John Blum may not be a household name but he’s well known where it counts the most in the Downtown NYC scene. A brash but melodically-minded pianist, Blum has recorded with Sunny Murray, William Parker, Butch Morris and Steve Swell, and made a few records under his own name. Maybe too few records, because he delivers when he does.
He certainly delivers the goods for his upcoming long-player Deep Space (Astral Spirits Records
), and it didn’t hurt at all that this quartet he’s leading includes Chad Taylor (drums), Elliot Levin (tenor saxophone, flute) and Marshall Allen. That’s right, that guy who just turned 100 years old (he was 98 when these tracks were laid down).
Allen, a stalwart of Sun Ra’s Arkestra from the start, has been in the Arkestra for 67 years, leading it for the last 29. That tall task doesn’t keep this eternally young alto saxophonist from indulging in side projects, and a couple years ago we expressed some admiration for one of those.
For Blum’s record, Allen also brought along his EVI (electronic valve instrument), and that tool probably lent the impetus for the ‘Deep Space’ title. It’s the electro part of this electro-acoustic music, but done up in the old-school way from one of the last remaining members of the old-school vanguard. It all fits neatly with Blum’s brisk, meaty and free conception but with definable shapes.
Blum chose to fill roughly the first half of the album running through four concise, fast-moving performances. The opening track “Deep Space” features, sure enough, space bloops thrown in an otherwise acoustic cauldron of free jazz frenzy, an idea that Sun Ra pioneered. The delightfully celestial sounds return for “Gravity Well,” framed by Taylor’s rolling Latin pulse as Blum paints broad, bold strokes on piano that elicit reactions from Levin and Allen on saxes and flute. The sound of a looping kalimba enters the scene with other electronic effects slathered on, adding another layer of weirdness that Allen knows how to do better than any other living creature.
Blum’s fully-chorded staccato attack sets the table for “Electromagnetism,” with Allen and Levin picking the right spots to respond with both sax and flute, respectively. The tenseness of “Levitation” is underscored by Taylor’s opening irregular beat pattern, the perfect foundation for Blum’s percussive pianisms. Left alone for a while, Blum’s clusters evoke Cecil Taylor and Don Pullen’s signature clusters.
Over the twenty-minute “The Aether,” Blum spars with that interstellar EVI, bouncing around other-worldly thoughts together, then with Allen on alto sax and finally, Levin on tenor.
John Blum made an electrifying album with electrifying players, full of imagination and vigor. His Deep Space might have some Sun Ra flavor in it thanks to Marshall Allen, but Blum follows his own muse and it’s a good one.
Deep Space is planned for release on August 21, 2024. Pre-order/order this record from Bandcamp.
*** John Blum CD’s on Amazon ***
*** Marshall Allen-related CD’s on Amazon ***
- Chick Corea Elektric Band II – ‘Paint the World’ (1993, 2024 reissue) - June 14, 2024
- Devin Gray – ‘To the Point’ [EP] (2024) - June 13, 2024
- Denny Zeitlin – ‘Panoply’ (2024) - June 12, 2024
