Jeff Perry: Press

Review by Blair Sanderson

There's not much window-dressing on Music for Brass and Percussion (2005), presumably because trumpeter Jeff Perry and percussionist Gregg Brennan prefer to let the music speak for itself, without additional help from descriptive liner notes or suggestive packaging. This may be due also to the ambiguous, abstract qualities of the music, which can be taken as either free jazz or avant-garde improvisation, depending on one's expectations or point of view. But such categories are beside the point and possibly distracting from the album's substance, which is fluid and difficult to pigeonhole. Perry's intensely expressive trumpet and flügelhorn lines and Brennan's virtuosic drumming are apparently spontaneous and mostly unsynchronized, and what few connections there are emphasize the disparities: usually a shared rhythmic pattern serves as the only tie between the two, whose phrasing and timing are elastic and usually free of any sense of a downbeat. However, the long duets of Threshold, Conversation, and Finale do have continuity and consistency, and the musicians exhibit remarkable stamina and control to pull them off without extraneous riffs, breaks, or repetitions. The smoothness and the emotional depth of the performance make it compelling listening, and the tasteful blending of jazz and experimental techniques make this a crossover album in the best sense of the word. Standback's sound is natural and clear, so everything is audible at a modest volume, even though the performers recommend that the disc should be played loudly for optimal effect.