Tim Berne: The Sevens, by Tim Berne

Tim Berne: The Sevens

by Tim Berne

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dlbicycle David Torn is magical; some kind of sonic sorcerer. His touch opens other worlds.

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1.	Repulsion 11:24	info	buy track
2.	Sequel Why 02:49	info	buy track
3.	Reversion 04:21	info	buy track
4.	Quicksand 25:24	info	buy track
5.	Tonguefarmer 04:53	info	buy track
6.	Sequel Ex 02:31	info	buy track

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|| Burn-on-demand CDs of this title are available at our website: www.newworldrecords.org/products/tim-berne-the-sevens ||

"The Sevens" is among Tim Berne's most explicitly "compositional" statements. The album's core, a pair of through-composed movements performed by the ARTE saxophone quartet, could serve as an apotheosis of Berne's chamber writing.

"Repulsion" features four melodies (or is it one melody in four voices?), variously in dialogue or in chorus. Moving through a range of tonal colors, the piece reflects both Berne's fondness for friction and his less-celebrated sensitivity. In fact, certain sections sound almost wistful, as Berne cloaks his dissonances in subtle shadows.

In "Quicksand", the centerpiece of the album, the ARTE Quartett is joined by Berne and Marc Ducret, both of whom provide improvised commentary above and around what's on the page. Here, in one piece, is a fulfillment of the yin-yang ethos inherent in Berne's work, the tensile balance between composition and improvisation.

On "The Sevens", the process of interpretation assumes several different shapes. First, there's the conventional notion of improvisation on a theme. Then there's the subtler way in which Ducret personalizes the solo miniatures "Sequel Why" and "Sequel Ex"－two fairly divergent takes of the same hauntingly pretty song.

Finally, there's the more radical manner of interpretation seen in "Reversion" and "Tonguefarmer", both of which are the product of studio manipulation at the hands of guitarist/programmer David Torn. This last procedure, a collaborative effort, stretches the bounds of "composition" in clearly contemporary ways. "Reversion", the first of these pieces, is essentially a remix of "Repulsion", with significant modifications. "Tonguefarmer", the second of Torn's remixes, is essentially a palimpsest consisting of successive layers of exposition.

For Berne, "The Sevens", with its various interpretive assignations, was "probably the hardest one to make, of records I've made, in a long time." For an artist steeped in self-jurisdiction, surrendering even a portion of the product can be a terrifying prospect. Which is exactly why he did it. "Whatever the thing is that I'm least secure with, I tend to want to expose that and face it, in a way."

Accordingly, "The Sevens" ultimately resembles neither his eighties albums nor the live recordings of the nineties, instead defining a new Tim Berne paradigm, an uncertain but surprisingly smooth continuum expressing what the composer calls "unity through contrast."

credits

released January 1, 2002

ARTE Quartett; Tim Berne, alto saxophone; Marc Ducret, acoustic guitar; David Torn, electric guitars, loops, sonic redistribution. Cover design by Steve Byram. Liner notes by Nate Chinen.

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New World Records Brooklyn, New York

Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc., which records under the label New World Records, was founded in 1975.

We are dedicated to the documentation of American music that is largely ignored by the commercial recording companies.

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I remember seeing Bloodcount play at Leeds Irish Centre about this time…the band very nearly outnumbered the audience… but it was one of the best gigs (out of very many) I ever saw and the band were terrific…on fire…25 years ago!! Who says you can’t time travel? This rediscovered recording took me right back…what a find! Thanks Tim…Love & Respect. John Cratchley
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