Andy Biskin

An essay in clarinet curiosity, Andy Biskin’s musical basket is filled with sounds from five types of clarinets played by Biskin and three other top New York reedists whose skills encompass jazz, new music, pop and ethnic sounds. Resourceful, Biskin, who composed half the 13 titles and arranged all, is part of many ensembles and is also a filmmaker, A former assistant to folklorist Alan Lomax, his 16 Tons: Songs from the Alan Lomax Collection of 2018 reinterpreted familiar folk songs for improvisers and this session extends that POMO idea even further.

Besides Biskin’s alternately rhapsodic, rhythmic and quirky originals, he, Peter Hess, Sam Sadigursky and Mike McGinnis use their reed combinations to recast tunes as different as Classic Jazz standards like Jelly Roll Morton’s “Wolverine Blues” and Pee Wee Russell’s “Wailin’ DA Blues” with Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, Lerner & Lowe’s “Camelot” and Franz Schubert’s “Moment Musicaux #3”. The last is particularly noteworthy because the combination of sopranino clarinet lyricism and a bass clarinet continuum turn the Austrian composer’s piece into a near Klezmer romp, albeit one that could feature Russell as soloist. Interestingly enough “Wailin’ DA Blues”, a Pee Wee showpiece is similarly transformed. From a bedrock of interlocking blues riffs, overlapping individual solos of piercing squeals and twittery flutters later combine to squirm onto a multi-vibrated finale. In reverse “Walk on the Wild Side”, is modified from rock anthem to an expressive ballad with clarion reeds propelling the theme, decorated with gentle trills which even replicate the original doo-de-do choruses.

Biskin’s compositions are correspondently diverse, ranging from the pastel tone poem of “Yasmina” to the near-dissonant “So Forth”. The former confirm that softness and syncopation aren’t antagonists, with heartfelt glissandi and tremolo line circling the moderated group forward motion. The latter featuring four bass clarinets, wallows though basement-level interlocking interchanges with a few altissimo squeaks and mid-range trills added to a four-part unison resolution.

Firmly in the tradition of other multi-reed ensembles like ROVA and the Clarinet Choir, Reed Basket defines an individual  direction mostly through Biskin’s out-of-the-ordinary formulations.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Easy Chair 3. Camelot 3. Yasmina 4. Moment Musicaux #3 5. New Fangle 6. Wailin’ DA Blues 7. Old Self 8. Blue Silver 9. So Forth 10. Walk on the Wild Side 11. If Time Allows 12. Wolverine Blues 13. Minotaur

Personnel: Andy Biskin (Bb, bass clarinet); Peter Hess (Bb, Eb, alto clarinet, bass, contra-alto clarinet); Mike McGinnis (Bb, alto, bass clarinet) and Sam Sadigursky (Bb, Eb, bass clarinet)