Matana Roberts is one of the most acclaimed, socio-politically conscious and aesthetically intrepid avant-jazz practitioners of the 21st century. The critical accolades for her multi-chapter Coin Coin work place her at the vanguard of stylistic innovation and radicalization, while confirming the deep substance and soul that guides her compositional agenda. Roberts has long employed the phrase "panoramic sound quilting" to describe Coin Coin, and with this third chapter in the series she implements this metaphor most overtly, creating a sound art tapestry from field recordings, loop and effects pedals, and spoken word recitations, alongside her saxophone and singing voices. Coin Coin Chapter Three: river run thee unfolds as an uninterrupted album-length flow, in what Roberts calls "a fever dream" of sonic material, inspired by a solitary research-based road trip Roberts took through the American South in early 2014. Fragments of traditional song are the album's main touchstones, with Roberts' singing voice riding atop waves of radiophonic texture, layered spoken word, and an often dislocated, wandering horn. It is the first explicitly solo work in the Coin Coin series, and a fascinating extension of the cycle; yet another adventurous, socially engaged definition of what Jazz can mean in this day and age.
"Herein sits a sound panacea for what ails you, me, thee... a collection of sound meant to place time, place memory in that space beyond remembrance... This recording represents a 25 day sojourn I took through parts of the/my american south by am, greydog, thumb, through pecan trees, farm fields, rivers running me, dark allies, cemeteries people no longer visit... curious places below the mason dixon line: a segment of the globe more foreign to me than any other place in the world... She whispers a history that moves me, she whispers a history that technically made me... herein lies a fever dream of sound for your esteemed consideration. A fever dream in sound of my love for her tallest tales, heartiest songs, an most forlorn-est memory... Best heard in a dark room, loud, in one sitting, completely undisturbed, with someone you love, who also perhaps loves you too?"
A1 All Is Written
A2 The Good Book Says
A3 Clothed On The Land, Worn By The Sea
A4 Dreamer Of Dreams
A5 Always Say Your Name
B1 Nema, Nema, Nema
B2 A Single Man O' War
B3 As Years Roll By
B4 This Land Is Yours
B5 Come Away
B6 With Me Seek
B7 J.P.
