Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Adam Berenson, Scott Barnum & Bob Moses: Assemblages

Adam Berenson, Scott Barnum & Bob Moses: Assemblages

By Karl Ackermann
November 24, 2021
View read count

Adam Berenson, Scott Barnum & Bob Moses: Assemblages

Keyboardist and composer

Adam Berenson

synthesizer

" data-original-title="" title="">Adam Berenson has at his disposal an arsenal of instruments, electronics, synthesizers, etc. But to hear him in the traditional acoustic piano trio setting is immensely enjoyable, while hardly "traditional." On the double-disc Assemblages, Berenson puts aside his Korg Triton Extreme, Yamaha Symphonic Ensemble and other impressively named and plugged-in instruments in favour of the piano and colleagues

Scott Barnum

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Barnum on double-bass and

Bob Moses

drums
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Bob Moses on percussion. The trio previously released three albums on the Dream Play label: Dialectical Constructs (1996) and Contextual (1999), and Representations (1997).

Berenson's under-recognized albums—now numbering around two dozen—are works of intelligence and art. However, they are neither academic nor elitist but reflections of a lifetime of broad experiences. Berenson is an accomplished screenwriter and teacher, composing across jazz, classical, electronica, and new music. More often than not, his music sounds genre-less. Barnum has performed with

Dave Liebman

saxophone
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Liebman,

Tim Hagans

trumpet
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Hagans, and

Phil Grenadier

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Grenadier, among many other artists. Berenson and Barnum are longtime collaborators who first recorded as an acoustic duo on The Mystery of the Vanishing Chandelier (Dream Play) in 2001, later on Journey Through Space (Self Produced, 2007) and then on Jnana (Dream Play Records, 2010), a trio outing with percussionist

Bill Marconi

percussion
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Marconi. Moses is a drummer whose seemingly loose approach is guided by unwritten rules. He has a long resume, sprinkled with some of the best-known jazz artists including

Gary Burton

vibraphone
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Burton,

Steve Swallow

bass
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Swallow,

Jaco Pastorius

bass, electric
1951 - 1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaco Pastorius, and

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny.

A recent article quoted a Manfred Eicher observation: "Nothing is more mysterious than clarity." That observation came to mind from the outset of Assemblages. The clarity of "Ideology is Consciousness" is deceptive. The trio never entirely goes in an expected direction, finely shifting to follow a single unanticipated note. Similarly, crooked lines dominate enigmatic pieces such as "The Desert" and "Can You See Your Puppet Strings?" Moses, in an email, said (without elaboration) that he doesn't consider himself a drummer, an interesting self-assessment, especially when listening to the terrific, mostly percussion piece "Anxiety Dream." Like the late

Milford Graves

drums
1940 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Milford Graves, Moses has a penchant for bypassing the snare for the toms. "Shadows of What it is Not" is a stealthy piano ballad closing the first disc.

Several of the second disc pieces, such as "The Elusive Ground of Reason," the elegant "Demotic Rhythms" and "The Phantasmatic Frame" are more emphatically melodic but that is an oversimplification. These Berenson-penned tracks play out as piercing, personal statements, haunting but stimulating. The program ends with the nineteen-minute "Guide from Beyond," a tribute to the Italian classical and jazz pianist

Stefano Battaglia

piano
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Stefano Battaglia. Predominantly a piano piece, it is rife with impressionist textures and authentic humanity. Berenson's classical influences are present throughout the stirring finale.

Assemblages is unconventional, even in its quietest moments. It takes rare agility to efficiently move in and out of all these musical worlds without leaving a telltale footprint between. Berenson composed fourteen of the twenty tracks, the remainder being group efforts. The pianist's work neither romanticizes nor conveys detachment. Barnum and Moses are a great rhythm section contributing complex articulation or laying low when warranted. Assemblages is sophisticated and warm and rewards repeated listening.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

CD1: Ideology is Consciousness; The Desert; Before it Died (it gave us the code); Sinthome; Majestic Desolation; Fernando Pessoa; Anxiety Dream; Can You See Your Puppet Strings?; Catacombs; Shadows of What it is Not. CD2: The Elusive Ground of Reason (glimpsed in the gesture of its withdrawal); Rachel Carson; The Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company; Pit of Acheron; Demotic Rhythms; The Phantasmatic Frame; The Ecclesiastical Fashion Show; The Ninth Amendment; Satyagraha; Guide From Beyond (for Stefano Battaglia).

Personnel

Adam Berenson

synthesizer

Scott Barnum

bass

Bob Moses

drums

Album information

Title: Assemblages | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Dream Play Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Veronica Swift at the Newman Center
< Previous

Jaleel Shaw; Echoes from the Solitud...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.