Patrick Brennan (born 1954)
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Detroit-born Brennan won Cadence and Coda
accolades with his very first recording, back in
I982, but hasn't broken through to the big time.
Roscoe Mitchell and Ornette Coleman are the only
obvious influences on saxophone.
*** Saunters, Walks, Ambles
CIMP 187 Brennan; Lisle Ellis (b). 9/98.
A rather misleadingly laid-back title
for an album of such focus and intensity, unless
perhaps Brennan is aware that it was no less an
authority than Henry David Thoreau who declared
that sauntering and ambling were the key disciplines
for an American philosopher. Duos of this kind are
always demanding, but Brennan has attempted to lend
a bit of familiarity to his slightly esoteric approach
by including two Monk tunes, the opening 'Crepuscule
With Nellie’ and two versions of 'Misterioso'.
‘Nellie’ is by far the longest thing
on the set, and it serves as an introduction and
warm-up number. It’s only when Brennan and
Ellis really get into the meat of their encounter
on the four-part 'saunter, walk, amble' that things
heat up. Brennan has a rather clenched and inconsistent
tone, but Ellis is wise to every harmonic waver
and shift and he stays with the line, whatever is
going on. The key track is Roscoe Mitchell’s
composition, 'Nonaah’, which brings out the
best in both men. ‘Bucket-A-Blood’ (a
duo track, the writer probably means the solo version
of Misterioso, or Chronolgy) is for unaccompanied
saxophone and suggests that Brennan might yet do
interesting things in that direction.
- Richard Cook & Brian Morton
