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Wally Shoup — 2x4tet
(Bandcamp Right Brain Records no#, 2018/2024, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-09-08

2x4tet Cover art

Saxophonist Wally Shoup arrived in Seattle in 1985, and from then until his death in March of 2024, he became a sort of spiritual center for the improvised and experimental music scene in the city, acting as mentor and booster for musicians who defied conventions and boundaries. While free improvisation is often regarded as a stream of jazz, Shoup always eschewed the conventions of the jazz idiom, and his wide ranging interests led to collaborations in experimental rock and beyond. 2x4tet presents him in two different quartets recorded in 2017 and 2018, and both of them feature unusual instrumentation. The 2017 session includes guitarists Bill Horist and Dennis Rea along with drummer Greg Campbell, and there’s plenty of electronic signal-mangling from both of the guitarists. The 2018 session takes a more acoustic approach, featuring two double-bassists, Paul Kemmish and John Seman, and drummer Olli Klomp. All of the collaborators are well-known in the Seattle experimental music scene, with numerous collaborations spanning many years. Free improvisation might be the musical equivalent of tight-rope walking without a net, and it’s often the case that moments of spontaneity that had an impact on the players or audience don’t stand up to the scrutiny that comes with a permanent recording of the performance. Obviously, this is not music that’s going to appeal to a wide market or get attention from the mainstream media, but for my money, it’s one of the best recordings of fully improvised music I’ve heard lately. This is neither abrasive nor chaotic, for the most part, with each player listening to the others. The novelty of a quartet with two guitars and no bass, or two basses and no guitars, plays into the appeal, as does the sheer intelligence and good taste of all the participants — and at the center of it all, the always-inventive alto sax of Wally Shoup. I don’t know if this is the last release that will bear his name — given his long career, I suspect there are more unreleased sessions — but it is both a fine example of his aesthetic and a wonderful tribute to the impact he had on the musicians around him.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases, 2018 recordings

Related artist(s): Bill Horist, Dennis Rea, Wally Shoup

More info
http://billhoristguitar.bandcamp.com/album/wally-shoup-2x4tet

 

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