Herb Robertson: Certified (JMT)
This was a duplicate sent to WRCT that I scored at the time of its release in 1991.
There's a stack of recently purchased LPs that I need to listen or re-listen to. I don't write about everything that spins on my turntable or disc player, but I do sometimes put something on for the purpose of commenting here.
That leads me to once again think about the purpose of me maintaining this blog. For the discipline? Because I have something interesting or cogent to say about the music? To gripe? Or (maybe worst of all) get autobiographical?
Perhaps there are some things on the latter I will share eventually, but now's not the time. Plus, I find writing about myself to be boring and self-indulgent. But then nobody else is going to at this point.
Herb Robertson died Dec. 10 at age 73. I know him mostly through his association with Tim Berne. He played on several of my favorite Berne albums, including Fractured Fairy Tales and Pace Yourself. He can be seen with Time Berne on NBC's Night Music. Herb could play straight-forward trumpet, always sounding confident and solid on Berne's challenging compositions. As a soloist, he leans into something closer to action playing; broad, exaggerated blowing, liberal use of plunger or mute, not especially melodic but highly energetic.
Except, when he chooses not to be that. The second piece on this program, "Cosmic Child", something of a chorale-like structure, he plays more reservedly. He's a good straightforward soloist when he chooses to be. And I didn't mean to suggest he wasn't, only that it's not what I associate with him.
This time Herb's the bandleader. The lineup is Herb on trumpet (family) and valve trombone; Mark Goldsbury on tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet; David Taylor on bass trombone; Ed Schuller (Gunther's son) on bass; Phil Haynes on drums. Not a lineup duplicated on a Tim Berne or Jerry Hemingway album, but similar.
And the vibe is similar too, maybe even slightly wackier. I love a lot of Tim Berne's music, but at times he can be drier and more....I don't know....academic sounding than I prefer. A piece on here such as "Don't Be Afraid We're Not Like the Others" is musical, ripping, but also funny and humorous at times.
How does one achieve humor in instrumental music? It's easily on display in song; the words are funny or clever or satirical, or they're not. I find unexpected, dramatic shifts in shape, tempo, and tone to sometimes be funny. There's a tape collage in the middle of the aforementioned piece that sounds like calliopes farting, I guess.
At least one friend, who was also a major fan of Tim Berne's music of this time, expressed the opinion that this album was every bit as good as what Tim was releasing. There's a case for it. I've also expressed my frustration on this blog, multiple times now I'd say, of these new-jazz bands (vaguely along the same lines) who never play much above a mezzo forte (if that). This crew sounds like they made some serious noise. Was it a regular playing ensemble, if at least briefly? That would be my guess, they're a great unit together.
I only met Herb once. He was passing through with one of saxophonist Andy Laster's groups, probably somewhere in the 1994-96 range. Manny Theiner, who booked the show, asked Water Shed 5tet to open (a common occurrence then). I believe due to illness, only three of us could play (saxophone, guitar, drums). If memory serves, we played a few existing compositions but opened up to improvising more than usual. After the night was done, I walked up to Herb (drinking a 40) and he stood up to give my a big hug. I don't remember that we exchanged more than a sentence or two otherwise, if that.
The album takes a turn to the even stranger in the middle, with an extended opening to one piece with vocal noises and gibberish, air blowing through water, and such. Definitely not people who has commercial interests in mind. The album ends with "The Condensed Version" which I guess is Herb's solo vocal rendering of moments from that album. Again, wacky.
This is a good album. It's nice to see that it got a reissue after JMT folded, on Winter & Winter.
I'm happy this had its day even if it's maybe largely forgotten? Perhaps that's not fair to write. Just that, there are so many other great albums by these players and others from this time, how can you possibly keep track of it all?
So long Herb, the world's a less fun place without you in it.
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