The contrast of Fade primarily lies within its’ entirely communicable nature. That is not to say Michael has completely sold out to a more mainstream style. Rather, drawn on his own practical human life experiences and managed to evoke the story complete with emotion and colour in a coherent musical form. As I understand it, that is one of the many delightful functions music is capable of.
Having downloaded this CD directly from his website www.earspasm.com the tracks are now in alphabetical order in my itunes. Strangely enough this does not add or detract from the enjoyment of listening to the entirety of the CD. The styles all complement each other while maintaining a diversity and unique fusion of otherwise now-generic concepts that Lowenstern is renowned for.
Aftermarket incorporates the trademark percussive electronically distorted sounds of the bass clarinet with the ostinato accompaniment maintaining continuity throughout. Possibly identified as gyp-hop (i.e. gypsy folk song and hip-hop fusion) the klezma style improvised bass clarinet and lively syrupy violin duet form the crux of this successfully inspiring work.
The elements of nostalgia are further explored in And on and on which would have Me’ shell NdegeOcello flattered by the light plagiarism of style. [For those about to hit the google search – she is a very talented American singer, rapper, bassist and multi-instrumentalist whose soul music incorporates a lot of modern jazz idioms]. Ariels’ Hands however lifts the mood to a somewhat light-hearted level, expressing the child-like innocence of his newborn daughter whose whole world is ahead of her ready to explore, quite aptly.
Heart strings are further tugged in a rhythmically ambiguous The Box under my Bed with a pleading improvised bass clarinet solo, contrasting amicably with the lazy rendition of Drift incorporating body percussion combined with spoken sounds and a be-bop bass clarinet mimicking its’ tenor saxophone cousin.
The jazz theft continues with a very bass clarinet friendly version of Georgia on My Mind whereby Michael performs this more as a ‘duet for one’ in quasi Theo Loevendi fashion. Lowenstern’s wealth of musicianship as a technician and a composer adamantly shine through. His rich tone as perennial as the grass and emotional intent crystal clear.
Without detailing any further the CD is an ideal buy for bass clarinet enthusiasts and listeners alike looking for music relevant to modern times, with out the headache. Well written and well produced, his compositions bleed of a busy city life, daily trials and major life experiences using predominantly jazz [as much as we can pidgeon hole that concept] as his medium for expression. A word of wisdom – listen to all of The Last Bend.
Diana Tolmie