Joris Roelofs - Aliens Deliberating (2014) [Hi-Res]

Bass clarinetist Joris Roelofs makes magic, conjuring up suspenseful contrasting worlds of sound - and in the process gives voice to captivatingly beautiful musical conversations. Roelofs' trio plays music characterized by a powerful intimacy and a preternatural instrumental communication.

No, it’s not something out of this world that lets loose with strange shimmering sounds one moment and then issues forth with tones that reverberate with a homey warmth the next. In jazz, the bass clarinet has long given the impression of an extraterrestrial sound machine—even though it had surfaced as early as 1926 in a Jelly Roll Morton recording.

For those who see the bass clarinet for the first time, it looks a bit like a strangely shaped, dark- colored saxophone made out of wood. Since the 1960’s, bolstered by legendary saxophonist Eric Dolphy’s preemi- nent bass clarinet playing, along with such famous succes- sors as David Murray, Louis Sclavis, and Michael Riessler, the instrument has become a continually stronger voice in jazz. In the last few years, 30 year old Dutch jazz musician Joris Roelofs has surfaced as one of those who plays the instrument with the required passion and mastery.

And here he lays down a dozen gripping pieces on his debut for Pirouet Records—an album with the tongue-in-cheek title: Aliens Deliberating. If you think that this music is the weighty conversation of extraterrestrials, (strictly speak- ing, only the title piece suggests the possibility), then these aliens must be rather fascinating contemporaries: the rep- artee between Joris Roelofs’ bass clarinet, Matt Penman’s bass, and Ted Poor’s drums is nothing short of fantastic.

Joris Roelofs, bass clarinet
Matt Penman, bass
Ted Poor, drums

Tracklist:
01. Joris Roelofs - Diana's Castle (7:21)
02. Joris Roelofs - Bad Dream (0:46)
03. Joris Roelofs - Kary's Trance (5:46)
04. Joris Roelofs - Aliens Deliberating (1:05)
05. Joris Roelofs - Ataraxia (6:38)
06. Joris Roelofs - Vlotte Babbel (0:33)
07. Joris Roelofs - Eleventhly (5:49)
08. Joris Roelofs - Big Drunken Bumblebee (1:00)
09. Joris Roelofs - Sophisticated Lady (4:57)
10. Joris Roelofs - Before the Commonwealth (4:42)
11. Joris Roelofs - Love Declaration (0:26)
12. Joris Roelofs - High Dark Sea (5:45)