Jon Hassell
Vernal Equinox

Two worlds, two apparently distinct universes, even from a musical perspective: the Third World, with millennia of musical tradition mainly linked to improvisation, and our world, the First, with a more analytical approach and an extreme maturation from the compositional profile. According to Jon Hassell, it is possible to unite these two worlds with a total immersion, an "intoxication" in search of a perfect musical form that is not a hybrid but a total symbiosis between the two parts, a calligraphy in the air. The Fourth World project starts with these premises and for over thirty years, it has never stopped providing insights and inspiration, beginning with "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts" and ending with bands indirectly influenced like Primus (see Brain's collaboration for the album "Dressing For Pleasure"). It is a musical vision already mature, in fact, "Vernal Equinox", recorded at the age of 40, a sublime highlight of Hassell's career, is the perfect fusion of all the trumpeter's experiences: Memphis and jazz; Karlheinz Stockhausen and electronics; La Monte Young and minimalism and finally, but more influential than the others, Pandit Pran Nath and Indian ragas. From here, a whole new way to play the trumpet, which, as Scaruffi says, is the absolute protagonist of the album.
The skillful use of electronics and percussion, which reach their highest peak in the title track (a suite of about 22 minutes), takes the listener to new worlds, new universes, where serenity and perhaps a meeting point between previously isolated and unrelatable cultures can be found. According to the writer, "Vernal Equinox", representing one of the milestones among attempts at cultural reunification, a quest to rediscover lost communication throughout history, can be well-associated with another great avant-garde album: "Hosianna Mantra" by Popol Vuh. However, this one stands on a purely metaphysical plane, seeking a philosophy of life/religion, also here using the synthesis between two cultures never conceivable to associate, Catholicism and Hinduism, while Hassell starts directly from the human experience to ascend to other worlds, other levels of perception, which never lose the initial purpose. "Vernal Equinox" and "Hosianna Mantra", in short, together represent respectively res extensa and res cogitans of the same musical quest dedicated to breaking a silence that has lasted for far too long.