Jane Ira Bloom needs little introduction, because she is one of today’s most distinctive voices on saxophone. Allison Miller has been a professional drummer, teacher, composer and leader since 1999, when she graduated.
Tues Days began as meetings and sessions between Bloom and Miller over five Tuesdays in March and April 2021. They recorded some improvised sax and drum duets to see what might happen. There was no pressure to formulate a plan, as an album wasn’t on their minds at the time. So, the two played with total abandon, each musician from their home studio in New York City.
“Playing with Allison on these sessions was like a dance that took me completely away,” Ira Bloom says. “We didn’t ever talk about what to do, we just played and it felt like pure motion. There was so much to move to and it occurred to me that playing together this way was like entering into a dance that elevated off the floor into space.”
Released on Bloom’s Outline Records, Tues Days was mixed and mastered by bassist Mark Helias, who knows Bloom’s work so well.
“While improvising with Jane during our Tues Day sessions, I experienced an absolute feeling of being present and in the now: a feeling I had not felt in quite some time,” Allison Miller added. “All past and future worries slipped away. These sessions brought new discoveries. Responding to Jane’s sense of musical flow, space, and motivic development birthed an exciting percussive world – and, at times, I felt like I was not in charge of my own limbs. They were moving whimsically and gloriously on their own, picking up percussion instruments that had been hiding away in the corners of my studio for years. It was as if Jane’s lyrical tone guided my every movement.”
The title track for Tues Days begins with a joyful blast of percussion, into which Bloom inserts delicate phrases of playful soprano, almost as if saying, “I am glad to be here too.” The steady rhythm provided by Miller is the canvas on to which Bloom paints intricate pictures. Where the drums vary their rhythm and meter, Bloom either sits back and Miller solos, or she introduces melody over the patterns, which contrast to add improvised narrative. There is a sense of two improvisers creating sounds which delight themselves as much as the listener.
“Technicolor” is aptly named because it contains different musical ideas, enriched with color provided both by the variations in the percussion and use of different sounds and the changes which Bloom provides. The drums work hard, solo sections interspersed with supportive repeats which allow Bloom to shine.
“Rowing in the Dark” feels like you are working your way carefully through a river of emotion. The echoey sax, the wooden clips of the percussion, the spaces between – all of it adds to a quietude at times, yet there is an edge to the number, as if you might fall. The change of rhythm in the second half and the increase in volume from both players is subtle yet profound, and there is the odd dissonance from Bloom, sounding like horns. Maybe we are now in the shipping lane!
“This Is It” is lyrical, with Bloom narrating over the top of the percussion, which dribbles, swings and twists itself into a rich and textured line, while “Five Bells” is literally bells and saxophone, with the sax providing deeper alto notes which contrast beautifully with the percussion. The drawn out blasts from Bloom add a touch of menace too which contradicts the gentleness of the bells but at the end, the bells win out and the sax joins them in a gentle finish.
Tues Days continues with “The Wild Frontier,” with Bloom providing ethereal sounds over rapid, driving percussion. Allison Miller’s drums calm as Bloom responds, and we come back to pushing the line with rickity-tickety percussion against the melodic, yet also deliberately non-compliant sax lines. The middle section is absolutely gorgeous, with the sax providing warbling, intricate lines, to which the drums and percussive instruments respond with their own delicately woven comments. The scrapes, croaks and warbles sound like a forest, and a busy one at that.
“Light Years Away” feels very spacious compared to the full and busy track before. The sax sings its line for the first full minute over nothing but very occasional rustlings from the percussion. However, the percussion builds, the rhythms are added and by the time the track is at the three-minute mark, the percussion has increased both in volume and rhythmic input. By four minutes in, the sax is soaring as it rises over the now slightly manic percussion, and the listener is left with a splendid sense of being swept up in the build and rise of the sound wave and then laid gently down to rest.
“A&J’s Test Kitchen” is interesting in its choice of sounds, patterns and diversions, which the saxophone takes with the melody, introducing Miller’s blisteringly fast key travels and gentle contrasts which soar and rise. That’s all over alternating percussion, which offers keen responses to the sax’s lead. A real conversation is happening in this kitchen. “Crayola” opens with playful phrases from Bloom, into which the percussion tips colors and essences which add to the mix. We end up with a well-worked and engaging number that changes tack so many times six minutes vanishes in the twinkling of an eye.
“On Seeing JP” is a great conversation between Allison Miller and Jane Ira Bloom, the rhythms being echoed by both players. The drums are amazing on this track, providing the back track of patterns on which the sax works while leading the changes, from swinging out to tricky, delicate flourishes. “Walk Alone” is a showcase for both musicians, with Bloom’s distinctive soprano voice singing out and Miller’s percussion knowing precisely the correct response, noise and timing to offer the perfect riposte.
After hearing Tues Days, there is a wonder this is just two musicians. It is a musical kaleidoscope, offering richness and also a delicacy which is engaging. No two tracks offer the same feel. Spontaneous composition should offer the listener familiar returns and this does in spoonfuls, yet the music also offers different tastes, shocks and a caress on occasion. All of that serves as a reminder this is about two people, reactions and just being.
Tues Days is packed with energy, textures and alive in its movement and chameleon-like changes. Allison Miller’s multitude of percussive instruments, chosen to provide exquisite counterpoint to Jane Irra Bloom’s signature tone on the soprano sax works really well. It is a journey, a musical escapade and a delight.
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