Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Franklin Kiermyer: Further

Franklin Kiermyer: Further

By Hrayr Attarian
March 27, 2014
View read count

Expat Canadian drummer Franklin Kiermyer's sublime and passionate Further is a cohesive work that is both transcendent and crackles with a visceral vitality. The album revolves around themes that are inspired by saxophonist

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's late career explorations but the Oslo-based Kiermyer and his band are not mere impersonating devotees. They imbue every tune with originality and a brilliant and imaginative urgency.

The centerpiece of the recording is "Between Joy & Consequence," with its two takes. Pianist

Benito Gonzalez

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Benito Gonzalez opens the first with chiming, hypnotic keystrokes ushering in Kiermyer's thunderous beats laced with bassist

Juini Booth

bass
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Juini Booth's dark reverberations. Over this bubbling cauldron saxophonist

Azar Lawrence

saxophone
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Azar Lawrence bellows out an ardent, devotional paean, thick with vibrato and thrilling dissonance. Gonzalez's own turn in the spotlight adds an earthy and primal dynamism to the music as he crafts his solo out of percussive chords and angular notes.

The second version of the piece is more dramatic and expansive. Lawrence is more reserved but no less assertive as he punctuates Gonzalez's shimmering lines with blues tinged shouts. The breathtakingly complex and potently emotive spontaneous rhythm section conversation concludes the track.

Kiermyer also explores eastern motifs on "Bilad el-Sudan" (which is the Arabic term for sub- Saharan West Africa) and on "Maftir." On the former Lawrence's soprano soars and flitters over the roughhewn and stimulating harmonic constructs of his band mates. His lyrical, ethereal tone weaves a pastoral and reverent tale of mystical yearning. Gonzalez laces the song with western sensibilities with his agile acrobatic improvisation.

The latter launches with Kiermyer's sparkling, serene cymbals before Lawrence's fiery blistering tenor stylings enter. Gonzalez's clear, dense sonic cascade hints at the Zen tranquility of flowing water. Booth's strings waver and dance in intriguing patterns in Lawrence's eloquent and fervent gale and Kiermyer's stormy roar.

With Further Kiermyer has expanded upon his previous achievements to create a luminous work of sophisticated expression and spirited, poignant turmoil. The seamless blend of the provocative and the sacred is exquisite and borders on perfection.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Between Joy and Consequence (live); Bilad el-Sudan (live); Astrophysical; Supplication; Maftir; Between Joy and Consequence; The Other Blues (live).

Personnel

Franklin Kiermyer

drums

Franklin Kiermyer: drums; Azar Lawrence: tenor and soprano saxophones; Benito Gonzalez: piano; Juini Booth: bass.

Album information

Title: Further | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Mobility Music

PREVIOUS / NEXT

America's Music: Jazz In Newark
< Previous

Tenacity
Next >

Franklin Kiermyer Concerts

Sep 23 Tue

Franklin Kiermyer & Scatter The Atoms That Remain

Dizzy's Club
New York, NY

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.