17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur

by Anthony Medici in Album Reviews, Opinion Posts

I eagerly anticipated the CD release of Bill Dixon’s “17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur,” recorded live at Vision Festival XII in New York in 2007, so I eager that I bought one of the first copies of the CD at this year’s Vision Festival XIII, right out of  the box, before it even hit the stores or online sites.  Maybe there was to much anticipation on my part.  Having given it a first listen, I find myself discomfited and vaguely disappointed with Mr. Dixon’s composition and the CD itself.   Perhaps the problem begins with the title, which frankly, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.    The first part of it sounds like something out of Pirandello.  “In search of a sound?” Beats me.  The reference to Darfur seems like an attempt to borrow seriousness; or maybe just portentousness.  The music is wrapped in an nearly impenetrable cloak of high seriousness; this is clearly intended to be a major statement.  But as so often happens in such cases, the music is dragged down by its own weight.  It seems to take ages for anything much to happen.  There are only a couple of moments that grab the attention; the remainder of the time, the musicians– the cream of the Downtown scene– seem to be, well, “in search of a sound.”   Or in search of an idea. 

The music isn’t helped by a recording that lacks the expected immediacy of a live concert.  The music seems slightly distant, as if you were listening from the back of the hall.  This distancing, combined with the minimalist quality of the music, combine for an uninvolving experience.