by S. Victor Aaron
Jon Hassell is an inventor of new forms of music – of new ideas of what music could be and how it might be made. His work is drawn from his whole cultural experience without fear or prejudice. It is an optimistic, global vision that suggests not only possible musics but possible futures.”
The quote came from Brian Eno in 1986, and Eno knows a thing or two about new forms of music.
Jon Hassell, in case his name doesn’t ring a bell, is a trumpet player. But calling him a trumpet player is akin to calling Duke Ellington a piano player. Having studied under Karlheinz Stockhausen and worked with minimalist music trailblazers Terry Riley and La Monte Young, Hassell eventually carved out his own distinct sound in the wide open world of electronic experimental music. Perhaps the final piece of Hassell’s musical mosaic grew out of his studies with Pran Nath, an Indian singer. From that experience, Hassell integrated the vocal inflections of Indian raga into his trumpet playing, a distinction that sets his horn apart to this day.
By the late seventies, Hassell had digested these and other influences to forge a new style he coined “Fourth World,” which he describes as “”a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques.” Since his 1977 debut Vernal Equinox, has effectively blended world fusion, electronic atmospherics and advanced westeron composition to create a sound that’s both approachable and exotic.
Hassell got more than just critics to co-sign to his musical concept, though. Visionary artists as diverse as Ry Cooder, Peter Gabriel, Bono, the Kronos Quartet, The Talking Heads and the aforementioned Eno have all brought him in to collaborate, and filmakers have found his music appealing as well, with his works appearing in films such as The Last Temptation Of Christ and Angel Eyes.
Today brings the launch of Tom Hassell’s first release since 2005’s Maarifa Street: Magic Realism, Vol. 2 and his first ECM release since 1986’s Power Spot. It’s called—get ready—Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street, taken from a line of 13th century poetry. But while the title might suggest that Jon Hassell is a renaissance man, the music contained within confirms it.
The short story to Last night is that Hassell’s Fourth World music concept is alive and doing well in 2009. Compared to those earlier efforts like Power Spot or Equinox, the subtle African rhythms that were integral to those earlier efforts are largely gone, now, with only the moderately Middle-Eastern flavored “Abu Gil” more than just hinting at world ethnic music.
The greater emphasis on airy, esoteric undercurrents and relatively less on rhythms makes the music further suspended from conventional song formats. Another way of putting it is that it’s a pleasingly mellow record.
As always, Hassell is a master at proffering an integrated musical montage where individual instruments aside from his horn rarely rise above it to capture the ear’s attention. Considering that there are up to seven musicians playing on any given track to produce such a sleek, angular sound, that’s no small accomplishment. Hassell’s insular horn floating over a distant, shimmering electric piano does much to replicate the atmospherics heard on Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, but with none of even the hints of jazz aesthetic that Miles retained on his early fusion classic.
Casual ears might brand this music “new age,” but close listening reveals a lot of richness found in the layers that Hassell carefully constructs in creating that montage. “Aurora” is almost purely symphonic, with even the bass resembling a timpani. “Time And Peace” features both Hassell’s trumpet and Kheir Eddine M’Kachiche’s violin sounding virtually indistinguishable from each other. “Abu Gil” tantalizingly hints at Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night In Tunisia,” but never quite cops it.
“Northline” stands out with its a well-defined bassline and Eivind Aarset’s wah-wah guitar. It’s the closest this album gets to rock-jazz. “Last Night The Moon Came” is the most elegiac piece, built upon a tranquil, repeating string figure. The “Blue Period,” a remixed version of a track Hassell did for a movie, is an ostinato that gently ebbs and flows like waves crashing against the shore. “Light On Water,” one of four tracks recorded live, is a slow-motion groove tastefully adorned with Jan Bang’s live sampling.
Set to coincide with his first American tour in twenty years, Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street should reaffirm Hassell’s long-standing influence on ambient, electro-acoustic, world fusion and experimental music.
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The concert in Columbus, opening nite of the tour, was simply unreal. As an American fan, I’ve waited years to see this guy perform. To be frank, his first few notes brought tears to my eyes. Such purity, combined with smarts, an unbeatable combination. This recording is one I will play a bazillion times, like his other long-title ‘The Surgeon of the Nite Sky Restores Dead Things Through the Power of Sound’. Hassell has restored me.
You’re not the first who’s told me that Hassell’s current American tour is amazing. If it sounds anything like this record, it must be one to remember and savor for a long time.
Thanks for the comment.
-P