Stephan Crump & Rosetta

Jamie Fox (Blood, Sweat & Tears) gives an elegant account of his inventive and harmonically rich musical story, full of anecdotal surprises involving folk, tango and Americana à la Frisell's Nashville. Liberty Ellman (Threadgill, Mahanthappa) is an enigmatic and unorthodox musician and composer. Despite the complex, mathematical foundation, Ellman's music is cerebral in the Jim Hall style. A rhythmicity that is complex and interesting in equal measure, polyrhythmic dissonances and singable melodies go together to provide harmonic fireworks. Stephan Crump (Liebman, Iyer) is Rosetta's cement. His compositions are inspired by various musical styles. The whole remains transparent, the tension held high by a rich exchange of melody and rhythm, solos and themes. The likenesses with Jimmy Guiffre are legion. Ellman and Fox may not have Hall's reputation, but produce guitar playing that is equally rich in ideas. Crump makes no effort whatever to sound like Swallow's alter ego and excites with inventive and warm-blooded bass playing. Just like Giuffre, Rosetta prefers whispers to screams. The intimist playing focuses the attention and transports one's thoughts to broad landscapes. Crump's Rosetta has a unique way of figuring out the music, as Giuffre has in 'The Train and The River' and 'Happy Man': a musical bird pecking rhythmically between the blades of grass in a field, subtly and inventively.