November 14 - 21, 1 9 9 6
[Off the Record]
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*** NRG Ensemble

THIS IS MY HOUSE

(Delmark)

The NRG Ensemble are a Chicago-based avant-garde jazz quintet of the old school, their touchstones being high-energy squalling saxes, roiling rhythms, and group improvs that lean toward anti-interplay. The combo is two reeds, two basses, and drums, though everybody doubles up so that trumpet and vibes figure in the mix as well as, on one track each, violin and short-wave radio. The bracing nihilistic noise that NRG can make is the least interesting thing about them; when Ayler did it barricades fell, but at this late date it's just another point of view.

Fortunately, the group like to encase their ecstatic cris de coeur in big multi-part compositions, pacing their pieces with reflective (or at least relatively quiet) interludes, varied instrumental combinations (clarinet and trumpet at one point, vibes and bass clarinet at another), and a lot of written and predetermined material. "Whirlwind," by group leader and tenor demon Mars Williams, is a good example of their panoramic approach, building from some haunted house atmospherics to a sadly languid theme, peaking with some fierce adrenaline bop from Williams before it's back down the mountain again. This combination of existential bravado and ambitious plotting remains creatively balanced throughout the disc. It's nice, too, to hear people still keeping the faith, even if I'm no longer quite sure in what.

-- Richard C. Walls

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