A New Organization

Although listed under Borah Bergman's name, A New Organization is every bit an equal partnership between the pianist and alto saxophonist Oliver Lake. Their dialogue is by turn abrasive and argumentative, hortatory and exuberant, pensive and measured. There are also shifting focal points as the music moves between Bergman's precise but emphatic logistics and Lake's slipping and sliding exclamations. The two players 'diametrically opposed approaches make the album work. "I Kiss Your Eyes" starts with Bergman playing an insistent F-natural with his left hand as Lake introduces a glottal murmuring. The piano then introduces a cautious motif, allowing its overtones to slowly fade. Lake's alto replaces the piano, alternating between plangent and impassioned. "New Organization" is a violent, bluesy number that gives Lake the chance to shout out over Bergman's Mal Waldron-Cecil Taylor hybrid accompaniment. It's a powerful performance.

"I Won't Wash For Three Days" (why would anyone admit this?), meanwhile, is a curious piece. Bergman starts with a repeated, mechanical-sounding line as Lake's alto enters with a series of glissandi. The performance expands, with the piano pounding dense chords over which the alto screams and cries, after which each player introduces a separate, competing melodic line.… read more »