Amorphae

Amorphae is a jazz studio album by Ben Monder with Pete Rende, Andrew Cyrille and Paul Motian. This album was released in the label ECM Records in January 2016.[3]

Not to be confused with Amorpheae, Amorphea, or Amphora.
Amorphae
Studio album by
Ben Monder
ReleasedJanuary 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)
RecordedOctober 2010 and December 2013
StudioSear Sound studios and Brooklyn Recording studios in New York City.
Genrejazz
Length44:50
LabelECM Records ECM 2421
ProducerManfred Eicher
Ben Monder chronology
Hydra
(2013)		 Amorphae
(2016)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[1]
The Guardian[2]

Composition

Amorphae was originally planned to be a series of duets between Ben Monder and Paul Motian. They started recording a duo session in 2010, but Motian died a year after. Monder wanted to continue the project and then, Andrew Cyrille and Paul Rende joined him.[3]

Reception

In The Guardian, John Fordham gave this album three stars and says that "Playing unaccompanied on conventional and baritone guitars, Monder embraces soft tone poems of humming sustains and eerie echoes, as well as wilder David Torn-like tumults." and add that "His soundworld is a shade private and austere, but ECM’s blessing should alert a wider audience to Monder’s talents."[2]

Thomas Conrad of Jazz Times stated "The album sustains a single ethereal domain of sonorities, even though it was recorded in two sessions three years apart and uses four different combinations of players... It is remarkable how many layers of sound Monder can produce from one guitar and one vintage Lexicon reverb unit. Cyrille offers, selectively, brushstrokes of color. On two trio pieces with Cyrille and Pete Rende on synth, the sonic landscape becomes vast but the creative process remains profoundly gradual. In one respect only, Amorphae is typical of current jazz releases: The ratio of originals to standards is 7-to-1. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” is a duet with Paul Motian, in one of his final recordings. Motian's signature deft irregular accents create dramatic expectancy for the initial tentative forays of Monder, who grasps for fragments of the melody. Then Monder and his Lexicon blow this sweet song of Rodgers and Hammerstein into a wild, keening, howling storm. With more tracks like this one, Amorphae would have been a stronger and even stranger album."[4]

Track listing

ECM Records – ECM 2421.[3]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tendrils"Ben Monder5:21
2."Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein5:22
3."Tumid Cenobite"Andrew Cyrille & Ben Monder4:49
4."Gamma Crucis"Andrew Cyrille, Ben Monder & Pete Rende5:15
5."Zythum"Andrew Cyrille, Ben Monder & Pete Rende7:06
6."Triffids"Ben Monder & Paul Motian2:55
7."Hematophagy"Andrew Cyrille & Ben Monder6:57
8."Dinosaur Skies"Ben Monder7:05
Total length:44:50

Personnel
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References
  1. "Amorphae (All About Jazz Review)". All About Jazz. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  2. "Amorphae (The Guardian Review)". The Guardian. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  3. "Amorphae". ECM Records. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  4. Conrad, Thomas (30 November 2015). "Ben Monder: Amorphae". Jazz Times. jazztimes.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
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