Ches Smith & These Arches - Hammered (2013) / Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Improvisation

Though drummer Ches Smith has a penchant for christening his compositions with playfully oblique names, the name he chose for the title track of the second album by his band These Arches couldn’t be more straightforward. “Hammered” is relentless, pounding, fueled by a driving, recursive pulse that goads tense, urgent playing fromSmith’s quintet of master improvisers.

The piece is a vivid illustration of the precarious balance that Smith strikes between the worlds of avant-garde jazz and experimental rock. He’s in demand as the drummer for such forward-thinking jazz artists as Tim Berne, Darius Jones, Mary Halvorson and Trevor Dunn; and at the same time he’s provided the backbone for adventurous rock acts like Xiu Xiu and Secret Chiefs 3, not to mention uncategorizable hybrids between the two like Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog and Smith’s own Good For Cows.

The merging of sonic worlds on Hammered is no accident; several of the pieces began life as songs penned for rock bands that evolved into more open frameworks for These Arches’ expansive improvisation. “A lot of these tunes were meant for a rock band but are being played by something that’s not a rock band at all,” Smithsays. “They’re sort of rock reject tunes, and that gave a shape to the whole record.”

These Arches may not be a rock band, but its membership has no problem providing the power and ferocity of one. Since the release of the band’s debut, Finally Out of My Hands, its ranks have been swelled by the addition of alto saxophonist/composer Tim Berne. He joins tenor powerhouse Tony Malaby, guitarist Mary Halvorson, and accordionist/electronic musician Andrea Parkins.

“These Arches is basically about me writing for a set of my favorite improvisers,”Smith explains. “The tunes I ended up coming up with for Hammered were more hard-hitting and straightforward than the earlier ones, but they’re also more expanded and developed.” The pieces make inspired use of these musicians’ ability to navigate fluidly between composition and improvisation while evoking the force and direct communication of heavy rock tunes.

Berne’s addition to this remarkable line-up was initially an accident, the result of a scheduling conflict. With Malaby unable to make a tour with the band, Berne stepped in; when Malaby’s calendar suddenly reopened, Smith decided to try arranging some of his music for both saxophonists. “It turned out great,” he says. “When we all played together it was like, ‘This is what I’ve been hearing.’ Having another voice to work with, and especially Tim’s way of improvising, adds a whole different dimension to the band.”

That new dimension is immediately evident on the album’s opener, “Frisner.” When the tune breaks down in the middle, Berne and Malaby both push their horns to their screeching limits while Smith and Halvorson provide pointillistic interjections and Parkins shrouds them all in skittering electronic textures. The title refers to master Haitian Vodou drummer Frisner Augustin, a teacher of Smith’s who passed away unexpectedly in February 2012. His influence can be felt in the piece’s buoyant, intricate rhythms.

Another percussion hero is honored via “Wilson Phillip,” which pays homage to the late drummer Phillip Wilson via a tongue-in-cheek reference to a somewhat less revered ‘80s pop band. The undersung Wilson was a veteran of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band who played with the likes of Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, and Julius Hemphill. Smith’s inspiration for the piece came from a beat played by Wilson on one of Hemphill’s records.

The spiraling “Dead Battery” was initially intended for Ceramic Dog, while the chaotic, ever-shifting “Learned From Jamie Stewart” was penned for Xiu Xiu, whose lead singer is name-checked in the title (which is also an inside joke between Smith and Bay Area clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg). These Arches’ next project will be a collaboration with Stewart on a set of Nina Simone compositions.

“Limitations” provides a minimalist intermission to the album, while “Animal Collection” takes the repetitive structure of “Hammered” in a decidedly different, far more relaxed and grooving direction. And “This Might Be a Fade-Out” actually contains several fades before the ultimate one, ending the album on a note of perpetual resurgence.



Drummer, composer, and bandleader Ches Smith is an artist with indisputable abilities who thrives on the fringes whether supplying tight rhythms for notable musicians such as guitarist Marc Ribot, saxophonist Darius Jones, and the indie rock band Xiu Xiu, or creating self-produced works like his solo multi-instrumental electronic project Psycho Predictions (Preposterous Bee,2012).

One of Smith's working bands is These Arches, a group of like-minded artists that provide plenty of forward thinking music in Hammered, the appropriately titled follow-up to 2010's Finally Out Of My Hands(Skirl Records). From start to finish, Smith's eight "tunes" deliver a sonic maelstrom of tonal contours and interchanging themes which are filled with intensity and chaotic movements.

Heavyweights Tony Malaby and Tim Berne express their saxophones in a variety of screeches, growls, and piercing runs on the opener "Frisner" and the title track where Smith's free-jazz/ rock attitude is in full bloom. Its "garage band" appeal is thick with a stomping backbeat, an array of cool effects from guitarist Mary Halvorson and Andrea Parkins's rustic accordion intonations.

The music is at times disconcerting and makes no qualms about its brash intent, although the quieter theme of "Limitations" allows a brief moment of respite. Turbulent winds begin to stir again in the unsettling "Learned From Jamie Stewart" which was originally penned for the band Xiu Xiu and a rave-like party ensues in the boisterous "Animal Collection" before the set closes with "This Might Be A Fade Out" highlighted by a memorable solo from Smith.

These diverse sounds collide and coalesce, blurring the music lines between improvisational and not-so-mainstream music. Smith states the origin behind these peculiar selections, "They're sort of rock reject tunes, and that gave a shape to the whole record." Like the sentiments of the 1997 rap song by the Shop Boyz, Ches Smith and These Arches "Party Like a Rock Star" with Hammered albeit in totally different ways.



Four progressive-jazz and improvising luminaries lend their expertise for New York City-based drummer Ches Smith's foray into a multi-purposed set, exploring and splitting the frontiers of avant-garde jazz, rock and other genres into asymmetrical components. Thus far, the artist has been in the thick of things, amassing an impressive discography, performing and recording with notables such as bassist Trevor Dunn, clarinetist Ben Goldberg and others. This album merges discordant free-form impressionism, micro-melodies, off-center jazz—and with accordionist Andrea Parkins onboard—the program includes glimpses of a carnival-like environment.

Smith's cunning musicality is radiantly disseminated on "Animal Collection." Here, the ensemble delves into odd-metered cadences, accelerated by a few pithy detours and unforeseen shifts in direction. But as the piece develops the band morph a succint melody and contrapuntal mechanisms into a howling incursion, sparked by the dual sax attack of Tony Malaby and Tim Berne.

Guitarist Mary Halvorson's humbly crafted notes and Parkins' understated voicings help define a parallel that contrasts simplicity with knotty digressions and an oddball melody, as Smith leads the charge via his solid rock beats and rumbling polyrhythmic flurries. Moving forward, the musicians intersperse a bit of social chaos with a total breakdown during the bridge and settle into a straightforward groove, leading to the garrulous closeout. On the basis of this outing and session work for others, Smith reveals a fertile imagination that complements his proficient technical faculties. No telling where he'll go from here.