Led by Montreal-based visual artist and drummer John Heward and featuring the reeds of Joe Giardullo, both of whom have extensive playing history with multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee -- as does Bisio -- LET THEM PASS is an out and out free music session.

Unique timbres are common on LET THEM PASS, which also has Giardullo playing one of four reeds: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo, plus featuring extended percussion and bass techniques from Bisio and Heward.  All three reach true concordance on the final three tracks -- of seven -- which unsurprisedly are titled: Let Them Pass Five; Let Them Pass Six; Let Them Pass Seven.

"Seven" and "Five" give full rein to Giardullo's Aylerian tenor saxophone styling which enlivens earlier tracks as well.  Making use of flattement and spetrofluctuation, split tones turn to overblowning as timbres morph into extended cries and grainy growls. Double-tonguing, the tenorist produces as much motion as sound, and that sound is a trilling squeal that quickens as the piece go on. Reaching a point where reed variations start shredding the upper partials into honks and exaggerated shrieks, Heward contributes ratamacues and flams from his snares and cymbals, while Bisio's arco sweeps and pizzicato finger picking complement the others'; output perfectly.  Percussion rattles and nerve beats buttress Bisio to produce a sluicing bass solo that resonates outwards from his f-holes. Turning straight ahead, the bassist meets tam tam intimations from Heward as the saxman reprises the theme with variations.

Both section men are polyrythmically more inventive on "Five" with the drummer seemingly rubbing his sticks over the heads and cymbals rather than hitting them, and the bassist turning to slurred bowing. Although the reedist begins with squeaky sax runs, a couple of minutes on it sounds as if his (overdubbed?) bass clarinet is there as well, adding great, hollow contrapuntal echoes.

Antithetically "Six" is a showcase for alto flute smudges emanating and sympathetically vibrated ponticello bass strings. Using the space and openness available with dissonance, textures soon meld. When Bisio turns to col legno bow percussion, Giardullo adds piercing trills to occupy the other part of the harmonic concordance.

Earlier on the CD, Heward's counter rhythm invoke everything from thumb piano textures to Arabic-style ceremonial percussion and Bisio's wavering tonal rhythms stay focused no matter the surroundings. If Giardullo creates peeping piccolo tones, the bassist answers with slurred bowing; should the reedist's output spetrofluctuation that really sounds trumpet-like, he accompanies it that way; and when smooth bass clarinet lines take on a Middle-Eastern cast, then Bisio emphasizes oud-like bass gestures.

Depending on your capacity for atonality, you will be satisfied with this session.

Ken Waxman

Jazz Weekly

Features Montreal-based drummer, John Heward, in his first recording as leader, with two longtime associates, Joe Giardullo (flute, tenor saxophone, and bass clarinet) and Mike Bisio (bass). When discussing John's music, the term "leader" must not be taken literally. This is true collective composition created in the moment...with John acting more as the facilitator of the group aesthetic.

On this recording, John demonstrates that the well-placed single tap may portend as much meaning and indicator of direction as a flurry of rim-shots. His drumming, by opening up the time into a loose lattice-like structure, working more with a subterranean force of pulse than ideas of classical rhythm, forces his fellow musicians to listen in a particularly concentrated manner.I n his inimically subtle manner, John leads the trio in a music full with a thick frothy blend of reflections, tradition, and emotion. The listening is almost deafening as the trio treads effortlessly from the Middle East-Eastern European modal traditions to a simple very American blues form. Very quietly, but powerfully in its knowledge, the trio uses these blends of musical traditions to find a new tradition uniquely their own. But more importantly, along the way they give the listener the musical equivalent of a "Laissez-passer" pass...granting unrestricted access and movement for a journey of discovery...from within and without.

Downtown Music Gallery

Bruce Gallanter

Pour l’enregistrement de son premier album en tant que leader, le batteur John Heward a choisi le trio. Ainsi, Joe Giardullo (anches) et Mike Bisio (contrebasse) accompagnent le Montréalais sur Let them pass (Laissez-passer) et ont, autant que lui, instigué le projet d’un disque-hommage à leurs parents, émigrés dont l’espoir tenait tout entier dans un simple laissez-passer.

 Il est convenu qu’il est au leader de montrer la voie, et Heward, qui se veut un batteur servant les changements et les fluctuations du rythme, impose ses points de vues le long de sept morceaux. D’attaques nerveuses en lignes sages, il entraîne Bisio et Giardullo comme lui suit ses intuitions, jouant des successions de cadences (Let them pass One) ou soulignant subtilement les progressions de ses partenaires (Let them pass Four). Parfois même discret au point d’évoquer ingénument sa possible absence (Let them pass Six).

 Car le talent d’Heward est aussi de savoir laisser le champ libre. A Joe Giardullo, d’une part, qui d’un saxophone ténor, d’une clarinette ou d’une flûte, déploie un jeu rauque aux mélodies ployant sous les improvisations free (Let them pass Three), tout en multipliant les évocations d’un ailleurs fantasmé – qu’il vienne d’Europe de l’Est (Let them pass Four, Let them pass Five) ou pousse jusqu’en Asie (Let them pass Six).

 Mike Bisio profite aussi comme il l’entend de ses permissions. Accentuant bien sûr le rythme, mais aussi l’emportant totalement au terme d’un blues revisité (Let them pass Three). Autre part, il entrelace les notes qu’il obtient à l’archet avec celles produites par les anches (Let them pass Five), opération sans faille duquel peut résulter un imbroglio bruitiste et sophistiqué (Let them pass Two).

 Let them pass, sept fois. Le trio mené par John Heward grave sept improvisations aux carcasses changeantes, parce que l’enjeu qu’il détermine touche l’oscillation en musique, Let them pass (Laissez-passer), album réfléchi, parfois emporté, sauvage, complexe ou poli (comme on l’est par les eaux), est aussi la preuve qu’il est possible de rendre hommage avec élégance, et sans imposer l’ennui.

Infratunes

Spontaneous composition, as opposed to free improvisation, finds a group of musicians working towards creating some kind of recognizable construct; sometimes, in fact, as in the case of the title track from Marilyn Crispell’s ’01 release, Amaryllis, what begins as a free improvisation becomes an actual piece with a thematic form that, in this case, Crispell continues to perform in concert to this day. But purely free improvisation has no such lofty goal. Its purpose, rather, is to create a mood, a texture, an ambience. Some would consider spontaneous composition the riskier proposition, but to these ears free improvisation is more of a challenge, at least with respect to asserting musical differentiation and instrumental capability. Once you make the leap that the musicians involved are capable players, then the difficulty comes in hearing what makes one particular group of players sound different than another, especially when the attitude, as is often the case, is one of sheer intensity and angst.

Woodwind multi-instrumentalist Joe Giardullo, bassist Mike Bisio and drummer John Heward, who is the nominal leader of this trio, got together one day in May of ’02 to record a series of explorations with the simple premise of reflection on their parents’ and grandparents’ immigration to Canada and the United States. The result, Let Them Pass, which refers to the immigrants arriving with little more than a “Laissez-passer” pass in their pockets, is a collection of seven numbered improvisations that create differentiation through instrumental variation and a lineage to known forms that are more tips of the hat than serious homage.

The first two pieces are intense workouts, with Giardullo utilizing extended techniques on tenor saxophone, clearly his main axe, and then piccolo. Bisio and Heward create a tempestuous background that, for all its magnitude, somehow comes across as static and unmoving. “Let Them Pass Three” changes the mood, however, with obscure references to the blues. Giardullo is again on tenor, and the piece starts spaciously but still expressionistic, with Bisio ultimately creating an ostinato bass figure that gives the piece some form. “Let Them Pass Four,” with Giardullo on bass clarinet, is more abstract, with the trio alluding to their Middle Eastern and Eastern European lineage. More enigmatic still is “Let Them Pass Six,” with Bisio creating broad strokes on arco bass and Giardullo’s darker-hued alto flute.

By incorporating a variety of influences and historical perspectives, Heward and his trio take what could be just another free session and give it some meat and some clear distinction. While this kind of thing is clearly not for everyone, those who like to walk on the wilder side of free exploration will find much to like about Let Them Pass. The trio clearly understands how to pace a set, and by incorporating unquestionably obscured references, create a work that has enough variation to maintain interest throughout.

Jazz Views

John Kelman

John Heward est un personnage atypique de la scène montréalaise des muiques improvisées.  A la fois peintre et batteur, il a cotoyé plusieurs générations d'improvisatuers: Rainer Wiens, Jean Derome, Tristan Honsinger, Malcolm Goldstein, Paul Bley, Steve Lacy, en plus de la jeune scène active autour de la Casa Del Popolo (Sam Shalabi, Alex St-Onge, etc).  Batteur au jeu texture et très ouvert, il se définit comme un percussionniste non-rythmique, s'obstinant à construire des espaces mouvants; la transformation du rythme.  Pour Let Them Pass (laissez-passer), son premier album en tant que leader, Heward s'est entouré de Mike Bisio à la contrebasse et de Joe Giardullo aux anches.  Musique très expressive et intuitive, les pièces du trio oscillent entre les formes blues les plus crues et la musique contemporaine avec une énerge venue du free jazz le plus authentique; bien loin du free "repiqué" de certaines troupes new-yorkaises (ou françaises) d'avant-garde.  C'est sans doute ce qui fait que ce free jazz, peutêtre un peu old school, est très ourvert et accessibble à la fois.  À conseiller aux amateurs de souffle vivant, d'énergie et de timbres.

Jazzo Sphére

Eric Normand

Woodwind multi-instrumentalist Joe Giardullo, bassist Mike Bisio and drummer John Heward, who is the nominal leader of this trio, got together one day in May of '02 to record a series of explorations with the simple premise of reflection on their parents' and grandparents' immigration to Canada and the United States. The result, Let Them Pass, which refers to the immigrants arriving with little more than a “Laissez-passer” pass in their pockets, is a collection of seven numbered improvisations that create differentiation through instrumental variation and a lineage to known forms that are more tips of the hat than serious homage.

The first two pieces are intense workouts, with Giardullo utilizing extended techniques on tenor saxophone, clearly his main axe, and then piccolo. Bisio and Heward create a tempestuous background that, for all its magnitude, somehow comes across as static and unmoving. “Let Them Pass Three” changes the mood, however, with obscure references to the blues. Giardullo is again on tenor, and the piece starts spaciously but still expressionistic, with Bisio ultimately creating an ostinato bass figure that gives the piece some form. “Let Them Pass Four,” with Giardullo on bass clarinet, is more abstract, with the trio alluding to their Middle Eastern and Eastern European lineage. More enigmatic still is “Let Them Pass Six,” with Bisio creating broad strokes on arco bass alongside Giardullo's darker-hued alto flute.

By incorporating a variety of influences and historical perspectives, Heward and his trio take what could be just another free session and give it some meat and some clear distinction. While this kind of thing is clearly not for everyone, those who like to walk on the wilder side of free exploration will find much to like about Let Them Pass. The trio clearly understands how to pace a set, and by incorporating unquestionably obscured references, create a work that has enough variation to maintain interest throughout.

All About Jazz

John Kelman

This maiden outing by Québécois drummer (and visual artist) John Heward as a leader is one of heavy emotional import: its title is a nod to the fears his group's immigrant ancestors faced crossing oceans, "knowing nothing about what existed, for good or bad, over the horizon," as the insert states beautifully.  Through their music the trio accomplish a sonic laissez-passer, too, suggesting an unrestricted sense of access and movement in their songs through the sheer comfort of their playing -- they're equally at home in Middle-Eastern/Eastern European modes ("Two") and American blues forms, as in "Seven."  But their common language is the hectic, atonal free jazz that brass/woodwinds player Joe Giardullo honed on his triumphant tour earlier this year, and that bassist Mike Bisio has created with luminaries Charles Gayle and Joe McPhee.  "Four"  and "Six," in particular, are nearly inaudible exercises in minimalism, but hardly ignorable -- listen hard and intricate, breathing textures emerge, with gentle, tapping percussion among whispered brass and subliminal bass hiccups.  Even in these quiet moments, which will admittedly sound as effervescent as appliances' electrical hums without potting up the volume, a sense of anxiousness prevails, tempered by foreign beauty.

Signal to Noise

Nathan Turk

If music is an indicator of freedom, then the trio of John Heward (drums), Joe Giardullo (sax, clarinet, flute) and Mike Bisio (bass) should be used to point the right direction where so-called "freeform music" (or free jazz, for that matter) should go. If you think of improvisation as an often unclear, incomprehensible series of intersected soliloquies, listen to the sixth track of this CD: while Bisio raises distant rememberings with his caressing tone, Heward and Giardullo whisper to each other like if wanting to describe what the beauty of life and the sorrow of memories are about. Don't think this is a soft record, though; when the boys decide to get rapacious there's no turning back, their instruments conjuring up raging statements and quicksand-like dangerous allure. In the era of ignorance and utter disengagement from anything having a significance, these holdovers still want to keep a flickering flame of sincerity well alive and burning.

Touching Extremes

Massimo Ricci

This international trio of skilled improvisers reflect on the experiences of their expatriating pater famili, some moving to Canada, some moving to the United States.   They explore their ancestor's leap into the unknown by leaping into the unknown on seven different impressions of passage.  Drummer/leader John Heward and reedman Joe Giardullo share an association with Joe McPhee.  Seattleite Mike Bisio counts Andrew Hill, Vinny Golia, Sonny Simmons, and John Tchicai on his resume.

Heward's solo drums give a ceremonial then free swing introduction to the first "Pass."  Giardullo swaggers in on a big tenor, playing multi-phonic and multi-leveled.  A wide vibrato gives way to fast high notes dancing above Heward,  eventually wringing a unique vocabulary of sound from the sax.  "Let Them Pass Two" has Heward busy on drums and Bisio bowing like a bee.  Heward's shimmering rhythms and Bisio's active arco create a busy context for Giardullo's sober piccolo.  "Let Them Pass Four" has Giardullo seducing a bass clarinet with soft whispers, Bisio providing warm sympathies.  Heward adds the right touch with quiet kalimba backing, Bisio sticks to rhythmic harmonics.  "Six" features Giardullo's low, gorgeous alto flute playing deeply through the balladic piece.  Bisio bows low, Heward plays hand drums.  Giardullo's raw tenor cry opens "Pass Seven" and Bisio takes off like the lightning.  Giardullo blasts through with a whiff of Pharaoh Sanders, all three practicing, advanced deep listening.

John Heward's trio move with fire and pop, producing consistently compelling improvisations and exceptional excursions into a creativity fresh as a breaking wave.

All About Jazz
Los Angeles

Rex Butters

This freely improvised summit meeting proves not only that this trio has a deep connection amongst themselves, but also provides further evidence that there is plenty of life left in the free improv realm. Certainly, this session is a textbook example of how external influences can have a profound effect on the outcome of the performances. Executive Producer/Drimala Label Chief Philip Egert notes that the musicians—drummer Heward, bassist Michael Bisio and reedist Joe Giardullo—spent hours considering their ancestors' immigration to Canada and the United States before they undertook these seven spontaneous interactions. Egert also sums up this enterprise as a "frothy blend of reflection, tradition and emotion". Such words are apt in that while there are expected moments of vigorous momentum, the majority of the playing time focuses on what might best be referred to as an undulating simmer.

Concerning the leader, he is not the kind of player that will knock you over with brawn; rather, he proves to be both a catalyst and colorist, depending on the necessities. For instance, on the tempestuous "Let Them Pass One" and "Let Them Pass Seven", Heward's rolling tom and cymbal work incites the others to grab the reigns. Heward also demonstrates his taste on "Let Them Pass Three", which features both his fleet brushwork and graceful thumb piano stokes.

As for the unsung talents of Giardullo, he consistently glistens, revealing his keen facility on a variety of winds, including his robust tenor work on the aforementioned opening and closing heady excursions. In contrast, he is capable of great sensitivity, seen through his shimmering, flowing lines on "Let Them Pass Three". His piccolo and flute work also are inspired, especially in matching energy surges with Bisio's stretched arco lines on "Let Them Pass Two", or when calling the spirits via his warm alto flute on "Let Them Pass Six".

Bassist Bisio continues to be an overlooked marvel, with his soulful melodicism singing on each progression. Particular highlights include the bristling arco dances of "Let Them Pass Two", and "Let Them Pass Three", where his cyclical, haunting pattern moves the others into new, yet corresponding directions during the concluding portions of the piece. Perhaps most moving, however, is his profound emotionalism on "Let Them Pass Six", which is key to the depth of the group interaction.

Overall, Let Them Pass is a fine demonstration from this collective that captures the essence of all three musicians, as well as their commitment to a continued exploration of their spirits, both on a musical and emotional level.

One Final Note

Jay Collins

Before recording the seven pieces on Let Them Pass, bassist Mike Bisio, drummer John Heward, and mulit-reedsman Joe Giardullo reflected intensely, Philip Egert’s liner notes tell us, “on how their parents and grandparents had immigrated to Canada and the United States…(coming) with little more than a ‘Laissez-passer’ in their pockets.” Liner notes do not often provide anything of import besides historical and recording information, but such direct honesty about the intellectual process that shaped this stunning recording speaks of the openness and power of the music, and also Drimala Records’ attempt to communicate directly with listeners.

The song titles, numbered “Let Them Pass One” to “Let Them Pass Seven,” indicate the trio is creating variations on a theme. They are, certainly, but the theme is not a musical one, rather an intellectual one, of how their ancestors journeyed to a new world without knowing what awaited them; they only knew they were going somewhere. These days, it’s an experience most of us have only in the temporal sense, and the trio here makes a soundtrack for that journey.

The pieces range from churning storms (“One” and “Seven”) and spacious atmospherics (“Four”) to blistering webs of microtonal texture (“Two”). The group explores the extended techniques of their instruments as much as, if not more so, than the base ones. Bisio’s scathing arco work sets a frenetic pace for “Two,” one that Giardullo matches with piercing blasts from his piccolo. On “Four” the trio goes deep, literally. Giardullo blows low quiet tones on bass clarinet; Bisio smudges the space with scattered phrases, eventually drifting into rounded, woody harmonics and dialoguing with Heward’s thumb piano.

The trio members have a rich background. Montreal-based Heward constantly tours with visiting musicians, including Joe McPhee and Dominic Duval, and he also paints and sculpts. Bisio works out of Seattle, and in addition to his own small group composing, he has toured and recorded with Charles Gayle, John Tchicai, Sonny Simmons and others. Giardullo also counts McPhee as a regular collaborator, and he has composed for Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Band.

They draw upon these experiences to shape their improvisations into bold and varied figures, following Heward’s drumming approach “to set up something so that it could be broken into something else.” ”Three” begins life as a broken, meandering blues, jumps into a swinging walk, then slips into a hypnotic sway. Bisio repeats a slippery line in six until it becomes a chant, lulling the trio and listener into a trance. They focus each variation on a limited set of musical ideas, then intensively examine each possibility.

Drimala founder Philip Egert claims his flagship website was the first record label to sell music over the internet. True or not, the spirit of DIY and directness is present, and such belief in how music can communicate with listeners is heartening to hear. Let Them Pass transmits a deep sense of intellectual reflection, musical interaction and human honesty.

All About Jazz

Matthew Wuethrich

A mais recente publicação da editora norte-americana Drimala Records, fundada e dirigida por Philip Egert e sediada em Hampton, Virginia, é também uma das melhores de sempre. Que nos trás o Egert desta vez? Um disco soberbo.

A ideia subjacente ao empreendimento é-nos copntada pelo próprio produtor. Lê-se nas notas que, nos dias imediatamente anteriores à gravação, os músicos, todos descendentes de imigrantes, conversaram longamente sobre a coragem, a angústia e o sofrimento dos seus antepassados na época em que cruzaram os oceanos para o "Novo Mundo". Em condições de extrema dificuldade, sabiam que não havia regresso possível e desconheciam tudo o que os esperava do outro lado, levando consigo apenas um "Laissez passer" - o documento que lhes garantiria o desembarque. Fora isso, apenas tinham a perspectiva do encontro com o desconhecido, um mundo de perguntas sem resposta, a vida por um fio.

A partir destas reflexões em conjunto, sintonizados na mesma onda emocional e intelectual, John Heward, Joe Giardullo e Mike Bisio foram para estúdio e executaram sequencialmente sete variações sobre o tema "Let Them Pass", espécie de banda sonora do que sabem ter sido a grande aventura da vida de quem os precedeu.

Em Let The Pass há dois elementos que atravessam a obra e que imediatamente impressionam o ouvinte: a coesão orgânica do trio, que transporta para o todo unitário a riqueza das respectivas experiências individuais, privilegiando a intuição e a resposta instintiva aos estímulos interactivos; e, decorrente da primeira, o excepcional acabamento das composições colectivas criadas espontaneamente no momento em que foram executadas, sem quaisquer retoques de pós-produção.

Estamos, pois, em presença de três correntes criativas paralelas que convergem numa multitude de pontos de intersecção. John Heward, músico e artista plástico canadiano, o líder que o não é, explora a bateria como matéria plástica, elemento primário a partir do qual compõe as intricadas subtilezas das sua esculturas sonoras, abrindo caminho para Joe Giardullo (sax tenor, clarinete, flauta) e Mike Bisio (contrabaixo), veteranos da free music/free jazz. Ambos exímios comunicadores de estados de alma e de sentimentos através da música, Girdullo e Bisio oferecem neste disco prestações ao nível do que melhor que se lhes conhece do seu trabalho em conjunto ou em projectos autónomos.

Em todos os vastos domínios da música improvisada, incluindo o jazz em sentido restrito, é difícil encontrar talentos possuidores de uma tão elevada empatia musical, gente capaz do "milagre" de nos provocar, pela enésima vez, experiências musicais que se apresentam sempre como inovadoras, emocional e intelectualmente estimulantes, capazes de desafiar as nossas concepções sobre a vida e sobre a música.

Posto isto, só resta sugerir a quem tenha um interesse sério no jazz em geral e na música improvisada em particular, seja um comprovado conhecedor ou esteja a dar os primeiros passos na descoberta destas formas, que ouça este disco e lhe dê tempo e espaço para criar raízes. Não dará por mal empregue a vivência desta significativa celebração da vida e da memória individual e colectiva.

A Puta Da Subjectividade

Eduardo Chagas

La más reciente publicación del sello norteamericana Drimala Records, fundada y dirigida por Philip Egert y con sede en Hampton, Virginia, es también una de las mejores de todo su catálogo. Egert, ¿qué nos traes esta vez? Un disco soberbio, sin duda.

En Let Them Pass hay dos elementos que recorren toda la obra y que inmediatamente impresionan al oyente: la cohesión orgánica del trío, que da al conjunto la riqueza de las respectivas experiencias individuales, acentuando la intuición y la respuesta instintiva a los estímulos interactivos; y, a contracorriente de la primera, el excepcional acabado de las composiciones colectivas creadas espontáneamente en el momento en que fueron ejecutadas, sin cualquier retoque de postproducción.

La idea subyacente en la realización de este disco nos es dada por el propio productor. En las notas se lee que, en los días inmediatamente anteriores a la grabación, los músicos, todos ellos descendientes de inmigrantes, hablaron largamente sobre el coraje, la angustia y el sufrimiento en la época en que sus antepasados cruzaron el mar hacia el Nuevo Mundo, sabiendo que no había regreso posible, desconociendo todo lo que los esperaba al otro lado, llevando consigo nada más que un “Laissez-passer”, un documento que les garantizaría su desembarco. Aparte de eso, tenían como única perspectiva un encuentro con lo desconocido y lo inesperado, un mundo de preguntas sin respuesta, la vida en un hilo.

A partir de esta serie de reflexiones, sintonizados en una misma onda emocional e intelectual, John Heward, Joe Giardullo y Mike Bisio entraron en el estudio y ejecutaron siete variaciones sobre el tema Let Them Pass, una especie de banda sonora de lo que saben fue la gran aventura de la vida de quienes los precedieron.

Así pues, estamos en presencia de tres corrientes creativas paralelas que convergen en una multitud de puntos de intersección. John Heward, músico y artista plástico canadiense, el líder que no lo es, explora la batería como materia plástica, elemento primario a partir del cual compone las intrincadas sutilezas de sus esculturas sonoras, abriendo caminos para Joe Giardullo (saxo tenor, clarinete, flauta) y Mike Bisio (contrabajo), veteranos de la free music/free jazz. Ambos ilustres comunicadores de los estados del alma y de los sentimientos a través de la música, ofrecen en este disco unas prestaciones que están al nivel de lo mejor que se conoce de su trabajo, tanto en grupos como en proyectos individuales.

En todos los vastos dominios de la música improvisada, incluyendo el jazz a secas, es difícil encontrarse con talentos con una empatía musical tan elevada, gente capaz de lograr el milagro de provocarnos por enésima vez experiencias musicales que se presentan siempre como innovadores, emocional e intelectualmente estimulantes, capaces de desafiar nuestras concepciones sobre la vida y sobre la música.

Dicho esto, sólo resta sugerir a quien tenga un interés serio por el jazz en general y la música improvisada en particular, sea un conocedor experimentado o primerizo a la hora de descubrir estas formas, que escuche este disco y que le dé tiempo y espacio para echar raíces. Verá que no dará por mal empleada la vivencia de esta notoria celebración de la vida y de la memoria individual y colectiva.

TomaJazz

Eduardo Chagas

In the case of any abstract interpretation of human experience, it is not necessary to get—or even know—the author’s point of view in order to assail it at any level. In the case of Let Them Pass (laissez-passer), the first recording by the John Heward Trio, it does help to be aware of the collective spur for this outstanding work: the worldwide experience of immigration. Mulled over seven “avant jazz” movements, reedist and flutist Joe Giardullo, bassist Mike Bisio, and Montreal native Heward as drummer/percussionist account for their respective parents’ and grandparents’ emigration to Canada and the US.

Barely touched by breath, the alto flute in “Let Them Pass Six” is rather liquid in its effect, as are the bowed bass lines while the percussive colors resemble the occasional thumps on the side of a seafaring ship. Is the ship about to dock?

All About Jazz

Javier Antonio Ortiz

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