April 2000
Crew's Choice
Home Cookin'
Susie Ibarra & Assif Tsahar
Hopscotch Records, HOP001
| Home Cookin' arrived this week as a
pleasant surprise since we thought this recording was already out of print.
Apparently demand has been so strong for this CD, that Assif decided to reprint the
project much to the great delight of our ears. We selected this CD as our Crew's Choice for April for one reason: honesty. This is the first recorded outing of Susie Ibarra on her own label, recorded during the same period of time she was moving beyond the David Ware and William Parker projects. While she had an excellent earlier recording, Drum Talk on Wobbly Rail, with the late Denis Charles, we think of Home Cookin' as really her coming out party. We all knew the creative heights Assif was capable of from his Eremite and Silkheart recordings, and this CD does not disappoint in that regard, but we waited patiently for the Ware-Parker shadow to dissipate. And, indeed, the shadow grows very short these days.Home Cookin' is an interesting blend of nine tracks that feature Susie on drums and Assif on tenor that are interspersed with Dream Songs #1 - #8 that feature Susie and Assif on all manner of instruments. What we found most interesting was the way the the very short, but compositionally complete Dream Songs move the listener from one extended improvisation to the next, in much the same way a tasty refreshing sorbet moves the palate along from one course to the next. The nine compositions recorded at the Knitting Factory present two very compatible artists performing and listening in the moment. This is a true duet with both artists out front listening and building on the phrasing of the other. The music in these compositions clearly has its genesis in the high energy NYC free jazz sound, but there is much more to recommend here. To our ears, it is the intense level of listening between both performers that move this music to a new level of not only understanding, but in a wonderful way, accessibility in all its most positive connotations. Since each piece reflects an entirely individualistic in-the-moment conversation, each piece also creates its own identity and sound. Some personal favorites on this set of tracks include Liquid Time, "a kind of space, a feeling which is created by the energy of spontaneous creative music. It is a place where minds meet, and hearts listen." and Prayer for the Unseen, "a prayer for all which is not part of our cognitive self. All the things we cannot name which are intangible but yet touch us; these are the reason for this prayer." By contrast, the Dream Songs are very short compositionally whole pieces that cause the listener to pause and take reflection on what has just been heard as well as providing a brief aural respite for the next Knitting Factory work. Featuring Susie and Assif on completely different instruments than they are more typically associated with, these small works are very inward looking, presented without preconceptions, much as our minds work in the state of dreaming. Our first listening to this CD, had us replaying these pieces over and over again to absorb the beauty of their aural suprises and other worldly delights. These pieces were recorded in Susie and Assif's living room some six months after the Knitting Factory pieces and conceived as a way of concluding the dream of a very special and personal project. We close this month's recommendation with the words that inspired The Wordless Song: Found Treasures. These words could just have easily inspired this entire project. "In the depth of my soul there is a wordless song." -- Kahlil Gabran --- The Drimala Crew |
| Recording Details: *Recorded at the Knitting Factory between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm on February 28,1998. The Dream Songs were recorded in Susie and Assif's living room on September 15, 1998. Artists: Tracks: Total Time 67:51 |