Way Out East
Wayne Horvitz
Wayne Horvitz
Gravitas Quartet
Songlines Recordings SGL SA1558-2

A fixture of New York’s “downtown scene,” pianist Wayne Horvitz has many years of experience as bandleader under his belt; two new recordings of chamber pieces have given him the opportunity to flaunt his compositional prowess.

Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur finds the Koehne Quartet, led by Joanna Lewis, providing exemplary readings of Horvitz’s hauntingly romantic string works. The titular composition is bookended by selections from Mountain Language, an expanded version of Horvitz’s score for a Harold Pinter play. The five-movement title piece, comprising two “whispers,” two “hymns” and one “murmur,” is alternately lush and ominous. What little improvisation appears is principally the input of guest Eyvind Kang on solo viola; Kang brings subtle dissonance to the work, adding a hint of menace to the proceedings while at times generating an Eastern tone. Horvitz himself contributes some very sparse electronic processing, most noticeably on the second Hymn. The portions of Mountain Language, like Harold Pinter’s work, are enigmatic and circular; their rhythmic repetition creates an underlying sense of unease. In all, the CD evokes early twentieth century American music, a surprisingly formalistic outcome for a composer usually associated with the experimental scene.

Far more immediate than the Tzadik disc is Way Out East. Horvitz takes a meatier role here, leading the Gravitas Quartet through a set list that aims more explicitly to obscure the boundary between composition and improvisation. Horvitz doubles on acoustic piano and electronics, and is joined by Peggy Lee on cello, Ron Miles on trumpet, and Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon. Each player proves more adept at spontaneous creation than the typical classically trained musician. The unassuming opener, “LB”, may lead one to conjecture that Way Out East will parallel the previous disc in understatement, but the tuneful title track that follows refutes that notion. When the electronics emerge, they blend seamlessly with the ensemble; on “World Peace and Quiet”, the synth creates warmth, but it is an artificial, electric “glow” that is soon taken over by the natural warmth of the acoustic instruments.

From the standpoint of accessibility, Way Out East has a slight edge over Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur, but collectively the discs bear plentiful evidence of Wayne Horvitz’s estimable capacity for innovative contemporary music.