Jim Fox
Last Things
Track 1- Copy of the Drawing
Janyce Collins- voice
Jim Fox- electronics
Two strong pieces make up this cd. In “Drawing”, dream-shaped, almost formless musical clouds drift about in loose structures. Sketchy skeins of electronics add much to the color. Fox repeats semi-regular electronic figures which sound like the bass end of the inside of a piano. Collins whisper-recites (in a voice not unlike Laurie Anderson) excerpts from letters written to a Mr. Wilson, the proprietor of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles. Wilson was a first-class eccentric and trickster. You can only hear parts of the spoken texts here, excerpts of excerpts. No text is provided, which only highlights the hallucinatory character of the piece. In effect it’s here for atmosphere since you can’t pick out what’s being said most of the time. The words are then natural companions to the instrumental musical clouds. The whole thing is somewhat like David Behrman’s gentle electronic works, sounding half-composed, half-improvised, but even more formless and unanchored. It’s haunting, very beautiful and-perhaps inevitably-fugitive.
Track 2- Last Things
Marty Walker- bass clarinet
Chas Smith- pedal steel gtr.
Rick Cox- glass gtr.
Jim Fox- piano, electronic keyboards
Below registers: strong repetitive rumblings from the bass end of a piano. Above: Mournful lines from the bass clarinet seem to come from an unknowable ceremony. Middle range: pedal steel, electronics and glass guitars (whatever they are). A very resonant result comes out of all this. It sounds like something outside our world and time. The last few minutes build to a crescendo which only underscores the lamentation nature of the piece. A solid performance, restful and edgy.
Cold Blue
CB 0001
Richard Grooms