Tim Berne
Fractured Fairy Tales

Are things going wonderfully for you? Is your life flowing smoothly and free of worries? It's time to inject a healthy dose of unease and anguish with these delightful "Fractured Fairy Tales" by Tim Berne.

A student and collaborator of Julius Hemphill, the alto saxophonist Tim Berne, from his very first steps on the avant-garde jazz scene, has been noted as a prominent ear-breaker, surrounding himself with equally renowned rascals, some of whom today enjoy great fame, such as drummer Joey Baron and violinist Mark Feldman, who orbit in the entourage of that other enfant terrible of creative music, the much more famous John Zorn.

This album, released in 1989 and available in a remastered version from 2003, features the participation, in addition to the aforementioned Feldman and Baron, of the leader's alter ego Herb Robertson, who juggles trumpet, flugelhorn, pocket trumpet, and a series of other toys, the trusty Mark Dresser on bass, and another "big shot," the ineffable cellist Hank Roberts, at that time in Bill Frisell's band.

For Berne, musicians playing with him must first and foremost have a well-developed sense of humor, but listening to the tracks on this CD, one might think it is macabre and mischievous black humor. Everyone is hard at work crafting long and intricate sonic frescoes where the rhythmic-harmonic structures, while remaining present, are subject to continuous evolution/mutation, providing a moving carpet on which the soloists, more often than not, skillfully torture their respective instruments. The leader alternates solos that seem like a series of vigorous horn blasts with more introspective moments laden with savory blues.

Marvelous is the work of the two strings, violin and cello, which add landscapes of boundless desolation, two-part improvisations ("Hong Kong Sad Song/More Coffee") and instrumental performances of a difficulty bordering on nervous exhaustion. Hank Roberts provides an "orchestra within the orchestra," with acoustic and electrified cello, combined with a series of loops and electronic effects.

The mini-suite "Evolution Of A Pearl," the longest and most complex track, expresses its own sensual and corrupt charm, chasing free bop, funk, and pure experimentation. "Telex Blues" is introduced by a vocal performance by Roberts who babbles, mumbles, and splutters into the microphone. Robertson’s wah-wah trumpet solo in the aforementioned "Hong Kong Sad Song/More Coffee" should be outlawed.

Beyond everything, it does not reach the levels of relentless ferocity of certain Zornian passages; I would say that in this music an uneasy estrangement dominates, punctuated by moments of creative chaos under the strict control of the leader.

In the joyful and carefree festive atmosphere we are experiencing, there's nothing better than listening under the tree to "Tim Berne's Fractured Fairy Tales" to instantly lose the greeting from friends, relatives, and neighbors. Happy Holidays.