eMusic Review 0
Bassist Barry Guy is a proponent of various forms of experimental music, with a field of expertise that ranges from medieval classical to contemporary avant-garde. His recording projects have run the gamut, from solo improvisations to large orchestral works. Guy's authority in each idiom is ironclad. Phases of the Night moves him into the approximate neighborhood of free jazz. Along with pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Paul Lytton, Guy subverts the traditional jazz piano trio model while never losing sight of its history.
Consisting of four lengthy pieces, Phases of the Night presents a kind of dreamscape, an imaginary voyage through the dark hours. Guy and Crispell share dominant roles, while Lytton generally works to provide a connective thread to their more "vocal" lines. Lytton is more interested in embroidering than in maintaining a steady rhythmic pulse; his phrasing is established through small, swift gestures. "Phases of the Night," the opening track, combines Crispell's rhapsodic, sweeping piano lines with Guy's restless, fingerboard-covering runs. Guy is able to switch between pizzicato and arco playing seamlessly, and he has an uncanny ability to combine rich long tones, which serve as pivots, with blindingly swift bursts of sound. The effect is similar… read more »
