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Sonny Simmons and Moksha Samnyasin, Nomadic: No Sense in Fighting

Posted in Reviews on January 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

sonny simmons and moksha samnyasin

At 81 years old, alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons has overseen a career that spans decades in forward-thinking jazz. The Dec. 2014 Svart Records release, Nomadic, is nonetheless one of two full-lengths Simmons issued last year, the other being Leaving Knowledge, Wisdom and Brilliance on Improvising Beings. For the four songs of NomadicSimmons partners with sitarist Michel Kristof (also Other Matter), bassist Thomas Bellier (also Blaak Heat Shujaa) and drummer Sébastien Bismuth (also Abrahma), who form a trio dubbed Moksha Samnyasin, and explores somehow-primal/somehow-contemplative, unhindered jazz that finds further roots in heavy psychedelia, Bellier‘s bass tone and recording style a recognizable element for anyone who’s heard his band, and Bismuth‘s percussion style itching to nestle into steady grooves as a foundation for Simmons‘ extended wandering pieces. Nomadic is a powerful listening experience, with cover art that calls to mind ’60s-era Miles Davis or Charles Mingus and an aesthetic no less ambitious stretched out over “Help Them through this World” (14:45), “We are Entering a Place of That” (7:58), “I Put it in a Dark Area Where I Don’t Remember No More” (14:18) and “When it Comes, I Don’t Fight It” (8:17), all four recorded by Bellier in 2011 with a feel that, if it’s not live, it’s close enough to it that it hardly matters. A creative spirit brims at the album’s core, whether it’s the dense payoff of the opener or the saxophone’s solo finish to the final two tracks, the last of them as blazing as anything that came before it on the record. By the time they get there, that’s saying something.

BismuthBellier and Kristof together can’t compete with Simmons in terms of resumé, but Nomadic finds them much more than a backing band. Very often, it’s the bass and drums setting the atmospheric foundation for a given movement — stretches bring to mind a faster Om, which Kristof‘s sitar adds to fluidly — a wash of crash cymbal in “Help Them through this World” foreshadowing the spaces Nomadic will inhabit as Simmons seems to breathe out echoing notes in another context would be the stuff of smoke-filled halls but here retain a Eastern flavor in no small part because of their playing off the sitar and the molten grooving around them. A two-sided vinyl-style symmetry holds true even on the CD release, but much of the album’s atmospheric course is set by the time the 14-minutes of the opener are done, Simmons stepping in with Bellier‘s bassline and Kristof‘s sitar atop Bismuth‘s unmistakably heavy drumming, even if its patterns are expanded upon with subsequent tracks. “We are Entering a Place of That” starts off quiet after the high-energy finish of “Help Them through this World,” Simmons easing the sax in amid cymbal wash and the steady bassline as though waking it up. A subtle and satisfying build emerges, but is driven to less of a “finale” than the preceding cut, and instead, as they approach the seventh minute, bass, sitar, sax and drums exit and Simmons talks for a minute or so about being in Egypt, the universal nature of art as a piece of what makes a culture and so on. Less a lecture than an anecdote from him, despite the weight of the theme. It’s brief, but one imagines it is just a tiny sampling of the stories told during the session.

sonny-simmons-(Photo-by-Michel-Kristof)

The two sides are of roughly equal length, yet I wouldn’t say Nomadic makes a point of its symmetry. The album’s second half begins with “I Put it in a Dark Area Where I Don’t Remember No More,” a build that feels somewhat in conversation with side A’s opener but ultimately proves to be the highlight of the record, Simmons and Moksha Samnyasin finding their most engaging mesh in slower melodic drones, layers of ambient guitar-ish noise, and a gradually unfolding forward march from Bismuth‘s toms brought to full-breadth righteousness just before 10 minutes in only to have Simmons finish off the track on his own, leading to the solo-drums start of “When it Comes, I Don’t Fight It,” the bassline joining first with far-off sitar, electronic swirl and subtle sax notes to add serenity to an otherwise surprising tension. “When it Comes, I Don’t Fight It” hits its mark with Nomadic‘s slowest progression, but Simmons — clearly not fighting it — takes hold and proceeds to belt out a three-minute solo that caps the song and record with a fitting “woo!” and laugh at the end. That laugh in a way really speaks to the crux of what Sonny Simmons and Moksha Samnyasin have on offer with Nomadic, namely an experience rooted in the raw joy of creative exploration. There is a persistent improvised feel to the material, particularly Simmons‘ own parts, and it feeds an overarching spontaneity that makes both individual pieces and the album front to back all the more engaging. Given the span of Simmons‘ career, Nomadic‘s breadth is even more impressive, pushing boundaries where many would otherwise be content to rehash older ideas or rest on the laurels of past glories.

Sonny Simmons & Moksha Samnyasin, Nomadic (2014)

Sonny Simmons’ website

Nomadic at Svart Records’ Bandcamp

Svart Records

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Sonny Simmons to Collaborate with Members of Blaak Heat Shujaa and Abrahma on New Album

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 6th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

sonny simmons

Could probably count on three fingers the number of posts that have gone up in the last five-plus years that had much more to do with jazz than a vague influence via prog, but the upcoming Nomadic from Oakland, CA-based alto saxophonist/English horner Sonny Simmons sounds like an interesting project anyway, and incorporates a few familiar heads in Thomas Bellier of Blaak Heat Shujaa and Abrahma‘s Seb Bismuth. They make up two-thirds of Simmons‘ backing band, Moksha Samnyasin, with Michel Kristof of Other Matter rounding out.

The four have been working together for a few years now, so should be interesting to hear how the LP trips out when Svart issues it come late November. Until then, to the PR wire:

sonny simmons nomadic

Free jazz legend SONNY SIMMONS to release new heavy psych experimentation on SVART

Today, Svart Records sets November 28th as the international release date for Nomadic, the latest psychedelic exploration of free jazz legend Sonny Simmons. At 82 years old, Simmons has joined forces with Moksha Samnyasin, a bass/drums/sitar trio consisting of French musicians Thomas Bellier (Spindrift, Blaak Heat Shujaa), Sebastien Bismuth (Abrahma), and Michel Kristof (Other matter).

Nomadic stands at the peak of Sonny Simmons’ quest for Middle-Eastern, psychedelic sonorities, the latest sonic accomplishment of a career spanning seven decades, during which Simmons has investigated and deconstructed every form of mind-expansive music. Moksha Samnyasin lays a heavy, vibrant, and improvised foundation that gives Simmons’ alto sax and English horn the space to explore the sonic spectrum and push the boundaries of conventional psychedelia. Unfolding visions of the Far East, hinting at the minimalism of free jazz, the result is a peyote-laced Bitches Brew making way for a brand-new form of “jazz fusion.” Recorded between Paris and New York, the album was mastered by Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Deftones).

One of the last originators and godfathers of 1950s free jazz alive, Sonny Simmons’ explosive sound was revealed to the public by Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and John Coltrane. Bridging the gap between the West Coast and the East Coast, Oakland (where he was raised) and Woodstock (where he co-founded an artist commune in 1968), he recorded for the visionary ESP label in the 1960s, rehearsed with Hendrix (the neighbor next door…), and relentlessly pushed the limits. Re-launched by Quincy Jones on Warner in the 1990s, while maintaining a high profile within jazz circles, Simmons’ interest in the newest electric and electronic experimentation continues to support his timeless reputation.

Nomadic features striking original artwork by renowned artist Tokyo Ayoama. The album will be released on CD, vinyl LP, and digital formats. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Sonny Simmons & Moksha Samnyasin’s Nomadic
1. Help Them Through This World
2. We Are Entering The Place Of That
3. I Put It In A Dark Area Where I Don’t Remember No More
4. When It Comes, I Don’t Fight It

MORE INFO:
www.sonnysimmons.org
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords
www.youtube.com/svartrecords
www.twitter.com/svartrecords

Sonny Simmons & The Moksha Samnyasin, “Hey Mankind Pt. 2” (2012)

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