Richard Carr - The Escarpment (2025) [Hi-Res]

I probably could have had a much more successful solo career if I had been more predictable. In general, I stayed away from being pigeonholed or categorized. My last few releases have come down on the classical side with string quartets (ACME) and orchestras (Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Symphony Orchestra) playing mostly written music while I jam along with them on violin or piano. I have done a couple of string trio recordings with Caleb Burhans and Clarice Jensen where all three of us improvised freely together.

This release takes me back to the jazz side of things. In the 1980s when I lived in Boston I played a lot of straight ahead jazz in clubs like Ryles, Regatta Bar, Skuller’s, and the Satin Doll. After I moved to New York and went to Graduate school , I came into contact with more musicians that explored open forms of musical composition and performance. This sort of music never had much of an audience and so, in my usual quixotic manner, I was drawn to it like an insect to a bright light.

This recording features many of my favorite musicians from the New York City and Hudson Valley areas. With woodwinds played by tenor saxophonist Joe North and fula flutist Sylvain Leroux. Steven Haynes plays on a number of tracks with his expansive cornet playing. There are string quartets from two different sessions I did at Kilgore sound in New York City that feature violinists: Laura Lutzke, Ravenna Lipchik, Ben Russell; violist Caleb Burhans and cellist Clarice Jensen. The recording also features three different percussionists: Joaquin Lartey, Trip Dudley, and Fre Atlast. My son Ben Carr (AKA Carrtoons) rounds out the ensemble playing the bass.

Chiffon presents a shear fabric of sound, featuring myself on solo violin, with string quartet, and a deep groove provided by the percussion. Malaude is a French film noir sounding piece with an unabashedly sensuous tenor saxophone solo by Joe North. 21 Suns starts out with a solo from Ghanaian percussionist Joakin Lartey. The 21/8 meter is something that percussionist Adam Rudolph turned me onto. Arv’s Part is named after a guy I know from Estonia. The piece starts with low groans in the trumpet and segues into another lovely tenor solo by Joe North. Dark Circles begins slowly with long ambient tones and continues with multi tracked violins and some lovely solo work from Stephen Haynes on trumpet and Sylvain Leroux on fula flute. Essaouira is a nod to the Gnawa music of Morocco. Ben Carr stands out on Fulton Street Sunday features a Sunday morning groove with ascending 10ths in the viola and cello and ends up in a the medium swing of afternoon. Ben Carr dominates Lovely Lou with an aggressive, industrial sounding bass. He is surrounded by the fluttering sounds of Stephen Haynes and the fula flute of Sylvain Leroux. The record concludes with Motorcycles in the Medina, a tribute to lively times on the eve of Ramadan.

Richard Carr - violin, piano, composition, electronics
Stephen Haynes - cornet
Sylvain Leroux - fula flute
Joe North - tenor saxophone
Laura Lutzke - violin
Ravenna Lipchik - violin
Ben Russell - violin
Caleb Burhans - viola
Clarice Jensen - cello
Fre Atlast - percussion
Trip Dudley - percussion
Joakim Lartey - percussion
Ben Carr (Carrtoons) - bass

Tracklist:
1-1 Richard Carr - Chiffon [7:14]
1-2 Richard Carr - Malaude [3:51]
1-3 Richard Carr - Arv’s Part [5:30]
1-4 Richard Carr - 21 Suns [5:57]
1-5 Richard Carr - Dark Circles [5:14]
1-6 Richard Carr - Essaouira [4:07]
1-7 Richard Carr - Fulton Street Sunday [3:50]
1-8 Richard Carr - Lovely Lou [5:43]
1-9 Richard Carr - Motorcycles in the Medina [4:56]