Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Bindman Sextet: Ten Billion Versions of Reality

David Bindman Sextet: Ten Billion Versions of Reality

By Karl Ackermann
October 30, 2017
View read count

David Bindman Sextet: Ten Billion Versions of Reality

Saxophonist David Bindman reconvenes the ensemble that created Sunset Park Polyphony (Self Produced, 2012) for the eclectic Ten Billion Versions of Reality. Bindman had spent parts of two recent years in the upstate New York town of Cambridge, developing a suite that is meant to weave together varying perspectives across multiple sound surfaces. The title, in part, refers to emotions and the sense of awareness shared by individuals and across species.

Bindman has worked with

Wadada Leo Smith

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Wadada Leo Smith and

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton among others and co-led the Brooklyn Sax Quartet with

Fred Ho

saxophone, baritone
1957 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Fred Ho for more than a decade. Bassist Wes Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, proficient on piano and percussion. He has performed with

Ed Blackwell

drums
1929 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Ed Blackwell and a wide array of global artists. Pianist/composer Art Hirahara served as a Jazz Ambassador touring the Middle East and he has performed with

Akira Tana

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Akira Tana and

Rufus Reid

bass, acoustic
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Rufus Reid. Trumpet/composer Frank London is a member of the Klezmatics and has performed or recorded with a diverse group that includes

John Zorn

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">John Zorn, LL Cool J,

Lester Bowie

trumpet
1941 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Bowie, They Might Be Giants, and David Byrne. Israeli-born trombonist Reut Regev has worked in jazz, Latin, klezmer, rock and blues. She led her own quintet on the highly regarded This is R Time (Ropeadope, 2009). Percussionist Royal Hartigan is also a pianist, tap dancer, author and academic. His quartet, Blood Drum Spirit, released a trilogy of albums that included most of Bindman's sextet, Regev and London being the exceptions.

"Sketch in 12" opens in geometric shapes that soften and morph into waves of concurrent, contrasting rhythms. Brown is featured in a solo on "Spring Song," a ballad-like melody but with the underlying forces of a three-dimensional soundscape. "Refuge" could be a suite within a suite. Horns fluttering in layers, occasionally crossing the same plane, while Hirahara rains down notes from above. Early on, in this twelve-minute piece, Hirahara, Brown and Haritgan breakaway as a trio before Bindman joins followed by Regev and London. Hartigan has a particularly satisfying extended solo, later drawing in the rest of the ensemble for the close. "Through the Clouds" and "Questions for Lucy" share the characteristics of numerous and complex melodies and unpredictable pacing; both of the closing compositions are intriguing in their sense of movement.

Ten Billion Versions of Reality is best taken as a whole because overtime, and through each of these movements, an imagery develops and becomes clear. The suite is an energetic, spacious, and complicated work of music that seems to change with successive encounters. Bindman and his ensemble work excessively well in these complex environments.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Sketch in 12; Spring Song; Refuge; Ten Billion Versions of Reality; Ashgrove; Through the Clouds; Questions for Lucy.

Personnel

David Bindman

saxophone, tenor

David Bindman: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Wes Brown: contrabass; Art Hirahara: piano; Royal Hartigan: drums; Frank London: trumpet, flugelhorn; Reut Regev: trombone.

Album information

Title: Ten Billion Versions of Reality | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Arturo Sandoval at the Blue Note
< Previous

Italy 2016
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.