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1.
San Mateo 08:03
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2.
Wandering 04:02
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3.
Point and Line 08:38
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4.
Evening Part I 07:03
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5.
Underneath 09:24
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6.
Tall Trees 03:58
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7.
Shimmering 05:51
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about

A title, obliquely representative of moving gradually from there to here, is an apt description for this newest project of Jefferson Pitcher’s sonic world. Absent mostly, are the drones and watery gurgles, the click and crunch, replaced with a constant lunging and seeking in the language of avant-jazz. Present with Jefferson are his past collaborator Mike Bullock on contrabass, Jason Robinson on tenor sax and flute, and Bob Weiner on drums and percussion. Jefferson plays mostly a nylon string guitar, one of his own construction, though he appears briefly on electric, also crafted by his own hands.
The music meanders and twists offering space for silence and contemplation, with room for the listener to insert themselves, perhaps in the way that Umberto Eco speaks of the open work. Pitcher is nimble and understated on the nylon string guitar, speaking an idiom that is both fluid and disjunct, melodic and atonal. There is a near constant conversation between him and Bullock on bass, the two responding elegantly to one another’s meanderings, locking the voices without ever really seeming to follow any set path. Bob Weiner creates a world of rattling and rumbling, often sounding like two players, not one. When he settles into a groove at various times on the record, joined by Bullock, the rhythm section builds into something of a real gem; powerful and explosive, without being overt. Jason Robinson is at times explosive and muscular on tenor, virtuosity in his playing, and elegantly sensitive. All four players are incredibly in sync here, flowing through call and response with great ease. This record sounds and feels live and alive in the very best of ways. It never really lands anywhere, drifting and seeking, until the final piece has the four players completely in sync, shimmering, as the song title implies, with great beauty.
This project deftly calls to mind Pitcher’s long obsession with middle eastern music, namely the oud playing of Hamza El Din, and Rabih Abou-Khalil on his magically delicate record titled Journey to the Center of an Egg, without feeling derivative. Not world music, to be sure, but not jazz exactly. But not, not jazz either. Sometimes, music is difficult to place squarely into categories and difficult to summarize. Alder and Oak lands firmly on familiar ground for Pitcher, while heading off into new and uncharted territory. It is a beautiful record, full of expert playing and the customary seeking in Pitcher’s world, a path unto an entirely new place carrying the old spirits in full force. ~ Lost Forest

credits

released September 7, 2021

Mike Bullock | Contrabass
Jefferson Pitcher | Guitar
Jason Robinson | Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Bob Weiner | Drums, Percussion
Andrew Oedel | Engineer
Eric Broyhill | Mastering

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Jefferson Pitcher

Jefferson Pitcher is a guitarist and composer whose work has twice been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and has been well reviewed by Pitchfork, The Melbourne Sun, Prefix, Blurt, Harp and more. His music is available on Standard Recording Co., Digitalis Recordings, Camera Obscura, Tape Drift, Moonpalace , Dutch East India, Words on Music, and Tract Records. ... more

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