Recorded in Brooklyn and mixed in California, The Two Faces of Janus is one of three concurrent releases by Robinson, whose prolificacy is especially impressive when considering his duties as assistant professor at Amherst College and academic writer. Straddling academic and performance roles is, in my opinion, much more notable than straddling geographies.
Jazz musicians have been known to turn up their noses at "lifetime academics," holders of Ph.D.s perceived as sterilizing the music, or making a science of the art. Robinson, whose lush, vibrato-heavy tone oozes passion in the midst of technical mastery on “The Elders,” defies this stereotype. Equally mesmerizing is his treatment of “Cerberus Reigning,” where his playing smoothes over a heavily syncopated drum pattern with a song-like simplicity.
Robinson enlists fellow reed players Marty Ehrlich and Rudresh Mahanthappa for the title track, which brings the musicians' interactive instincts to the fore. Each musician shows the ability to listen and react to the others in the midst of high-energy collective improvisation, and angular unison melodies are executed with precision.
The whirlwind of collective improvisation is balanced throughout the album by compositional direction. Saxes often take on background roles, giving shape to solos and punctuating phrases. Bass clarinet joins bass to growl composite lines under melodies. Tutti statements give way to unaccompanied solos. Taking full advantage of the group's instrumentation produces a recording of staggering diversity, even within individual tracks.
The Two Faces of Janus animates Robinson's formidable compositional skill with a lively rhythmic playfulness. The result sounds anything but academic.
Release Date:
October 5, 2010, on Cuneiform Records
Personnel:
- Jason Robinson – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto flute
- Liberty Ellman – guitar (all tracks except 4, 8 and 9)
- Drew Gress – bass (all tracks except 4 and 9)
- George Schuller – drums and percussion (all tracks except 4 and 9)
- Marty Ehrlich – alto saxophone and bass clarinet (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9)
- Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto saxophone (tracks 2, 5 and 7)
with
- Return to Pacasmayo
- The Two Faces of Janus
- The Elders
- Huaca de la Luna
- Tides of Consciousness Fading
- Cerberus Reigning
- Persephone's Scream
- Paper Tiger
- Huaca del Sol
- The Twelfth Labor
