No Subject Review by Tim Niland

jazzandblues.blogspot.com/2023/03/east-axis-no-subject-mack-avenue.html 

THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2023

East Axis - No Subject (Mack Avenue Recordings, 2023)

East Axis is an excellent progressive jazz quartet consisting of four well respected musicians, Gerald Cleaver on drums, Kevin Ray bass, Matthew Shipp on piano and new member Scott Robinson on tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, tarogato, trumpet and slide cornet. This album builds on the success their previous fine LP, Cool With That. The music is very impressive and dynamic, with Matthew Shipp moving from dropping huge clusters of battlefield clearing low end notes and chords to hypnotic minimalism of repetitive static that creates a springboard for the others to jump into improvisation from. Robinson is a fine addition to the group with his multitude of instruments allowing the band to develop music that has a multitude of textures and consistencies from fine grain pointillism to deeply hewn free jazz. Cleaver plays particularly well here, using his full command of the entire drum kit to push and pull the tempo while Shipp and Ray gradually guide the rhythm and Ray moves majestically through his horns. This is all happening in real time as the musicians interact with each other and their environment in a very fulfilling way. These four musicians were able to take notions from free jazz and more literally composed sections to coalesce and create truly intuitive music, which makes a memorable impact. This was a very well executed recording, creating exciting music that sounds fresh, the music moving forward by developing a team based and resonant sound played with a spark of the unexpected.