Cubist Music? What the hell may that be? Music made with cubes? Music made for cubist? Well, not really. In fact, pianist and composer Edsel Gomez has recorded a fine jazz album made with traditional instruments that should appeal to listeners of more intellectual instrumental jazz music.
Cubism is defined as an avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture in the early 20th century.In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form — instead of rendering objects from a single fixed angle, the artist depicts the subject from multiple angles simultaneously as an attempt to present the subject in the most complete manner. Often the surfaces of the facets, or planes, intersect at angles that show no recognizable depth. The background and object (or figure) planes interpenetrate one another creating the ambiguous shallow space characteristic of cubism. It was a complete and clearly defined aesthetic.
Edsel’s main aim was to approach the music from a cubist angle. “The basic principle of Cubist music is very simple and can change the way a musician improvises instantly,” he says. “In very much the same way a Cubist painting portrays an image by combining cubes or building blocks, this concept consists of a search for melodies or patterns that are perceived to have a beginning and an end,” he explains. “I call these melodic motifs or complete unit patterns we search for ‘unitifs.’ For this recording, musicians were requested to search for these unitifs within their improvised lines and build their solos by juxtaposing and contrasting different unitifs just like cubes in a Cubist painting.”
Still sounds rather academically, doesn’t it? It becomes much clearer if you read what Edsel says about the first time he thought about cubist music after moving to New York in 1997. “I would go out to different places and hear so many great players who have so much music to offer. Everywhere you go in New York, even on the subway, you find somebody playing great. So I would hear all of this stuff and remember what somebody would play — maybe one phrase that caught my attention. And I would think, ‘If I could just play one idea and then construct another idea to this one where one is fueled by another; if I could take the ideas that I like and just make a music out of those little ideas, that would be something unique.’”
So Cubist Music is Edsel’s unique way to create a tapestried patchwork of music with enough room for improvising that takes influences from various sources to create something new.
Edsel recorded his Zoho debut album with Don Byron (clarinet), David Sanchez (tenor sax), Miguel Zenon (alto sax), Steve Wilson (alto sax), Gregory Tardy (tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute), Drew Gress (acoustic bass) and Bruce Cox (drums).
With thirteen original and musical varied compositions (all by Edsel Gomez except for Molly which was written by producer and clarinetist Don Byron) there’s enough to keep the discerning listener happy. There’s the fast, energy-ridden opener NYC Taxi Ride, that captures the chaos of overcrowded streets. The furious, fragmented Ladybug reminds me of late last summer when an invasion of ladybugs caused some confusion. Personally I think Edsel’s cubist music works best in its quieter moments like the tribute to the Puerto Rican trombonist and longtime Duke Ellington sideman Juan Tizol, the excellent solo piano song The “Adoracion” Variations or Coqui Serenade, a song that tries to re-create the sound of small tree frogs, that are endemic to Puerto Rico and have become an unofficial national symbol of Puerto Rico. Another favourite is the haunting Empty House that finds Edsel in inspiring conversation with bassist Drew Gress. Thanks to Drew’s bowed bass this song has a really captivating quality.
All in all Cubist Music is an inspiring album that may need a few plays but then it rewards the persistent listener with its very own beauty.

Tracklisting of Cubist Music: 1. Wolfville/ 2. To the Lord/ 3. The Minetta Triangle/ 4. Lady Bug/ 5. Juan Tizol/ 6. The 3 – 3 Clave/ 7. Empty House/ 8. Coqui Serenade/ 9. W 54th Street Theme/ 10. NYC Taxi Ride/ 11. The “Adoracion” Variations/ 12. Harmolodic Collage/ 13. Molly | released 2006 by Zoho

For more infos visit edselgomez.com, zohomusic.com and cdbaby.com.

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