Many animals are crepuscular, and dawn and dusk appeal to them and awaken their spirits. Something awakening is powerfully at work on this release titled Dawn & Dusk that quietly howls as the pack of musicians join forces to create a haunting group sound.
The members of the pack, led by drummer and composer Scott Clark, are comprised of Laura Ann Singh, vocals; Bob Miller, trumpet and flugelhorn; J.C. Kuhl, bass clarinet and tenor sax; Michael McNeill, piano; Adam Hopkins, bass. They present four pieces, "The Wind," "Dawn & Dusk," "Silent Singing," and "Above the Gray", recorded in a studio and subsequently the same four tracks presented in an undisclosed live setting, for a total of eight tracks. The duplication of the pieces, albeit with slightly altered feel and improvisations, keep the same spirit of calm — the kind of calm one associates with sunrises and sunsets, magical, liminal moments wherein the dramatic evidence of the earth's rotation, the movement of life in its multifarious forms are intimately apparent.
Adding to this transcendental or ethereal and spiritual effect are the lyrics penned by Clark and Singh. They are simple, lyrical phrases that propose some soul-guidance, conveying a message that is heightened by Singh's crystalline articulation, urging the listener to "Find peace in yourself/ Find love in the space between/The light within/ The pain in your eyes/The wind" (The Wind). The melismatic nature of the music is reminiscent of many a strain of world music, like flamenco singing, Sufi chant or shamanistic recitation, to name but a few. The effect is one of wrapping the listener in a warm blanket of sound, a heartfelt embrace. With its ostinato drone background melodic figures over which the drums improvise variations on the pulse and flow of the piece, the band works like a breathing organism.
This music bears a clear stamp of its composer, and comes across as pure song of subdued joy, something which at times resembles a precursor in the jazz repertoire, i.e. Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti" as recorded by the Miles Davis quartet way back, where the band repeats the melodic motif, while an exuberant Tony Williams pounds away on the drums in an outpouring of heart energy. Much of that same effect is here present in this soulful offering.
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