South Korean violinist Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim and Taiwanese-American pianist Joey Chang, who have roots in both classical music and New York City’s vibrant experimental music scene, bring together an array of Black, Brown and Asian artists in the Muzosynth Orchestra, with the resulting sound a fusion of jazz and classical music—and much more. “Wild is a good word,” says poet and conceptual artist Brad Walrond on “What Would Your Mama Do?,” one of a few tracks that feature…well, lyrics they’re not. Think of the words as didactic dialogue lifted from a psychodrama stage play. It’s wild in the best of ways.
The performances are all improvisations, beginning life with no set theme or idea, just the artists leading one another on sonic explorations of the soul. The results range from jarring clashes—“Crackling Rice” and “What Would Your Mama Do?”—to hypnotic odes, as with “Pahn” and “In the End,” to soothing excursions into late-night flights of fancy, aka “Serenity” and “Whale Dream.” In addition to Walrond, Lim and Chang are joined by Adrienne Baker (flute), Jared Beckstead-Craan (double bass), Joy Guidry (bassoon, voice, electronics), Kengchakaj Kengkarnka (electronics), Scott Li (violin, electronics), Cleo Reed (voice, electronics), and Kobi Trenchfoot (drums).
Of late, I’ve been reading A.E. Stallings’ poetry collection, This Afterlife. She tends not to muse on the metaphysical as much as I prefer—but that’s okay. Few modern poets do. But she does glean insights from the machinations of everyday life, crystalizing matters in a lyrical manner. “Prelude,” for example, finds her contemplating Truth and Art, and features a tantalizingly concise phrase about what most moves her about music, paintings and the like: “The vertigo of possibility.” That aptly sums up the appeal of Muzosynth Orchestra: Vol. 1, I think. It’s a lofty excursion that blends classical and jazz, dizzying in form, practice and profundity. For those who thrive on complex instrumental interchanges and, too, dig deep thoughts from melodic terrains, there’s much here to appreciate.
The Old Grey Cat 