Webber/Morris Big Band: Both Are True
Greenleaf Music

In a recent interview, Anna Webber said of the large ensemble she co-leads with Angela Morris that they want to “make it sound the least like big-band music as possible” as well as do something new with a form that comes with such a strong legacy behind it. Consistent with that, Both Are True shows the outfit differentiating itself from the classic bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie in a number of ways: Webber and Morris achieve a kind of small-group intimacy in their band's playing, and while their project is part of a continuum, their compositions pull from genres outside jazz, from minimalism to experimental. Such accomplishments are especially noteworthy when nineteen players are involved as they are on this debut recording.

That connectedness isn't something that happened overnight but has been developing since the co-leaders assembled a top-flight cast of New York-based improvisers in 2015 and gave them innovative material to play. Webber and Morris are natural co-leaders: not only are they complementary in their writing, they're both NYC-based, Canadian-born tenor saxophonists and flutists; enhancing the fit, each takes turns playing in the band while the other conducts her own works. Each shares a desire to weave improvisation into composed structures in ways that sound natural yet are nevertheless daring.

Economic challenges notwithstanding, the big band is very much alive in 2020, as witnessed by the existence of ensembles fronted by John Hollenbeck, Darcy James Argue, Miho Hazama, and Maria Schneider, among others. In the case of the Webber/Morris Big Band, the leaders are augmented by four additional woodwind players (alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet), eight horns (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, bass trombone), a vibraphonist, guitarist, and rhythm section. Solos are distributed amongst the players, with Webber and Morris contributing a single solo apiece to the recording, though two brief tenor sax duos featuring them also appear.

Representative of the album, Webber's “Climbing On Mirrors” opens the album strongly with an infectious, eleven-minute reading by the group. Woodwinds and horns swell into urgent formation, their lines powered by the thrust of drummer Jeff Davis and bassist Adam Hopkins. Up first in the solo department, Charlotte Greve delivers a rousing, incisive alto sax exploration against a pulsing backdrop that hints at minimalism. Not the only time it happens on the recording, the music advances through multiple episodes, aggressive and urgent during one and subdued and restrained in another. The group modulates through different tempi until a plaintive vocal chorale brings the piece to a satisfying close.

Morris and Webber aren't averse to including improv sections, as evidenced by Morris's ten-minute title piece. Such moments don't happen randomly, however; instead, they're carefully woven into the formal architecture of the composition. In classic big band fashion, space is made in “Both Are True” for extended solos by Webber and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan with the other musicians robustly roiling underneath.

In other memorable moments, guitarist Dustin Carlson strafes Webber's “Rebonds” with his particular brand of free-form skronk, after which Morris's “Coral” builds on its patiently building intro with an extended improv by trumpeter Adam O'Farrill. Aptly titled, “Foggy Valley” (co-composed by Webber, Morris, and co-producer Nathaniel Morgan) provides a blurry, convulsive base for Morris to extemporize over, the setting galaxies removed from traditional big band fare. Webber's “Reverses” concludes the album dynamically with all the instrumental forces engaged in a full-throttle romp, voices again heard at track's end, this time speaking words by Maya Angelou. On a final note, while there's no overt political statement included with the album, inspiration can definitely be drawn from a project that sees two women harmoniously co-leading a large ensemble, a model those operating in other, non-musical spheres might want to consider following.

March 2020