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Zarko · 03-31-2009, 01:47 AM

Arc Of The Testimony – Arcana (1997)

GENRES – Jazz, Free Jazz, Fusion

Gone Tomorrow - 9:39
Illuminator - 6:07
Into The Circle - 9:25
Returning - 4:29
Calling Out The Blue Light - 6:37
Circles Of Hell - 7:15
Wheeless On A Dark River - 4:27
The Earth Below - 5:28

Every single time someone asks me who my ‘dream band’ would consist of, I don’t ever have to dream… This is one of the most amazing super groups ever assembled in the same band, and the results are obvious from the get go. Arcana (Not the neoclassical band from Sweden) is the project of bassist Bill Laswell, one of the best experimental musicians of all time, whether it be dub, jazz, rock, electronics, he has put his hand into lot of different styles. As the leader, he gathered some amazing names to back him up. Jazz drummer Tony Williams performs on one of his last ever recordings, and it is a worthy send off for the jazz legend. Pharoah Sanders is also present, performing his free jazz saxophone as great as ever, and Bynard Lancaster, an underrated avant garde jazzist is along for the ride. One of the best additions is early Buckethead. Most who know of Buckethead’s history know that Laswell was one of his first motivators, so its not surprise in reality. They also perform together in PRAXIS I believe. Arc Of The Testimony stands up with these other performers to create one of the best jazz-rock fusion albums ever.

‘Gone Tomorrow’ is an remarkable opening, with a little bit present from everyone. Williams sets the piece in motion with a little ‘ra-ta-ta’ across the cymbals and ever present Laswell dubbing before Buckethead puts the bulk of the song into action. Sander’s enters the fray with a little bluesy sax. This is probably one of my favourite prog-jazz openings ever. Each instrument has its own little set, and its built up into pure fusion goodness. William’s drumming is standout and he delivers awesome free drumming to get the song to its apex. This introduces Sander’s wild side as he whips out aggressive line after line of free sax jazz. As the instruments build up, chaos reigns, but it never loses its underlining beauty, created by an awesome Laswell dub backing. Definitely one for the ages.

‘Illuminator’ is a more hard edge rock song, as obvious by the aggressive drumming and Buckethead’s more pronounced guitar riffs. William’s loses none of his bite, and Buckethead’s psychedelic lines are as good as ever. Laswell lets the Head reign for a while, and the pair really does an awesome job of changing the direction of the album a bit. It gets a bit lost, but that’s not a bad thing. Although I do prefer the jazzier tunes on the album, this at least offers some variety. Another one to go into William’s long term repertoire of ‘must listen to’s’. ‘Into The Circle’ is a darker and ethereal piece, as well as reaching out the psychedelic influences. There is plenty of melancholy, despite the hard edged drumming and saxophone playing; it really does act as a chilled, calm piece. The electronics are used to create a sense of haunting and unearthly beings; some of the mixing changed to sound like some far off screech from an unknown creature. This is assisted by some spacey soundscape’s used in the background. Again, you can’t fault the performance of the instrumentalists, as William’s and Buckethead again steal the show, with some wonderfully eclectic playing. The last additions by Sander’s, deep below a few other layers are also a treat, before he hits his solo territory. He’s trying his darndest to **** up your eardrums.

‘Returning’ reintroduces the raw rock sound. By this time, it doesn’t even feel like you have changed tracks, because is simply a quick and volatile re-offensive on the senses. This isn’t a bad thing by the way, the album flows amazingly well. This time its Buckethead’s turn to try and **** up your ears. Its a very violent track, but still containing some moments of brilliance, particularly when Buckethead breaks out the skills at around 2 and a half minutes. ‘Calling Out The Blue Light’ starts out as a quiet psychedelic calm, with the entire group following suite (Other than William’s of course). It is a lush song covered with layers of dubbing, light guitar riffs, some light saxophone work, that just works a treat. It almost makes me imagine being underwater, surrounded by a reef of colour, and never having to worry about coming up for air. Another track that is better to experience rather than be explained how it makes ME feel. It ends with a beautiful touch from Sanders.

‘Wheelless On A Dark River’ sounds almost ‘too far away’ to full experience, as if it isn’t intended to be fully heard to begin with. Maybe it’s the production or dubbing, I don’t know, but I like that little subtle touch. This is, of course Williams, Laswell and Buckethead go all avant garde on the song. Reminding me fully of a rock version of John Coltrane’s mess of Ascension, the two are all over the place, with little regard for one another. Of course that’s what makes FREE jazz great. Each section is to be marvelled separately, whether it’s the deep acoustic bass of Laswell or William’s aggro drumming. It is truly the freest jazz you’ll get on the album, without any Sanders either. ‘The Earth Below’ brings back the raw rock violence, to assist in the foreboding feeling set by the backing electronics and even just the name. William’s fast drumming is a wonder, I have no idea how he does it, but he continued to produce up until his much too early death. It’s the rock version of ‘Wheelless’ in that it delivers a lot of free aspects, just a bit more structured and a bit more spacey. Its pretty much a competition of who can outdo each other speed-wise between Buckethead and Williams.

The final track, ‘Circles Of Hell’ returns to the fusion sound heard early on the album. It is an amalgamation of a lot of other aspects found on the album. The song true William’s epitaph, a commemoration to his skill as a drummer and his influence on the jazz world. Everyone gets in on the act to make it something special.

Arc Of The Testimony is one of the most perfect prog-jazz albums I have found. It just suited my particular tastes, as it doesn’t attempt the screeching guitar sounds that are present through earlier fusion albums, and it really bites through all the crap that was being produced in the genre to create a true gem. Unfortunately, it is rather unknown. We’re it not for Williams’ untimely death, who knows what this group would go on to produce. Their first outing, ‘The Last Wave’ is more avant garde rock rather than jazz fusion, which makes each of them so special and unique in comparison to one another. The album doesn’t over extend itself either, resting at around 50 minutes; I found it was the prefect length without having to drag much along. I would recommend this album to people who are interested in prog-jazz-rock fusion; however, this would surely disappoint them, as they will never find a greater gem in the genre.

A true beauty that deserves a good few listens. It is a great ending to Williams’ amazing career, brimming with great improvisation and electronics.

TOTAL SCORE

9.3/10

– Gone Tomorrow
– Into The Circle
- Returning

03-31-2009, 01:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Arc Of The Testimony – Arcana (1997) GENRES – Jazz, Free Jazz, Fusion Gone Tomorrow - 9:39 Illuminator - 6:07 Into The Circle - 9:25 Returning - 4:29 Calling Out The Blue Light - 6:37 Circles Of Hell - 7:15 Wheeless On A Dark River - 4:27 The Earth Below - 5:28 Every single time someone asks me who my ‘dream band’ would consist of, I don’t ever have to dream… This is one of the most amazing super groups ever assembled in the same band, and the results are obvious from the get go. Arcana (Not the neoclassical band from Sweden) is the project of bassist Bill Laswell, one of the best experimental musicians of all time, whether it be dub, jazz, rock, electronics, he has put his hand into lot of different styles. As the leader, he gathered some amazing names to back him up. Jazz drummer Tony Williams performs on one of his last ever recordings, and it is a worthy send off for the jazz legend. Pharoah Sanders is also present, performing his free jazz saxophone as great as ever, and Bynard Lancaster, an underrated avant garde jazzist is along for the ride. One of the best additions is early Buckethead. Most who know of Buckethead’s history know that Laswell was one of his first motivators, so its not surprise in reality. They also perform together in PRAXIS I believe. Arc Of The Testimony stands up with these other performers to create one of the best jazz-rock fusion albums ever. ‘Gone Tomorrow’ is an remarkable opening, with a little bit present from everyone. Williams sets the piece in motion with a little ‘ra-ta-ta’ across the cymbals and ever present Laswell dubbing before Buckethead puts the bulk of the song into action. Sander’s enters the fray with a little bluesy sax. This is probably one of my favourite prog-jazz openings ever. Each instrument has its own little set, and its built up into pure fusion goodness. William’s drumming is standout and he delivers awesome free drumming to get the song to its apex. This introduces Sander’s wild side as he whips out aggressive line after line of free sax jazz. As the instruments build up, chaos reigns, but it never loses its underlining beauty, created by an awesome Laswell dub backing. Definitely one for the ages. ‘Illuminator’ is a more hard edge rock song, as obvious by the aggressive drumming and Buckethead’s more pronounced guitar riffs. William’s loses none of his bite, and Buckethead’s psychedelic lines are as good as ever. Laswell lets the Head reign for a while, and the pair really does an awesome job of changing the direction of the album a bit. It gets a bit lost, but that’s not a bad thing. Although I do prefer the jazzier tunes on the album, this at least offers some variety. Another one to go into William’s long term repertoire of ‘must listen to’s’. ‘Into The Circle’ is a darker and ethereal piece, as well as reaching out the psychedelic influences. There is plenty of melancholy, despite the hard edged drumming and saxophone playing; it really does act as a chilled, calm piece. The electronics are used to create a sense of haunting and unearthly beings; some of the mixing changed to sound like some far off screech from an unknown creature. This is assisted by some spacey soundscape’s used in the background. Again, you can’t fault the performance of the instrumentalists, as William’s and Buckethead again steal the show, with some wonderfully eclectic playing. The last additions by Sander’s, deep below a few other layers are also a treat, before he hits his solo territory. He’s trying his darndest to ** up your eardrums. ‘Returning’ reintroduces the raw rock sound. By this time, it doesn’t even feel like you have changed tracks, because is simply a quick and volatile re-offensive on the senses. This isn’t a bad thing by the way, the album flows amazingly well. This time its Buckethead’s turn to try and up your ears. Its a very violent track, but still containing some moments of brilliance, particularly when Buckethead breaks out the skills at around 2 and a half minutes. ‘Calling Out The Blue Light’ starts out as a quiet psychedelic calm, with the entire group following suite (Other than William’s of course). It is a lush song covered with layers of dubbing, light guitar riffs, some light saxophone work, that just works a treat. It almost makes me imagine being underwater, surrounded by a reef of colour, and never having to worry about coming up for air. Another track that is better to experience rather than be explained how it makes ME feel. It ends with a beautiful touch from Sanders. ‘Wheelless On A Dark River’ sounds almost ‘too far away’ to full experience, as if it isn’t intended to be fully heard to begin with. Maybe it’s the production or dubbing, I don’t know, but I like that little subtle touch. This is, of course Williams, Laswell and Buckethead go all avant garde on the song. Reminding me fully of a rock version of John Coltrane’s mess of Ascension, the two are all over the place, with little regard for one another. Of course that’s what makes FREE jazz great. Each section is to be marvelled separately, whether it’s the deep acoustic bass of Laswell or William’s aggro drumming. It is truly the freest jazz you’ll get on the album, without any Sanders either. ‘The Earth Below’ brings back the raw rock violence, to assist in the foreboding feeling set by the backing electronics and even just the name. William’s fast drumming is a wonder, I have no idea how he does it, but he continued to produce up until his much too early death. It’s the rock version of ‘Wheelless’ in that it delivers a lot of free aspects, just a bit more structured and a bit more spacey. Its pretty much a competition of who can outdo each other speed-wise between Buckethead and Williams. The final track, ‘Circles Of Hell’ returns to the fusion sound heard early on the album. It is an amalgamation of a lot of other aspects found on the album. The song true William’s epitaph, a commemoration to his skill as a drummer and his influence on the jazz world. Everyone gets in on the act to make it something special. Arc Of The Testimony is one of the most perfect prog-jazz albums I have found. It just suited my particular tastes, as it doesn’t attempt the screeching guitar sounds that are present through earlier fusion albums, and it really bites through all the crap that was being produced in the genre to create a true gem. Unfortunately, it is rather unknown. We’re it not for Williams’ untimely death, who knows what this group would go on to produce. Their first outing, ‘The Last Wave’ is more avant garde rock rather than jazz fusion, which makes each of them so special and unique in comparison to one another. The album doesn’t over extend itself either, resting at around 50 minutes; I found it was the prefect length without having to drag much along. I would recommend this album to people who are interested in prog-jazz-rock fusion; however, this would surely disappoint them, as they will never find a greater gem in the genre. A true beauty that deserves a good few listens. It is a great ending to Williams’ amazing career, brimming with great improvisation and electronics. TOTAL SCORE 9.3/10** – Gone Tomorrow – Into The Circle - Returning Last edited by Zarko; 04-14-2009 at 02:23 AM.