Customer Reviews

Mother Tongue

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Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's latest release is a concept album pleasantly devoid of the sort of baggage that can sink most similar projects. "Mother Tongue" is Rudresh's musical interpretation of the varied dialects spoken in India and his attempt to remove the assertion that it is a nation of but a single cultural identity. Although it seems quite a bit to try and address in a jazz album, it works in the way it is approached, which is to say that the vocal concepts are addressed instrumentally, allowing for listener interpretation.

Rudresh's quartet follows the standard acoustic framework of a traditional jazz quartet: piano, bass, drums and saxophone. But his rhythmic excursions are based more on Steve Coleman's recent M-Base innovations more than traditional swing. Taking a cue from similar artists like Coleman and Greg Osby, Rudresh applies the same sort of metrically fractured logic to his own compositions. There are times during more heated moments, such as on "The Preserver" when it sounds as though all four players are racing along a different track, headed in similar directions but at different paces. It sounds like a sonically concrete funk version of what Anthony Braxton's multi-player compositional models have aspired to.

Although M-Base laced funk dominates this session, complete with double bass drum fills and swirling vocalized saxophone lines, there is a tender side to the album as well. A few well placed ballads emerge to demonstrate Rudresh's more sensitive side. Overall a thrilling ride from an up and coming artist. He's definitely one to keep an eye (ear) on.

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Vijay Iyer have been making a lot of waves in recent years, & this album continues an excellent run of discs. Mahanthappa's cool-yet-intense alto sax is straight out of Steve Coleman & Greg Osby, & yet he's already become a highly distinctive player. Most of the tunes on _Mother Tongue_ are bogglingly complex lines that derive from the recorded speech patterns of various languages spoken in India (including English)--a strategy that seems to be increasingly common (Jason Moran did it on _The Bandwagon_ & Greg Burk has a track using the speech-rhythms of Italian on his new disc _Carpe Momentum_). The results range from hot to blistering--but are also rather elegant. Drummer Elliott Humberto Kavee is suitably complex but doesn't overdo things, & Iyer is surprisingly delicate at times.

This one's grown on me a bit: it's perhaps not as immediately gripping as Iyer's most recent quartet disc (the remarkable _Blood Sutra_), & as often with this corner of the music I feel there's a certain lack of humour, but this is nonetheless a very satisfying album. There's a nice touch at the end of the album: Mahanthappa appends a tape collage of all the snippets of speech from which he derived the compositions. It's amazing to think that such furiously intelligent & passionate music could come out of everyday speech.

For such an original work, it is truly amazing that this music is played with such confidence. Musically, the harmonic textures and rhythmic usage are simply astounding. Also, this album does not merely stand as a studio album, but his quartet is able to pull off the music to an even more impressive degree when playing live. For any jazz listener interested in contemporary works that stand as fine works of art, this album must be added to your collection.

Mother Tongue gives me hope for the future of jazz. At a time when style seems to be virtually exhausted, Rudresh Mahanthappa's quartet has created something not only fresh but truly innovative. They sustain an intense musical conversation on this recording with captivating rhythmic interplay, probably sparked by the unusual time signatures. Speech patterns have long influenced how jazzers shape their phrases, and here that idea is consciously taken to new heights.