Reedist and flautist Mat Walerian served notice in 2015 that he was a fully-formed jazz talent positioned on the vanguard when he released an audacious debut that was a duo with established piano trailblazer Matthew Shipp. But Walerian wasn’t about to stop expanding his artistry. The following year, he unleashed another concert memento with Shipp and adding jazz drumming legend Hamid Drake.
The year after that, Walerian teamed with Shipp and Downtown bass boss William Parker on a studio date. But the Polish-born adventurer took three years to be heard from again, and this time he assembled an ultimate super-quartet by including both Drake and Parker along with mainstay Shipp for his 2020 studio creation Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn’t Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter.
As we finally get to hear Walerian with the full complement of a complete (super)band, Every Dog is his most complete artistic statement yet. But each of his eight compositions sprawled out over two discs are self-contained entities of complete expression.
“The Forest Council” establishes that ‘complete artistic statement’ pattern: Parker kicks things off creating faux echoing figures, leading to a completely different motif where Walerian’s bass clarinet bellows nearly in the background with light accompaniment from Parker and Drake to establish a dark, lonely mood. That feeling continues when Shipp essentially takes on Walerian’s role and Parker grows more active. Another segment of Parker alone, but this time he displays his dexterous fingering technique. In a later spot with only Shipp framing the melody, Walerian’s anguished bass clarinet can be heard crying in the background. Discreetly switching to flute, he leaves much of the melodic development in the hands of Parker and then just as covertly moves over to soprano clarinet.
“Thelonious Forever” suits Shipp just fine, whose own style is informed by Monk, but the tastiest moment comes in a closely-paired electric moment between him and Parker. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s succeeded by a Drake drum solo that over time corrals everyone into the fray and ending with passionate arco bass from Parker.
For “Magic World Pt. 1 – Study,” Walerian’s bass clarinet competes with a bass sawed to blend in with the low-end sonorities of that low reed. But it’s interesting to hear the Dr. Jekyll of Walerian’s bass clarinet with the Mr. Hyde of his soprano clarinet (and later, the alto sax); he easily adapts his personality to fit the instrument, not just the music at hand. At one point, the floor is ceded to Shipp, who too is so adept at adapting, playing an agile, thoughtful solo of the sort that would almost seem out of place on his own records. The whole song looks back at the heritage of jazz from its front edge.
A surprising, syncopated groove greets us at the start of “Magic World Pt. 2 – Work,” and as Walerian diverges to improvise on various reeds, Drake and Parker keep the vamp going strong and never really let go of it. “Magic World Pt. 3 – Life” is even more surprising in that this one commences with a second line beat, something that you don’t often hear alongside Dolphy-isms from a bass clarinet. Drake digs deep into that groove and Shipp bores into it without ever having to resort to familiar phrases.
“Sir Denis” neatly straddles the fence between dissonance and accordant, Walerian’s playing his sax with a creamy consistency as the rest generate just enough of a fracas to rub up against Walerian’s motif the right way. When Walerian pivots to clarinet, who can hear a lot of tradition as he makes it seem right at home within the avant environment created by the veteran practitioners of the form.
There’s a lonesome soprano clarinet on “Business With William,” the title meaning Walerian is conversing very closely with Parker on this reed/bass duet until the whole band breaks out into a loose and grimy swing midway through. The main delight from “Lesson II” comes Walerian dubbing in one flute over another, making them entwine over a parched backdrop. At the conclusion of that part, Parker introduces the next stop in the journey, featuring Walerian on the high clarinet as Shipp pours out the pensive melody and then all four allow the development of this thread run at its own pace.
Mat Walerian’s latest Okuden project is his most ambitious yet and when you understand the sweeping, cutting-edge careers of his sidemen, you see an artist whose ambitions matches theirs. Walerian seems to be just getting started, which is a scary proposition.
Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn’t Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter is now on sale, from ESP-Disk. Purchase it from Bandcamp.
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