Carl Verheyen: Pear/Carl Veryehen/Jimmy Johnson:extemp'ore

Pear/Carl Veryehen/Jimmy Johnson:extemp'ore

Carl Verheyan (guitar); Jimmy Johnson (electric bass); Jennifer Leitham (upright bass); Prince Diabate' (kora); Annie Wadhams; Cindy Wonderful (voice)



On the opening strains of "Dewey Miles," the mysterious lead-off track from Pear's extemp'ore, the voice of Miles Davis intones (in that oft-imitated gruff demeanor): "Don't play what you know, play what you hear." Later in that groove-heavy piece, Miles declares: "I don't want to be labeled anything. I'm a musician." Those two mantras serve as sage-like guidance for the duo of pianist Nick Pierone and percussionist Rick Milne (the core of Pear) on their auspicious debut. Given license to paint vivid colors on a blank canvas, this could be a soundtrack to a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. Pear dives headlong into a pool of provocative sound where the freedom principle prevails and the results are wide-ranging and genre-defying. Drawing on a wealth of musical influences, the audacious duo has concocted a striking pastiche where Miles and Cecil Taylor sit comfortably beside Brian Eno, Digable Planets, Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Bad Plus and Jaco Pastorius, with touches of minimalism, lyricism and spoken word experimentalism thrown into the subversive mix.



A celebration of spontaneity, Pear's extemp'ore is a vibrant example of the alchemy of improvisation, where creating in the moment results in a vitality that no amount of forethought could conjure. Special guests on Pear's maiden voyage include upright bassist Jennifer Leitham, whose humungous, woody tones ground "Dewey Miles," the spikey piano-bass duet "Jenn 2, Sect 1" and the aggressively uptempo "Fast Jenn." Guitarist Carl Verheyan unleashes his signature six-string prowess on "Carl Session 2" while electric bassist Jimmy Johnson (longtime collaborator with guitar god Allan Holdsworth and sideman to James Taylor) turns in some uncommonly lyrical fretless work on the evocative "Tribute to Lorraine" (a dedication to Milne's late mother). Guinean kora master Prince Diabate and rapper Cindy Wonderful (from the electro-punk-dance group Scream Club) also appear on this vibrant production by Pear. "We're old friends and have played together in a lot of different musical groups and genres," says Milne of his creative cohort Pierone. "But we've always shared a love of energized improvisational music. So we made a decision to commit to a series of intense, no-holds-barred free jazz recording sessions."



The baker's dozen of tracks that comprise extemp'ore were culled from those freewheeling jams. Using those sessions as raw materials, the two proceeded to craft music as if with one mind, following each other's inventive twists and turns with an intuitive simpatico. It's a similar method used by Miles Davis and Teo Macero on Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson or Brian Eno and David Byrne on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. That adventurous approach results in the broad palette of sounds and styles heard on extemp'ore, Pear's mash-up manifesto.



(Liner Notes) Improvisational jazz is a high wire act, creating spontaneous composition out of one-take musical conversations. The group Pear, has perfect balance. One foot is firmly planted in the outer worlds of jazz, on songs like "jenn 2 sect.1" and "jimmy 1a." The other touches the modern landscape; with added vocal treatments on songs like "the frenchman" and "black socks" or a loop of percussion on "carl session 2." When you hear music for the first time, you're not sure what to expect. When Pear plays, neither do they....

Track Listings1. Dewey Miles (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

2. The Frenchman (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

3. Jenn 2 Sect 1 (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

4. Jimmy 1a (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

5. Von Schkinny (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

6. Session 15 (LISTEN TO AUDIO)

7. Tribute to Lorraine 8. CW 9. Carl Session 10. A Nod to her Majesty 11. Prince Open 12. Fast Jenn 13. Black Socks



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