Brad Dutz
Nine Gardeners Named Ned
(pfMentum CD026)
Look at the pretty weeds . . . they’re dead / Rotted vegetables . . . too late to pick / Rotted fruit . . . infested with insects / Distribute fertilizer . . . . evenly / I like brown leaves especially when they’re torn / Leaf blowers are stinky . . . and loud / Norbert rakes bark . . . and mulch / Wicked late for nite blooming . . . but not dusk / Plant the bulbs . . . frequently (61:50)
Dutz, vibes, mar, perc; Chris Wabich, d, steel d, perc; Kim Richmond, cl; Bob Carr, b cl; Sara Schoenbeck, bsn; Ellen Burr, flt, piccolo; John Fumo, tpt, piccolo tpt; William Roper, tba, spoken word; on 1, 5: Trey Henry, b; on 4, 6, 8, 9: Dean Taba, b; on 1: Anders Swanson, b; on 4, 8, 9: Kris Tiner, tpt, flgh; on 4, 6: Jasper Dutz, cl, b cl. California, 2003–4.
LA percussionist Brad Dutz’s suite takes its titles from a spoken-word piece by William Roper, a cartoon Garden of Eden story that contributes to the album’s general air of childlike playfulness. Dutz’s music has a bright sunlit atmosphere, the air often filled with a soft haze of overtones from metal percussion; the instrumentation is also distinctively light-textured, making prominent use of clarinet, flute, piccolo, steel drums and marimba. Pieces like “Distribute fertilizer . . . evenly” and “Wicked late for nite bloom . . . but not dusk” are glittering, multifaceted, rather mysterious structures; but there are also some fast-paced moments, such “I like brown leaves . . . ,” a 5/4 groove with a complexity recalling Henry Threadgill. The two spoken-word tracks are skippable, but otherwise this is consistently unusual and bewitching music, performed by an ace bunch of West Coast musicians. A special hand to Jasper Dutz, nine years old, who drew the cover pictures of the nine Neds and also plays (entirely capable) clarinet and bass clarinet on two tracks.
Nate Dorward
Cadence, December 2005
