Shakes and Sounds (1991)

The debut recording from this tentet is comprised of pieces dating back to 1988. the band was created by Paul Termos to explore his own fascinations with the checks ands balances of creating pieces for a large ensemble. The eight pieces here explore some idea of how improvisational, compositional, and aleatoric elements are combined. Everything isn't in its place, but the harmonic elements and polytonal exchange between the saxophones and percussion instruments (piano, drums, vibes), which in turn engage the brass and bass, is nothing short of remarkable. Throughout there is great warmth, humor and vision on the part of both composer and instrumentalists. In places carnival and circus music are juxtaposed free jazz and then ballroom swing and finally hard bop with a harmonic invention that erects and collapses itself as a first foundational precept to something else that's never articulated. The entire process in these pieces is meta-musical; in other words, music about music. (Thom Jurek)|