Monday, March 28, 2011

Sirone's Last American Recording: Oluyemi Thomas, Sirone and Michael Wimberly's "Beneath Tones Floor"


Bassist Sirone's recent passing was a sad event. He has been a mainstay of avant bass playing in the free jazz field since he first came to notice in the '60s. Beneath Tones Floor (No Business CD 20) finds him in good form and in excellent company on what is believed to be his last recording in the USA.

It's a fully three-way trio session with the loquacious Oluyemi Thomas on bass clarinet, soprano, musette, etc., and Michael Wimberly on drums, recorded live in NYC's Brecht Forum in 2008.

What we have, simply, is excellent free trio music. Sirone alternates between the percussive attack for which he is known and a free unfolding of melodic-textural ideas. Thomas plays good snaky bass clarinet and impassioned reeds in general while Michael Wimberly plies a very dynamic and very musically phrased set of drums.

It's a fitting farewell to Mr. Sirone, doing what he did so well in the company of two very articulate free masters. This release is available in limited edition as a CD or LP.

Recommended.

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