Michael Moss | Accidental Orchestra – “Helix” (2018)

“Helix” will be released on March 24, 2018. This album was recorded by a group of marvelous avant-garde jazz experimenters – Jason Kao Hwang, Rosi Hertlein, Fung Chern Hwei (violins), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Lenny Mims, Carol Buck (cellos), Steve Swell (trombone), Vincent Chancey (french horn), Waldron Mahdi Ricks (trumpet), Richard Keene (oboe), Elliott Levin (flute, tenor saxophone), Ras Moshe Burnett (soprano and tenor saxophones), Michael Lytle (bass clarinet), Michael Moss (Bb clarinet), Steve Cohn (piano), Billy Stein (guitar), Rick Iannacone (ambient guitar), Larry Roland (string bass), Warren Smith (percussion, vibraphones), Badal Roy (tabla), Chuck Fertal (drums) and Michael Wimberly (djembe, african bells and percussion). This abum is a debut album, which was recorded by Michael Moss and the other musicians. “The compositions by “Accidental Orchestra” have attractive, glamorous and interesting sound. Different jazz styles, contemporary academical music elements, the intonations of experimental music and academic avant-garde are materfully combined together. Various elements of dances, films and theater music intonations, the elements of various countries ethnical music, free and spontaneous solos, unusual timbres, special sound effects – all these and many other elements also are highly effecting whole sound of their improvisations.

The compositions of this album have original and interesting sound. Each musician is inventive, creative and expressive improviser. All of them have original playing manner, unqiue sound, splendid ability to connect together absolutely different musical expressions, playing techniques, moods and other elements. Musicians are paying the highest attention to create extraordinary sound – they use for that huge amount of different music styles and elements. Avant-garde jazz basic elements, bebop, hard-bop, cool, modal jazz, traditional jazz, swing, piano jazz, the intonations of contemporary academical music are masterfully synthesized together. The huge variety of colorful percussion timbres illustrate the melodies and rhythms and create a gorgeous background. These compositions have polyphonic musical pattern – free, spontaneous and independent melodies by each musician have its own style and are based on different playing manners. The melodic section is bright, has many different lays and huge amount of different musical expressions. The melodies of violins have dynamic sound – sometimes it’s very soft and melodic, sometimes – very bright, solid and dynamic. Violins, viola, cellos and string bass melodies bring academical tune and color to the improvisations. These melodies are highly contrasting with the other melodic instruments – very bright, deep and solid brass and reeds. Soft and colorful flutes, bright, dynamic and active oboes, expressive, turbulent and sharp saxophones and clarinets, loud and intense trumpet, french horn and deep bass of trombone and bass clarinet melodies form very solid, independent and vivacious sound. Marvelous instrumentation decisions form and create evocative and innovative sound – soft, subtle and silent flutes and oboes gently and effectively fit together with energetic, expressive, solid and bright reeds. French horn and trombone form and keep solid bass line – static, monotonic and slow repetitive tones and short melodic elements are highly contrasting with virtuosic passages, wild fast and especially expressive melodies, loud and vibrant blow outs, fascinating riffs and other similar elements. The sound is highly effected by experimental playing techniques – trills, frulato, vibrato, glissando and various experimental methods of playing are gently combined together. Guitar and ambient guitar melodies are also very dynamic and original – huge range of different playing techniques and expressions are used there. After passionate solos there come soft, silent, peaceful and abstract episodes with weird and strange timbres. Musicians masterfully switch between vivacious, vivid and passionate sound to the aggressive, dark and sharp or – relaxing and peaceful. Piano melodies are based on free improvisation – pianist not just masterfully tries out and experiments in all ways of musical language, but also bring colorful and solid harmony to the compositions. The harmony is constantly changing, it never stays the same for long – dissonance, sharp and dramatic chords are condensed together with consonances and other subtle ad soft chords. Pianist is improvising very expressively and passionately – his vivid playing full of virtuosic passages, huge amount of extended playing techniques, sudden changes, turns and different moods which are masterfully connected together. Drums section is also independent as melodic. It has rich, polyphonic and colorful musical pattern – loud, expressive, fast and monotonic drum rolls, virtuosic passages, turbulent tremolos, virtuosic passages and solos, huge amount of unusual timbres, interesting combination of traditional and rare instruments bring energetic and evocative sound to the album. The music of this album is fascinating – it has many different twists, sudden turns, surprises and innovative sound.