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Downbeat Magazine
March 1999
Mark Helias, Open Loose: Come Ahead Back
****
Conceptual vigor and joie de vivre blend felicitously in Mark Helias’
music, qualities communicated to the max on Come Ahead Back... . Trio mates
Ellery Eskelin on tenor sax and Tom Rainey on drums are individualists adept
at thinking on their feet in sync, able to switch roles at a moment’s
notice, equally comfortable in the open field or working within a lane. Helias
presents a balanced six-course menu, opening with “Semaphore,” a
loose high-velocity aperitif that gets the juices flowing. That segues to the
lively blues-with-a-twist “Line Nine,” morphs into open-form rubato
with “The Other Brother,” hurtles into free-bop with “Boppo,”
decrescendos into nuanced three-way improv on “Case Sensitive,”
and concludes on a deep groove with the African-inflected vamp-to-free “Last
One In, First One Out.” Helias imprints his personality on the flow with
light touch; secure in his virtuosity, he’s the music’s faithful
liege.
Ted Pankin
Request Magazine
September 1998
Mark Helias can rock a bass line like few other jazz bassists. On Come
Ahead Back (Koch), his Open Loose band excites right out of the gate
in a program of tunes with tight time and plenty of leeway: it gets close to
free jazz, but never loses rhythmic tautness.
Ben Ratliff
Mark Helias’ Open Loose
Come Ahead Back
Koch
Open Loose is one of New York’s best live jazz groups. This trio led by
Mark Helias (b) also contains Ellery Eskelin (ts) and Tom Rainey (d). I can’t
say enough great things about this group, both as individuals and collectively.
Mark Helias is a truly great bass player who has the capacity to use the instrument
in many different ways, exploring all of its possibilities. Equally comfortable
with the index finger and bow, he doesn’t leave intonation behind when
extracting noisy feats or harmonics from the strings. Ellery Eskelin is the
strongest of today’s horn players. Sticking exclusively to tenor saxophone,
his sound is strong and vibrant. The notes he picks are beautiful and exciting,
drawing the listener in with his unique combination of introversion and extroversion.
Tom Rainey often threatens to steal the show, no matter with whom he plays.
He is visually exciting, flailing his arms about spastically to whop everything
in sight, including music stands and walls. Yet despite his “wild”
physicality, there is a pervasive precision in everything that he does.
Collectively and individually, these three are some of the best listeners in
the business. A lot of the trio’s synergy comes from their ability to
perform astoundingly well on their own instruments while constantly responding
to and supporting each other.
One of the great things about an Open Loose performance is that an audience
member is never sure when compositions end and begin, and what was written beforehand
and what was composed right on stage. Unfortunately, that feature of Open Loose
is lost on “Come Ahead Back,” and it is clearly demarked both musically
and visually in the booklet as to what was “written” and what was
“improvised”, with separate tracks for each.
Though there are some hits here, including Helias’ “Boppo”
and the improvised “Case Sensitive”, The trio sounds like it’s
on an off night. The sterile ambiance of a studio setting may account for some
of this. However, some of what is lacking in this CD may also be in the recording
itself. Though the recording quality of the CD sounds fine on the surface, the
microphones managed not to catch the full force of the trio. Ellery’s
powerful sound is muffled. Mark’s beautiful bass sounds not as inimitable
as it does in real life. And Tom Sounds restrained an distant.
If I hadn’t seen this trio live so many times, I might not be so critical
of this disc. It’ s still good music. For those who may not get a chance
to see the trio or who are waiting to do so, it’s a good introduction.
And it allowed Helias to record some of his compositions -- I’ve been
waiting for a recorded version of “Last One In, First One Out” for
a while; it’s one of the trios anthems. So, .... I await a live record
from Open Loose.
Ken Thomson “On Air” WKCR Radio Guide
CD Now (Internet)
``Come Ahead Back ... ,'' Open Loose (Koch Jazz). Bassist Mark Helias, saxophonist
Ellery Eskelin and drummer Tom Rainey turn themselves loose on a collection
of fascinating themes - some transfixingly twisted, others surprisingly straight-ahead.
Intense, involving music in the post-Coltrane mode.
IAJRC Journal (Spring 1999)
Come Ahead Back... is new from bassist Mark Helias and his Open Loose trio with
tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and drummer Tom Rainey. the name really describes
this band’s stripped-down sound, refreshingly open and airy, whether they’re
playing in tempo (the loping Helias original “Line Nine” for example)
or reacting to one another out of tempo (as in the collective improvisation
they call “The Other brother”). The sparse setting of this line-up
is a perfect showcase for the richness of Eskelin’s tone, full-bodied
or slightly pinched as the music demands. Helias has one of the sweetest bass
sounds on the scene. Listen to “Last One In, First One Out” where
the bass part drives the rhythm and establishes the feel for another of his
altered blues. Rainey’s popping snare and emphasis on rudiments serve
the music well, making this a keenly balanced trio, with a focus on “interactive
collective musical creation” (Helias’ words). Definitely a trip
worth taking.
Open Loose
Come Ahead Back
Mark Helias, a musically gifted jack-of-all-trades, always seems to be searching
for new ways to express himself, from solo performance to his own quartet. Open
Loose is a trio with a revolving door policy as concerns the other two members.
His collaborators have included Gerry Hemmingway or Pheeroan AkLaff on drums,
Chris Speed on tenor and Herb Robertson on trumpet. On this CD, we're delighted
to find Ellery Eskelin on tenor, a prominent voice on the scene and someone
who will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Tom Rainey, perhaps
better known for his work in more conventional settings, proves himself here
to be a master improviser. Listen to this CD, and particularly Case Sensitive,
if you want to know what musical interaction is all about. While's there is
no apparent "leader" on that tune, the effect is nonetheless one of
unity and coherence. "Free" music, or as Helias might put it, open
and loose? A very successful effort. [ALR]