Masses [Spring Heel Jack]

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 57103

Producer	John Coxon; Ashley Wales
Engineer	Chris Flam

Spring Heel Jack: John Coxon, Ashley Wales.
Additional personnel: Mat Maneri (violin); Tim Berne, Daniel Carter, Evan Parker (saxophone); Roy Campbell (trumpet); Matthew Shipp (piano); William Parker (bass); Guillermo E. Brown (drums).
Recorded at The Strongroom, London, England and Sorcerer Sound, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Peter Gordon.
Personnel: Ed Coxon (violin); Mat Maneri (viola, electric viola); Daniel Carter (flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Evan Parker (soprano saxophone); Tim Berne (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Roy Campbell (trumpet); Matthew Shipp (piano); George Trebar, William Parker (double bass); Guillermo E. Brown, Guillermo Barreto Brown (drums).
Recording information: Sorcerer SOund, New York, NY; Upstairs At The Strongroom, London, England.
Spring Heel Jack abandons their drum'n'bass and electronica origins completely on Masses, focusing instead on bleak improvisational jazz. The album is the first in a project called the Blue Series Continuum, which sees collaborations between the avant-garde musicians on the Thirsty Ear record label. Ashley Wales and John Coxon provided jazz improvisers pianist Matthew Shipp, saxophonist Tim Berne, trumpeter Roy Campbell, and a wealth of their peers with a sonic foundation of industrial scrapes, clangs, and etchings. The jazzmen then went to work in creating an accomplished cacophony of elaborate freakouts, harsh jams, and moody solos over the mix. Wales and Coxon then prodded the stew into various creepy and somber musical creations. The resulting music is often beautiful, frequently disturbing, and always adventurous and challenging. Standout creations include the mad saxophone chaos and throbbing beat that is "Chiraroscuro," the energetic bustle of drums and twinkling piano that is "Medusa's Head," and the post-apocalyptic chillout that is "Coda." Masses is a noisy, uneasy listen. Like all great improvisational albums, it rewards patient listeners willing to open their minds to new sounds. While it's hard to tell where the chief acclaim should be directed, it's clear that Spring Heel Jack has benefited a great deal from working with their labelmates. Masses is another superb collaboration from Thirsty Ear artists, and a bold, smart step for Spring Heel Jack into the world of musical innovation. ~ Tim DiGravina

Alternative Press (10/01, p.100) - 8 out of 10 - "...This is music that doesn't pander to any expectation other than the quest for beauty, and it achieves that with ease."
Magnet (9-10/01, pp.116-7) - "...A fascinating document of jazz musicians playing out their element and electronic musicians further exploring their taste for abstraction..."
The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #22 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001".
CMJ (6/4/01, p.12) - "...A free-jazz/electronics fusion milestone....The ghost in the machine comes alive to move jazz and electronic music in an adventurous new direction."
Down Beat (10/01, p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...More than just a multimedia experiment, the band itself makes MASSES sound alive..."