Dixon Nacey - The Edge of Chaos (Rattle)
Dixon Nacey (guitar)
Roger Manins (tenor sax) Kevin Field (piano/keys) Olivier Holland
(bass) Andy Keegan (drums)
Although Dixon Nacey
has recorded a number of albums, from memory I’ve only heard him on
Tim Hopkin’s Seven (which I wrote a bit about here).
I picked up The Edge
of Chaos on the spare of the moment from Slowboat Records the last
time I was in the city. I wasn’t planning on reviving the series,
it just happened to be the start of the month and I threw it in the
car one morning on the way to work.... and here we are. And let’s
face it... the title is quite apt for the current climate (hang in
there everyone, isolate, take care!).
In the liner notes,
Nacey mentions the problems practicing and developing the pieces with
the aid of computer playback vs the realities of working with people.
I’ve started getting into composition recently, but it’s an issue
I’ve avoided as I don’t compose on a computer. I can see how it
could be a real danger for many though.
One of the strengths
of this listening project is it has me delving into things outside of
my norm – and that’s the case here as The Edge of Chaos is not
really the type of music I reach for on a regular basis.
The playing is
first-rate – not surprising considering the personnel involved. I
don’t recall having heard Andy Keegan before this, but his playing
is on point throughout. And the remainder of the band – Kevin
Field, Roger Manins, and Olivier Holland – are ever-present,
heavy-hitters on the jazz scene in New Zealand.
At times the
density, particularly the over-excited thing, gets a little too much
for me – maybe this is my edge of chaos? Higher, faster, more
notes. At times it’s fine, but it is often the “go-to” option –
not only on this album, but a lot of contemporary jazz
recordings/performances/aesthetic suffer from it too. Or maybe it’s
just me ranting and raving as a result the current lockdown
situation. I’m still not sure about the chaos though.... the music
is not uncontrolled or disordered – actually I feel it is quite the
opposite. Something bugs me though. Maybe it’s the lack of chaos?
What exactly is chaotic jazz? Is The Edge of Chaos at the edge of
chaos? Cluttered maybe? Not that I’m a minimalist, but things here
seem constantly busy. But the arrangements manage to contrast things
too – the solo passages of melody on “Bench Wrecker”, the way
they brings things down for the piano solo on “Sketchy” brings
some welcome relief (though it didn’t take them long to ramp things
up again). “Ballad 2” offers some respite, but I feel it could
have been stripped back further (chaos via silence?). The added
vocals of Jonathan Leung and Chelsea Prastiti on “Taupo” bring a
nice textural change. Once the vocals enter the piece has bit of a
sound-tracky vibe - not a bad thing - I hear it as some kind of dark,
rainy, murder mystery thing (not that I can think of many soundtracks
with bass solos). Again, I prefer it when the vocals are less busy,
particularly with the piano playing lines at the same time.... that
just seems to be the mood I’m in at the moment.
It’s been a lot of
fun returning to the NZ Jazz series. There’s every chance I’ll be
back next month with another round. Let’s see how things pan out.
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