| Discography of Joe Fonda | 2002 |
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Lineup
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Recorded 2002
Released 2002 by Kali Records [KALI 0113]
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CD Reviews
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21 October 2002 by Joe Milazzo for One Final Note The core group on this recording-the quartet of Herb Robertson, Michael Jefry Stevens, Joe Fonda, and Harvey Sorgen-has quite a long history of performing together. As stakeholders in various versions of the Fonda-Stevens Group, these four musicians have explored both thoroughly composed and arranged as well as spontaneously realized original music. But, even if the listener is not familiar with the body of work created by this still-going concern, one can appreciate how guitarist Jimmy Williams adds to the dynamism of these collective improvisations. Williams' contributions here are quite restrained, and tend to emphasize texture over melodic content. You can hear this in the spectral sounds-lightly stroked single notes and faint bongo-like thumbings of the strings-that resonate through "Wide Opening", or the open-tuned picking that inaugurates "Fish Can't Carry Guns". Even on "Quantum Flute", on which Williams turns on his wah-wah pedal, the results sound more lubricious than distressed. That said, it hardly makes sense to single out a lone performer in what is clearly an ensemble operating at a very high level of rapport. Although all of the pieces on this recording possess a distinct identity, the music is quite audibly the responsibility of all the musicians. Even during those portions of the performances that do not feature the entire ensemble (and there are true solo episodes to be heard here), the ensemble is still present by virtue of timbral and figural references and suggestions. On "Tap the Source", the entire group turns simple percussive puns on the onomatopoetic implications of the piece's title — from Robertson rattling his valves to Sorgen rollicking about like Zutty Singleton — into material of great generative potential. "Leadership" in this combo passes from instrument to instrument like a lightning strike that has the properties of an elastic band. The brightness of the lines created immediately draws the eye, but, taking a wider view, one notices how shapes have been created by the arrival, then departure, and occasionally even the return of energy from each point of the ensemble. The interest here, then, lies not in redirection and subversion of sectional flow, but in accompaniment. One only has to hear the massed, overlapping vibrations set up between Fonda's always powerful arco bass and throaty flute, Robertson's panting trumpet mumbles, and Stevens' riff-like cells of recurring thematic material — downright bluesy and rushing and retarding the beat in elisions that would make Monk beam on "Count It Off" — to understand that this group very much creates and thrives within its own time and space. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 One Final Note and Joe Milazzo. |
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Steven Loewy for All Music Guide Bassist Joe Fonda has led some successful groups through the years that rely on a healthy mixture of cutting-edge compositions and free-style improvisation. Full Circle Suite is his best effort yet, in part due to a top-rate and extremely compatible quintet with Gebhard Ullmann on bass clarinet, Chris Jonas on soprano saxophone, Taylor Ho Bynum on trumpet, and Kevin Norton on drums. The music sizzles, with Bynum spitting phrases like a Singer sewing machine, the reeds interlocking, Norton powering the engine, and Fonda modestly, though diligently, holding it all together. Collective improvisation fades in and out, while individuals spring forth and fade and compositional lines emerge from the shadows. At times, there is the feel of Ornette's Free Jazz, but it is clearly stamped with Fonda's vision. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC and Steven Loewy. All reviews written by Steven Loewy:
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