Gerry Hemingway - Demon Chaser (hat ART, 1993)

Gerry Hemingway, drums & percussion

Michael Moore, alto sax, clarinets
Ernst Reijseger, cello
Wolter Wierbos, trombone
Mark Dresser, bass

Recorded March 2, 1993

Ottenbrucher Bahnhof, Wuppertal, Germany 

Engineer: Martin Andrae

The follow up to Gerry Hemingway's Down to the Wire is another live performance, this time at a converted rail station in Germany. Cellist Ernst Reijseger rejoins Mark Dresser to augment the "string section" while the "horn section" of Michael Moore and Wolter Wierbos remains intact. 

                 Moore - Dresser - Hemingway - Reijseger - Wierbos

Hemingway's "Slamadam" opens the album with a powerful workout on the drums. Next is the most intriguing version of "A Night in Tunisia" I've ever heard. Wierbos implies the familiar theme against a backdrop of clarinet, cello, bass, and drums. The tempo accelerates during a trombone solo that shows off Wierbos' extended techniques and produces the song's first climax. Hemingway's drums then take center stage with another display of up-tempo virtuosity. Moore's alto emerges from a conversation with Wierbos to play the most conventional solo so far. "Tunisia" is full of delightful moments like these.

"Buoys" changes the mood with a dreamlike theme played by Moore (on bass clarinet) and Wierbos. According to Hemingway's comments on his Bandcamp website, "The piece makes use of a damaged straight mute that Wolter had plumbed for it's unique buzzing quality." That explains some of the weird sounds on "Buoys." It's one of several highlights from an album that offers pleasurable surprises from beginning to end.

The original hat ART CD from 1993 was reissued in 2009 as a "new second edition CD-master" on hatOLOGY. The reissue is an audible improvement over the original. Percussive details are sharper, and the horns sound more natural. I downloaded the 2009 version from Qobuz and gifted the original "collectable" CD to my music-loving son. 

Both first and second versions contain insightful liner notes by Brian Morton. His notes and other information can be found at Demon Chaser | Gerry Hemingway Quintet | Auricle Records.

In my earlier post for Down to the Wire, I list 11 albums by Hemingway's quartets and quintets. I heartily recommend all of these recordings.