Stephane Wrembel: Terre Des Hommes, part 2

Cleverly Cool

From: Brian
To: Monty & Scott

Monty, I think you've run smack-dab into one of the glaring gaps that listeners of jazz (or jazz-ish music) run into all the time: because the music has its foundation in the in-the-moment of collective improvisation, there's often a serious disconnect between the live and recorded experience. Eric Dolphy once mused that maybe jazz musicians shouldn't record at all, since taking an unrepeatable moment of invention and stamping it for repetitive listening didn't make a lot of sense. Of course, Dolphy appeared on a few dozen records before dying in his 30s, so maybe his advice isn't the sagest.

I managed to come to this record with no experience of hearing Wrembel live (which is a bit of an accomplishment, since for several years I frequented Barbes, where he played once or twice a week). My first reaction to Terre Des Hommes was also a little cool...I had it on headphones while I was reading during my commute, and the thing never leaped out at me as more than background music. But then I listened again, giving it my full attention...and this time I thought, "Hey, this is actually pretty cool." (See how I used "cool" twice there, to mean different things in a single continuum? Damn, I'm clever!)

And Monty, one of the things I found liking about this record was that it didn't remind me of Django...or much else, really. The odd swing of the rhythm section bumped up against Wrembel's ability to layer both an organic and inorganic sound into one voice, and I didn't find myself making obvious connections of old or contemporary guitarists. I don't know if the guy has a sound that you could pick out across a room (like Bill Frisell or Miles Davis), but do you hear a consistency of tone and style from disc to disc (even if the overall styles diverge)? Taken out of any sort of context, I think Wrembel at the very least has made some cool, clever musical moves.

One other point hit me, and I bet Scott has a thought about it: that electric bass. It bothered me at first, too. Then I didn't mind it. Then I kind of liked it. Then it sort of bothered me again in places. I'd argue that Bob Cranshaw's electric bass is 110% of the reason Sonny Rollins hasn't cranked out an essential record in a decade or two (his playing is still red-hot), but there are also plenty of jazz and instrumental contexts where the electro-bass doesn't rankle. Does it fit here? Would TDH be a better record with a "real" bass, or is this what the sui generis-ish music calls for?

Twice as cool,
Brian