THE BEAT SUITE – WORLD PREMIERE

Iridium, New York City, 05-10 August 2003

Notwithstanding the main influence of Ellington and Monk on his music, Steve Lacy’s inspiration has always found its driving force in words. Let’s not forget that his very first composition The Way, written in 1967 for the voice of Irene Aebi (“my Muse,” as Lacy himself often says of her), was inspired by the two thousand year-old words of Lao-Tzu.

Over the years, the direction of Lacy’s work with his vocalist of choice has taken them through many facets of their private world of literature and poetry. Explorations of poems on love (Anna Akhmatova, Mary Frazee and Anne Waldman, among others), on identity, sexuality and mortality (Judith Malina) through reflections on marriage (Robert Creeley), culminated in their Cry on the subjugation of women in society (Taslima Nasrin). Albums such as Futurities (hatART, 1984), Rushes (New Sound Planet, 1990), Packet (New Albion, 1995), Puppies (Ergodic, 1997) and The Cry (Soul Note, 1999) document the principal milestones of that path.

It is thus no surprise that Lacy’s fascination with words would eventually take him deeply into the works of the so-called “Beat” generation. The provocative message of its poets and writers - through their “unconventional” life style, philosophy and writing - still remains one of the most influential of American culture. Who has not been affected one way or another by the lives of Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kerouac, Kaufman, Creeley and others part of this movement?

The translation of Beat Poetry to music – in this case to “Lit. Jazz” or “Jazz art songs” - has been a slow but careful process for Lacy, as mentioned in his notes of the recently released CD The Beat Suite (Universal, 2003). It may have taken him a long time to boil it down, but what an accomplishment it is! It holds a major place in Lacy’s impressive oeuvre. In many ways, it is the pinnacle of the genre and can arguably be considered as the consecration of Lacy’s art in his relentless search for an ultimate communion between words and music.

The pieces comprising The Beat Suite have thus been a “work in progress” for many years. Since 1995, a few New Yorkers have been fortunate to hear several of these songs in duo with Aebi during various concerts (notably at The Knitting Factory and at private loft parties), but this presentation at the Iridium was its most complete first public performance. It was also the first time the quintet was playing the work together again since its CD recording session of December 2001. Rightly announced by the club as a World Premiere, it was well attended every night and was consistently received with great enthusiasm.

In fact, much praise could be heard in the informal conversations held after the sets, praise not only for the very original sound of the band as a whole but also for each musician’s very individual expression and sound. There was in particular great admiration for Aebi‘s unique contralto voice and gripping rendition of the Beat poems. As a lady in the audience put it so well: “No other voice could bring out the essence of such poetry. Astonishing!”

The engagement started with an unexpected blend of tension – called uncertainty - as George Lewis’ timely arrival remained a big question mark until the very last minute: his flight from Europe had been cancelled earlier in the day, and no one knew whether he would make it at all. However he eventually showed up just in the nick of time for the first set, straight from the airport.

With no time at all to rehearse, the quintet took the plunge into its first nightly “Bath” of the week, cleaned itself of all jetlag fatigue and rusty condition, and with no delay dived into the sea of Lacy’s main Beat material. The first bars of Wave Lover (words by Kerouac), with its incandescent musical phrasing, established at a very high level the intensity of the weeklong engagement. Each night, those listeners captivated by the careful setting of the songs were literally drunk not with booze or wine but with the power of the words. Each night, the music was so intoxicating that it was a bit like getting high, like some kind of potent mind-blowing trip that the Beat poets themselves would have enjoyed for sure...

So rich and powerful was the music that it is difficult to describe it without overdosing in superlatives of praise for the fourteen superb performances. Let’s just say that the warm, enthusiastic and long applause that followed each song and ended each set is evidence enough of the music’s greatness and appreciation.

Among the several versions of the songs played during the engagement – always starting with The Bath, “something we do every day,” stated Lacy with a dry humorous smile - a few left particularly vivid audiovisual images in the mind:

This is a band sounding quite different from the one heard at the same Iridium exactly one year before, (Monk’s Dream, with Roswell Rudd on trombone). George Lewis’ huge physical stage presence and high-energy musical approach metamorphosed the development of every familiar Lacy composition (The Bath, The Rent, Blinks, Baghdad); his prolific notes output in his richly colored improvisations is clearly in a world of its own, quite intellectual and poetic, very different from Rudd’s more earthly musical concept and gutsy playing.

The musicians’ sustained interaction and communion were quite inspiring, noting in particular:

* A bright serenity and a luminous peace in Lacy’s playing; his lines seemed to have become so much purer and so much simpler, revealing an inner radiant burning flame, even more focused and razor sharp than usual;

* Great strength and sustained tension in Irene Aebi’s gripping intonations of the Beat poems’ translation into musical pieces;

* Ever increasing lyricism in J.J. Avenel’s phrases, improvising quite differently from last year’s gig in the same club, openly showing his fresh intimacy with his gorgeous, newly acquired bass from Hungary, embracing it at times with his right leg (Thursday) to make it wail through the ear-catching warped sounds of very dark melodic chords;

* George Lewis’ mesmerizing virtuosity and inventiveness in his carefully constructed solos, profusely filled with notes and harmonic ideas, effortlessly releasing his astonishing strong physical and creative energies; no wonder some fans call him “the Cecil Taylor of the trombone;”

* Consistently attentive and intelligent accompaniment by John Betsch, knowing how to listen and remain discreet or be as loud as the music content dictates; delightful were the smart echoes of Masahiko Togashi’s minimalist atmosphere in the last two sets (Sunday evening).

Throughout the week, the affectionate presence in the audience of a number of Mr. Lacy’s friends / associates turned into a special homage to the leader and his band. Just to name a few: Roswell Rudd (watching in awe George Lewis’ impressive avalanches of notes…), Butch Morris, Richard Teitelbaum, Henry Threadgill, Mark Helias, Mark Dresser, Newman Taylor-Baker, former Boxing Champion Terry Norris, and many other NY musicians.

After it was over, there were some regrets by a number of fans that the engagement had not been “documented,” as many felt it would have made a splendid Live recording, so original was the sound of the band, and so strong was the overall performance. However, it must be noted that some 14 hours were captured on videotape - with the permission of the band, of course - and hopefully the magic of the event might someday be shared with those who could not be present that week. Even if it may never be shared (in the form of a wish-it-could-have-been-produced-and-released DVD), The Beat Suite will for sure continue to transmit its unconventional poetic message in other concerts, in clubs, and private venues. Every music / poetry fan is strongly encouraged to take the time to see and hear this authoritative sextet, another strong contender as one of the best in the long list of Lacy’s colorful bands...

© Gilles Laheurte, 24 August 2003

The Tunes:

Tuesday 5:

Set 1:
The Bath
Wave Lover
As Usual
In the Pocket
Blinks
Ring of Bone

Set 2:
Baghdad
Naked Lunch
Jack’s Blues
Agenda
The Mad Yak
The Rent

Wednesday 6:

Set 1:
The Bath
Wave Lover
In The Pocket
As Usual
Naked Lunch
Baghdad

Set 2:
Blinks
Jack’s Blues
The Mad Yak
Ring of Bone

Thursday 7:

Set 1:
The Bath
In The Pocket
As Usual
Wave Lover
Blinks

Set 2:
The Rent
Jack’s Blues
The Mad Yak
Ring of Bone

Friday 8:

Set 1:
The Bath
Wave Lover
Naked Lunch
As Usual
Blinks

Set 2:
The Rent
In the Pocket
Mother Goose
Ring of Bone

Set 3:
Baghdad
Agenda
The Mad Yak
Jack’s Blues

Saturday 9:

Set 1:
The Bath
Wave Lover
As Usual
In the Pocket

Set 2:
The Rent
Jack’s Blues
Agenda
Ring of Bone
Blinks

Set 3:
Baghdad
Mother Goose
In The Pocket

Sunday 10:

Set 1:
The Bath
Wave Lover
As Usual
In the Pocket

Set 2:
Baghdad
Naked Lunch
The Mad Yak
Ring of Bone
Blinks