hamid drake & sabir mateen
brothers together
mte-035

hamid drake frame & trap drums
sabir mateen clarinets, flute, alto & tenor saxophones, vocals

1. brother's together (20:53)
2. of mind & spirit (09:30)
3. knowing oneself (16:15)
4. new life dance (28:54)

recorded 23 october 2000, pbs studios, westwood, ma

a highly energized & spirited meeting b/t two of this era's strongest & most imaginative creative musicians.

jazztimes critics picks, top ten c/ds 2002
jazzreview critics choice, best albums 2002

"i really can't find anything not to like about this reeds'n'traps free jazz duo workout. there are four long tracks, of which the first is superbly arresting, mixing hard bop with afro-frunk in a way which makes it seem they always belonged together, while on the final track mateen quotes from carmen. the musicians manage to touch all sorts of bases along the way, but the ability to imply the presence of any number of other musical elements, be it the rest of a conventional rhythm section or the sonorities of the human body --breath, heartbeat, the hiss of the nervous system-- never leaves them. a fine example of a rarified but highly rewarding area of music, this goes next to roach/braxton, maslak/moffett & indeed coltrane/ali, where it surely belongs. --jazz review

"...this is a scorching session & the closing piece, 'new life dance,' makes half an hour pass by in seeming seconds.  mateen is a versatile reedman & his clarinet playing in particular deserves attention, full of dark power & illuminated with a quality the much heralded don byron can only dream of.  his role on 'knowing oneself' is absolutely central, though again drake takes hold of the music & pushes it into new & unexpected shapes." -cook & morton, --penguin guide to jazz on c/d

"this is the third time philadephia-born multi-instrumentalist sabir mateen has teamed up with a drummer on eremite: after tom bruno (on "getting away with murder", recorded in new york's grand central station in 1995) and sunny murray (1998's "we are not at the opera"), chicago's hamid drake takes to the kit in this studio session recorded in october 2000, the day after the duo played at eremite's fifth birthday bash. with drake's one-man percussion orchestra behind him, mateen can let ideas fly free without any need to blow himself to pieces. on "brother's together", drake keeps up a steady 84-bpm pulse that's so tight and funky you half expect bootsy collins to come crashing in at any moment. things finally wind down to a slow ballad tempo at the twenty minute mark, mateen's alto rounding off the piece with glorious arching melody lines worthy of jimmy lyons. behind drake's quietly intricate hand drumming on "of mind & spirit", mateen can explore the dark chalumeau range of his clarinet, while on "knowing oneself" his alto clarinet takes off - the old muhammad ali metaphor "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" has rarely seemed more apposite. On the final "new life dance", his flute darts playfully about for twelve minutes, even finding time to throw in a quote from "carmen", before he switches to the tenor (after some extraordinary scat singing) for some truly ecstatic blowing. drake's playing throughout is quite simply awesome - the influence of his mentor ed blackwell (one could also cite jo jones, philly joe jones and alan dawson) has never been so strongly felt. "i never heard blackwell play any music where he wasn't playing a pulse," drake told ken vandermark in a 1997 interview. "the lesson i got from him was that i could try to play melodic structure on the drums the way that the horn players were doing it." "brothers together" takes the tradition one step further: there's enough amazing work here from both musicians here to influence generations to come." -- dan warburton, the wire

"brothers together pairs mateen with percussionist extraordinaire hamid drake for a groove-inflected blowout that sees each musician pulled by the other’s influence into territories they don’t necessarily inhabit on a regular basis. in this context we’re treated to a kinder, gentler mateen (as previously witnessed to fantastic effect on the subway-restrained getting away with murder, also on eremite), whether he’s enacting melodic cell division from drake’s bottomed-out bass drum to his own afro-bluesy decompressions (“brother’s together”) or matching arabesque alto clarinet to a galloping frame drum (“of mind & spirit”). similarly, when mateen does move into his ecstatic, layering-a-gateway-to-the-stratosphere mode to close out “new life dance,” drake responds with some of the freest pulsations he’s possibly ever coaxed from his apparently bottomless sack of polyrhythms. this disc will pleasantly surprise those expecting another typical sax/drums blowing session, as drake and mateen’s talent and versatility allow them to create music light-years beyond the seeming overabundance of interstellar space retreads." -- scott hreha, signal to noise

"While there are many fantastic drummers currently working within the improvised music landscape, there is a considerable buzz surrounding hamid drake at present. despite the fact that he has been active since the early seventies, his mostly sporadic discography did not expand until the mid 1990's and since that time, he has been ubiquitous. but the question is, why now and better yet, why not? his muscular groove, wide-open ears, authoritative grasp of african percussion and extraordinary sense of swing are enthralling. on Brothers Together, drake demonstrates his skills in an inventive and fresh manner. sabir mateen, while unfortunately still rather unknown, has also seen his reputation escalate. known for his intense, "energy" playing, this release exposes listeners to another side of his abilities, one focused on controlled vigor without falling victim to an undisciplined methodology. like drake, mateen demonstrates subtlety and dynamic variance and while a rawness exists, it is derived from inner passion, as opposed to a brazen attack. perhaps his greatest skill on this release is his ability to pace himself and his solos over the course of each composition, so that the expressions are not wasted notes, but well thought-out directives from within. it is the combination of these two resourceful musicians that makes this an engaging and stirring performance. the four selections are freely improvised duets, ranging from almost ten minutes to thirty in duration. despite the lengthy track times, the constant flow of ideas, textural variety and unpredictability sustain the program. the excitement is drawn from telepathic interplay, lively counterpoint and each musician's responses to the other's strengths (and weaknesses). their creativity is boundless. the title track commences with a trademark infectious drake groove akin to a funky steamroller mowing down the asphalt in its path. mateen takes charge on alto, twisting and turning by means of attention-grabbing, melodically influenced statements. after a brief drum solo section, these two musicians call upon a hurricane of emotion for one last blast before the conclusion. "of mind and spirit" is a particular feature for drake and his exploration of various timbres elicited by the reaction of his hands on both the frame and trap drums. this backdrop sets the tone for mateen's clarinet explorations while drake reveals a dynamic control that has been absent from some of his work. "knowing oneself" is mateen's signature piece, instigated by his probing, melancholy bass clarinet reflections. the tension builds and during the piece's halfway point, time stands still. the pressure rises again due to drake's awe-inspiring afro-cuban groove at the ten-minute mark, replete with thunderous, rollicking toms. "new life dance" is an almost thirty-minute exploration touching on drake and mateen's technical range. at the outset, mateen demonstrates his dark and graceful flute quests, which build up to a point of spiritual bliss, demonstrated by mateen's speaking-in-tongues vocal chants. drake stirs the pot beneath mateen's fire, flexing groove muscles, as well as swirling sounds to match mateen's closing expressionistic and blistering tenor blasts. this is a constantly intriguing release. despite my initial reservations about the potentially limited instrumental scope, these passionate and convincing artists put forth this music in an interactive and delightfully exposed manner. those who are familiar with the duo their individual outings will derive continued enjoyment from this release. for those unfamiliar with these musicians, this is as good a starting point as any and should serve as an apt reminder that it is time to get with the program!" --jay collins, one final note