Another Shining Path CD

Another Shining Path brings together a trio of survivors; survivors in life, but mostly survivors in their music...keeping the hope alive. Each member of this trio has been a voice for improvisational music over the past two decades in cities and towns throughout the world where none existed. The trio, calling itself Ye Ren, has collaborated on a number of live performances, but this CD marks their first recording.

We have reproduced Scott Hreha's brilliant liner notes below since they capture the spirit of the music far better than anything else we could say about the recording.

(#1 the healthy creaking of undulating limbs)

What’s in a name? A relevant (albeit prosaic) question to ask when dealing with a group which calls itself Ye Ren. The possibilities are endless but always mystical. Yet Gary Hassay – the group’s alto saxophonist (and leader if you feel the need to identify one) – explains that the name "has no real meaning." Instead, its significance lies in the way it sounds. The assignment of meanings comes along with the creative process, some of which will solidify between the cracks of letters and syllables; others will disappear even before their creators’ perception of them. In this sense, the music on this disc (the group’s first recorded output and only Hassay’s second) is exceptionally similar to the name under which it was created… the possibilities are endless but always mystical.

(#2 exercise in the unmediated act of prowling, reclaimed for the absence of prey)

One of alto saxophonist Gary Hassay’s goals "is to help keep improvisational music vital in the United States." As clearly demonstrated on this recording, Hassay’s improvisational skills certainly do their share in this quest for vitality. Whether bluesily splitting notes in upward and downward slides or employing a strong, centered tone to color the most exotic of musical hues, Hassay’s concurrent listening/ reacting plays an integral role in Ye Ren’s perpetual dialogue.

(#3 bowed tracks. screeching halts. alto sparks. circular locomotion.)

According to bassist William Parker, "the highest level of logic is the lowest level of magic." Since even a casual listener of improvised music should need no introduction to Parker’s Tone World, let it suffice to say that his equivalent mastery of all bass techniques are fully resplendent on this recording (not to mention the sonic quality translated by engineer Wayne Becker). Throughout Another Shining Path, Parker’s bass emits an immaculate, logic-surpassing sound that would retain clarity in a hailstorm through blown speakers.

(#4 borealic movement in a Sound allusion)

Percussionist Toshi Makihara’s "intention / aspiration is to become Music rather than to produce it." A highly visible force within the realm of Philadelphia experimental performance, Makihara rounds out Ye Ren’s pyramid of absolute sensitivity with an unconventional approach that ranges in delicacy from imperceptible whispers to perforating eardrums. Another Shining Path finds Makihara in post-becoming mode from the outset, emphasizing brushwork in a (re?)percussion that floats through the music instead of simply pushing it on.

(#5 volley of symbiotic breathings, conclusionary electroshock)

All three members of Ye Ren have worked extensively with dancers, a collective experience that is fundamental to the group’s interaction. For the duration of this recording, Hassay, Parker and Makihara partake in a constant, un-dominated exchange that yields few specific phrases. Like a dancer (dance is the use of the human body as an artistic instrument, no?), the music is perpetually in motion.

(#6 ringing punctuations to curling ribbons, tightened slack)

Each piece on Another Shining Path unfolds as an untethered sphere, continually moving but not simply forward. This non-linear music develops simultaneously in any and all of the 360 degrees said to be possible. An idea can be stated briefly, only to be reexamined in depth minutes (pieces?) later. Resolution unnecessary, the music breathes and lives well beyond even its three-dimensional construction (again, becoming rather than producing).

(#7 not against-up, elemental heat generated through intensity’s continuum)

Gary Hassay states that the title of the recording refers to "inspirational people and events in [his] life and trying to relate that to inspirational people and events in everyone’s lives (hopefully)." The music found here is a brilliant testimony to that attempted relation – truly marking out Another Shining Path. And in a world with far too few shining anythings, Ye Ren’s effort is a profoundly welcome one.

(#8 gong signals bowed skittering, quadratic repetition and a barely audible moan)