughter while I play, whether it be during a bizarre melody or an improvised low multiphonic/squeal. The audience reaction is acceptable and interesting, but definitely not my intent. Perhaps it is partially due to the somewhat comical nature of the baritone saxophone. In any event, I like to save the humorous side of my personality for other occasions, such as the Derividactory or www.myspace.com/thederividactory. Here, I am able to express heartfelt comedy, complete freedom of musical exploration, and deeply felt political values. Within my jazz work I aspire to achieve a Liebmanesque approach of constant variation of all available variables. Comedy and theater is not the end goal, but rather uniqueness, individuality, and artistic fulfillment.
With the culmination of this second CD, "NO RELATION", The Language Of has found a clear direction to express the inspiration they draw from the entire jazz lineage. The Evans Brothers aren't related biologically, politically, and many times not musically, but here they have succeeded in combining stylistically inconsistent techniques consistently.