After several years as a member of the Chicago UndergroundDuo/Trio/Quartet/Orchestra, along with several recordings as acompetent and inventive sideman, drummer Chad Taylor has penned andrecorded a disc's worth of tunes under the name Active Ingredients. Attimes a sextet featuring Underground partner Rob Mazurek on cornet andSteve Swell (William Parker/Baron Down) on trombone, it's easy to viewTitrationas a free jazz recording due to the lack of any chordal instrumentsoutlining progressions and form. As a leader, Taylor's unique,polyrhythmic drive and fluid performance are central, although this isnot your stereotypical drummer record. His approach and outputon the kit is dynamic and very musical, which is not surprising as he'dbeen a classical guitarist in his youth; the same musical sensibilitycomes through in his compositions. "Song For Dyani" opens withblistering latin rhythms and busy, staccato upright bass laying thefoundation for unison horns to state the sweet and slurring melodybefore breaking off for both individual and simultaneous soloing. Thelightning fast cross stick and tom fills kicking off "Slate" areaugmented by percussionist Avreeayl Ra's fills to convey a true Africanensemble feel for saxophone shrills and trills play off. Bassist TomAbbs' melodic lines set things in motion off the top of "ModernMythology" which in turn supports a brief big band ensemble motifbefore stripping down for sax soloing an unison crazy-go-nutsexplorations. Taylor's use of bare hands, mallets and sticks on hissolo performance "Dependent Origination" convey several different tonesand textures. Having spent a great deal of time listening to him onseveral recordings and seeing him in performance on several occasions,it's safe to say that although spontaneity figures heavily in such asituation, his ability to convey melodic ideas and structure isuncanny. The group assembled on Titration are all competentmusicians and soloists that give strong direction to Taylor's sometimesminimal motifs. The excitement generated in performance for thisrecording has them coloring outside the lines with a free jazzapproach, but without going completely off the page into cacophony.Read More
