[.ca] Going Back Home

Listen and enjoy:
This is one of those releases in which you have to apply your ears and spend some time with to really enjoy. Maybe its the Frisellesque winding pathways of musicality, twisting and turning through the composition. Or, Ginger Baker cascading down and around the tracks dancing on the batterie' (drum kit) with experienced abandon. Perhaps it could be Charlie Haden's bass - beautifully resounding. No, its the combined effort, the synergy and free-play among the trio which makes this puppy cook. Dig it!

Gathering of the Greats:
Bring together jazz drummer Ginger Baker, bassist Charlie Haden, and guitarist Bill Frisell you better be prepared for a lot of good music. Don't be scared that this album is all free jazz because Charlie Haden is in the lineup. For the most part the music is understandable and not too difficult to follow. They do cover Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'" which ventures more into the free jazz venue. Never does it feel like that everyone is playing a different song at the same time. The work by all three artists is outstanding. Frisell really stands out with his simple, yet expression filled playing (for some crazy reason, I think of his guitar sound as Hawaiian). Baker's rhythm is amazing. He's on the local radio station with some frequency, and listening to him talk you would think he'd have trouble finding the door of his home, little alone a rhythm. Haden is nothing less then Haden. This band sounds tight for the ten tracks of the album. Everyone seems to know where the other is going, and they complement each other very well. "East Timor" is probably the hardest hitting song on the album. It starts with Baker ranting about a secret war that occurred on this island, then is followed by some very serious playing (and a different sound from Frisell). Not being a free jazz fan, I have trouble with "Ramblin'" and Haden's "In the Moment". Frisell's two songs "Rambler" and "When We Go" are light and elegant, the latter with the slight twang of country. They do a great cover of Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser". Baker pens three of his own songs here as well. Overall, I feel that this is a pretty good album. These three musicians are great at what they do. If you like jazz, especially with a touch of the free jazz, you'll be impressed with this piece.

Cool and challenging--like sushi:
Ginger Baker knows his way around, through, above, and beyond rhythm. This CD is cool, crisp, concise. Ginger Baker, Bill Frisell, and Charlie Haden play so well together that it seems they have always been together playing and that we have just tapped into this ever playing stream of music. Frisell once more shows why he is one of the best guitarists on the planet, often by what he does not play. Haden bass playing blends perfectly with the flashy drumming of Baker. At time the mood gets mighty dark on this recording, but then you find yourself uplifted by the powerful interplay of three great musicians who have tapped into some mighty cool energy. Note to Clapton's legions of current fans: You will not understand this music. This is not like Cream. Straight, No Chaser is an apt description.

maybe they should have made Ginger the Secretary of State:
I bought this record as a lark when it came out (Ginger Baker? with Charlie Haden and Bill Frissell??!!)and was stunned by what I heard. Good writing, a couple of decent covers (Thelonius Monk's "Straight No Chaser" and Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'"), and concise intelligent playing by three middle-aged guys who had definitely paid their dues. And then came "East Timor." Cockney-accented Ginger starts with a spoken word introduction of slightly clumsy rhymed couplets about that country's annexation by Indonesia (with the acquiescence of the US, Australia, and other powers) as he starts beating his toms with more and more intensity ending with the impassioned declaration of rememberance that "There WAS a bloody war!!!!" like some kind of latter-day Old Testament prophet. Frissell launches into his best Jimmy Page imitation and its like three old lefties saddling up for one final battle with the powers that be. I just stared at my speakers. I still do.

Pure Quality--No Drivel:
There are so few albums that come along whose appeal remains after many listenings. When one comes along that you can still marvel at five years after hearing it for the first time you should be very grateful. This is one of those albums. Jazz music is in a strange place right now. With the ever-declining attention span of the average music listener came the proliferation of elevator jazz. It is important to realize that this is not jazz, since the primary ingredient in the jazz melting pot is a degree of daring improvisation, not some hack churning out trite pop melodies by the hundred on a soprano saxophone. Real jazz is a precious commodity. It is a slice of Americana that should be held sacred. This album comes through in that regard with flying colors. In this review I have opted to stay away from the traditional track-by-track method of reviewing an album, since this album really doesn't come across as a series of songs isolated from another, but like one event. Plus, if I got started on that road I would be here all day. I'll spare you that misery by giving you the low-down on the album as a whole. From top to bottom "Going Back Home" shines in a sea of churning, almost tribal rhythms from Mr. Baker's drums. Instead of coming across as goofy technical stunts, his accents flow as if every stroke were intended to be there by some divine authority. Rather than simply leaving you slack-jawed by his drumming prowess, his fills actually add color and dimension. Sometimes he can make you laugh out loud. In the hands of another drummer his ideas wouldn't fly, but he manages to put the proverbial square peg in a round hole and make it seem that it were meant to go there all along. The legendary Charlie Haden handles the upright bass duties on the album. This nearly deaf man, who is riddled with tinnitus, and arthritic as hell is still quite possibly the most musical bassist on the planet, and manages to appear on a ridiculous number of albums each year. He is a national treasure, and his playing on this album is melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically (read: musically) brilliant. He and Ginger sound like conjoined twins who learned to play in early childhood, sharing a cryptic language unique to them, but breathtaking to us. Enter Bill Frisell. His guitarmanship is like a watercolor painting come to life. Notes swell from his guitar as if they occurred due to some cosmic miracle instead of being picked, bleeding into each other to form textures and soundscapes that you have simply never heard unless you've heard him. He never resorts to playing with speed as an attempt to impress. In fact he seems to be without ego. With playing that is equally childlike and awe-inspiring, this guy is a modern jazz-giant. In summary, this is an album that can only be described with one word, and that word is Music. If you don't like this album there is something wrong with either you or your CD player.

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