Bedouin Hornbook by Rich West

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Weird Jazz | Free Jazz

8 tracks | 68 minutes

Released Dec 2004
on pfMentum

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 11:20 Bugge lyrics BUY MP3 11:20 Bugge lyrics "GIFT MP3" 11:20 Bugge

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:34 Tribology lyrics FREE 06:34 Tribology lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:34 Tribology

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 14:41 Twang lyrics BUY MP3 14:41 Twang lyrics "GIFT MP3" 14:41 Twang

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 08:22 Tread lyrics BUY MP3 08:22 Tread lyrics "GIFT MP3" 08:22 Tread

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 09:00 Friends of the Vacuum lyrics BUY MP3 09:00 Friends of the Vacuum lyrics "GIFT MP3" 09:00 Friends of the Vacuum

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:25 Tychai 1 and 2 lyrics BUY MP3 07:25 Tychai 1 and 2 lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:25 Tychai 1 and 2

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:10 Curly lyrics BUY MP3 04:10 Curly lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:10 Curly

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:44 Furcifer lyrics BUY MP3 06:44 Furcifer lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:44 Furcifer

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from Touching Extremes - Though not devoid of fun, "Bedouin Hornbook" is played with impassible rigour even in its improvised sections. Any visible influence is rinsed out with a millimetric sense of order; the optimization of each instrument's peculia

Editorial review

What do you think of when you hear the words "Bedouin Hornbook," the title of this disk? For most of us, it is probably an image of independent, proud, wandering desert dwellers, probably from somewhere in the Middle East. The music here, though, bears little if any relation to these mythic Arabic wanderers, and instead, as Dorothea Grossman cleverly opines in her liner notes, tongue planted firmly in cheek, the words might just refer to the Los Angeles-based nomads comprising the band. As with so much from the pfMENTUM label, you have to expect the unexpected, and although this one is less radical than many of their other releases, it still incorporates those elements that keep the listener guessing. This is slightly left-of-center, quirky jazz, filtered by melody, and with a horn lineup of tuba, bass clarinet, and a trumpet that shies from the upper registers; there is a dark, sometimes brooding quality that lays a veil of noir. Rich West, the leader, is a drummer who composed (or in some cases, molded) all of the pieces, but as a performer he mostly subordinates his ego to the group sound. Each piece is different, and the combinations of instruments change regularly. The tuba and drums hold down the bottom, while the guitar acts in both a rhythmic and front line capacity. An example: What appears to be conch shells surrounded by computer pulses on "Twang" results from a delightful if surprisingly conservative blend of instrumentalists, which include Jeremy Drake, who contributes mightily on electric guitar, and Chris Heenan, who is able, remarkably, to coax didgeridoo-like pulses from the bass clarinet. Sometimes the group reminds the listener of the fast-paced work of Carlo Actis Dato, but with slightly less intensity, less kitsch, and greater diversity of sounds. ~ Steven Loewy, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

Rich West, drums, composer, leader

Scot Ray, tuba, didjeridoo

Chris Heenan, bass clarinet, alto saxophone

Bruce Friedman, trumpet

Jeremy Drake, electric guitar

from the liner notes:

"The sad thing about L.A. is that it's hard keeping people in the same room for extended periods of time." Rich West

The title is from a book by Nate Mackey, which I haven't read. However, in the spirit of Richard Meltzer's infamous "previews" of bands to whom he's neither listened or talked prior to writing about them, I'll concentrate on the nomadic implications of Bedouin (from Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language); nomad, "a member of a tribe, nation or race having no permanent home, but moving about constantly in search of food, pasture, etc.", and suggest that this band is composed of nomads as only an L.A. band can be. Luckily, Rich West was able to get them in the same room at least long enough to produce this exuberant album.