Invisible RitualJennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey

Devotees of the experimental scene know that Tyshawn Sorey thinks big. He won a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2017 and premiered a new song cycle with Opera Philadelphia the following year, and he has continued to revise and refine a dramatic tribute to Josephine Baker. While fans wait for some of those ambitious projects to be recorded, the composer and multi-instrumentalist has recently turned to the intimacy of duo sets.

It would be a mistake to think of these as minor offerings. Last fall brought an inspired concert recording with veteran pianist Marilyn Crispell. Now there’s another gem under that same heading. Invisible Ritual pairs Sorey off with the violinist and composer Jennifer Curtis, a player from the International Contemporary Ensemble, an elite new-classical crew. Once again, this set documents fully improvised performances. But there’s nothing tossed off about it.

Curtis’ range as a soloist is a revelation. She proves a nimble listener and co-leader as she works with Sorey to create a 76-minute program rich with narrative drama. There are no track titles (other than Roman numerals). But instrumental music as expressive as this doesn’t need any additional poetry.

The short opening movement introduces an amalgam of attributes that the pair will explore in greater depth over the duration of the album. Free-improv twangs of violin and skittering cymbals set the stage for airy textures, but before long, kick-drum blasts and strummed strings tease the influence of propulsive folk forms. Country blues and vintage rock have their place in this mix, as do the calm and the not-quite-silence of select Art Ensemble of Chicago deep cuts.

The following movements make good on these promises. Sorey tends to produces sounds all over his kit, playing even the edges (or sides) of every piece of equipment in his arsenal. And Curtis can match him texture for texture, tossing off clean-tone, song-like sounds, as well as quivering glissandi, and moving between jaunty pizzicato plucking and bowing close to the bridge — the latter effect producing thin, piping harmonics. After she plays a fragment of melody, the delicate extended techniques from her violin that follow sometimes suggest wisps of some phantom turntablist’s remix.

At two points during the set, Sorey switches to piano (a side of his multi-instrumentalism that hasn’t been all that prominent on recordings). During the third track, he shows the same feel for nuance and delicacy than can be heard in his subtler percussion work. On the fifth track, he becomes a speed demon with a light touch. Adopting an edgier tone while matching Sorey’s quickness of thought, Curtis provides a winning element of contrast. Beautiful balladry takes center stage during the sixth movement. Feel free to skip directly to this part if you’re eager to hear how a free-improv session might channel conventional loveliness. But those who have been keeping up with Sorey’s recent work won’t be surprised. After that pinnacle of songful gorgeousness, the duo ventures back toward passages of tumult; the recording ends with an extended exploration of sparser, quieter energies.

This album may not announce itself as capital-I Important; it lacks some of the superficial, external signs of ambition that can help audiences understand how serious a work intends to be. There is no operatic libretto here; nor is there much of a promotional engine in place. (The album is released by the International Contemporary Ensemble’s own TUNDRA label.) But the quality of interplay to be found here is always news, whenever and however it makes itself heard.

- Seth Colter Walls, 1.29.20, Pitchfork

Here’s what I call a perfect musical match. Invisible Ritual brings together violinist/composer Jen Curtis, a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, whose technique is awe-inspiring, with multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey, heralded as one of the leading jazz innovators of our times. Funneling their advanced musical practices into eight spontaneously composed movements, these open-minded artists subvert standards and provide new genre-defying perspectives by employing a sublime symposium of timbres and sound combinations in their music. “I” exudes a tremendous avant-folk spell. Curtis strums, bows and plucks with edginess and power while Sorey responds with precision and brio. His unpredictable accompaniment, filled with true grit, allows him to whether make the drums pounding irregularly, rocking with some more form, or simply react with instinctive yet logical ideas.

The motivic-filled “II” alternates forward-moving thrust with calmer Eastern-flavored inspirations; it ends with peaceful flute-like tones and understated percussion. In turn, “IV” stresses strong rhythmic accentuations and turns loose motifs that can be simultaneously lustrous and rasping in tone. A powerful combination of mosaics drawn from classical, avant-garde jazz, rock and folk is on display, while synchronization, integration and reaction play key roles. In this particular movement, we have Sorey’s powerful drumming exploding with a superior sense of groove, occasionally adorned with inventive stunts for a grandiose effect. This piece marks a peak in the duo’s effortless communication. Sorey is also extremely talented on the piano, and several pieces demonstrate his deep understanding of harmony, usually designed with quirky combinations of chord extensions. Take the examples of “III”, patiently sculpted with dreamy harmonic ambiguity and ghostly fiddling technique in the form of insistent hurried plucks and long multiphonic bows; “V”, whose balletic movements bring both circular and free-flowing activity to the table; and “VI”, a contemplative, lyrical offering where the piano breathes and the violin soothes. The record ends with a violin composite of veiled glissandos, bending plucks, and shrilling bowed notes in consonance with a panoply of percussive sounds, from gongs to chimes to vibes.

Probing with finesse and depth, the duo shows off an invulnerable musical affinity that makes me want to hear more. Invisible Ritual offers beautiful, incantatory moments and a great deal of outstanding playing.

-Felipe Freitas, 1.22.20, JazzTrail

This is a thoroughly riveting set of improvised music that at times seems composed due to the uncanny interplay between master musicians Curtis and Sorey.

-Kevin Coultas, 1.25.20, In On the Corner

Violinist Jennifer Curtis and composer, multi-instrumentalist, and 2017 MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey have collaborated before through work with the International Contemporary Ensemble. Invisible Ritual brings their fruitful creative partnership into the world of recording for a set of eight tracks of that explore multiple pairings of style and genre. Traces of frenetic fiddling traditions blend with a swishing drumset beating in off-kilter rhythm on “I;” a piano subsumed in darkness pounces as a violin tremolos in pianissimo on “III;” piano and violin play in an impressionistic, melodic duet on “VI.” While the instruments often exist in their own sonic boxes, they move together in a quirky sort of sync, exploring a wide variety of atmospheres and styles through free improvisation. Invisible Ritual is an energetic, virtuosic conglomeration of styles, ideas, and sounds.

-Vanessa Ague, 2.3.20, The Road to Sound

— Vanessa Ague, 2.03.2020

Jennifer Curtis brings her violin to create duets with Tyshawn Sorey on either piano or percussion on these eight improvisations. With Sorey on percussion, he paradiddles to oblivion to Curtis’ bow on “II” and gives some rockish thunder on the driving “”IV” as the two scramble like cockroaches on the scratchy “VII”. Sorey’s piano is stark on “III” and fragile during Curtis’ picks and bows on “VI” as they scurry about on the trudging “ V”. Harrowing conversations.

— George W. Harris, 3.19.2020

Here’s a one-word review of Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey’s collaborative album Invisible Ritual: finally. Alternatively, epic. Try for three, and genius loves company almost works. Words always fail to capture the character of music, but here, more words equal deeper failure. Brevity beckons. The best possible two-word review may be the album’s title: it draws listeners inescapably into unseen acts of magic.

The record comprises the eight-track title piece, which Sorey and Curtis improvised while recording. Their planning process consisted entirely of their history of collaboration plus deep conversations on the way to the session. The problem finding words for what they achieved together is that description is a clumsy tool made of slippery language. How can imprecise words nail down vaporous traces of mood, muscle memory, and thought? Invisible Ritual invites wordless murmurs of appreciation, perhaps soft expletives of amazement.

Sorey and Curtis walked into record producer Randy Ezratty’s living room in 2018 with substantial reputations in place. Curtis, a composer and master in many styles, plays violin for the International Contemporary Ensemble, whose Tundra imprint released this record. Sorey, a pianist, percussionist, and MacArthur Fellow, has composed in a staggering variety of contexts and collaborated with seemingly everyone. Yet Invisible Ritual finds defining aspects of both musicians’ approaches in absorptive consonance with each other.

Ryan Streber of Oktaven Audio catches every splash, thump, and strum at the start of I. For this, listeners owe him gratitude. Sorey and Curtis never overwhelm one another, and their softest sounds remain ever audible. Picture a painting of a drummer by Basquiat, right next to a Rockwell illustration of a country fiddler. Imagine that you found their gallery in a dream, and that a shaft of sunlight abruptly woke you. The dream remains lodged in your mind, albeit distorted: that’s I.

Convergences seem too perfect to have emerged spontaneously in II., but from this duo, flights and figments feel like culminations. Curtis’s harmonics open high above Sorey’s toms, but together they flow toward airiness–her on strings, him on scraped cymbals. Gongs and an erhu-like violin tone suggest memories of Chinese music. A tart piano chord jolts III. into existence; after answering with mournful double stops, Curtis steps aside for a while. New Focus Recordings label head Dan Lippel suggests inspiration from Feldman here, but the climax and conclusion offer unique appeal. After Curtis returns with furious arpeggios, Sorey walks up the keyboard in spacey perfect fourths; both end up adrift.

The violin melody that opens IV. and serves as a reference point throughout is also an earworm; consider yourself warned. Scraps of familiar styles drift by, prompting questions rather than recognition–which Romantic violin concerto has that tune? Which rock drummer played fills like this? It ends with a playful ellipsis that Sorey, back on piano for V., answers with a different kind of playfulness. His blips conjure images of a hacked player piano reproducing bits of Ahmad Jamal solos. Curtis coughs, reminding us that this is happening live in someone’s living room–but also scales the heights of virtuosity.

With Curtis on a melancholy tune and Sorey harmonizing and embellishing, VI. sounds more like jazz than other tracks. Angst steals in and shatters the balladry, however. VII. seems like a logical conclusion at first, with its recall of I. and its mounting energy. Sorey’s late cymbal scrape, followed ten seconds of silence later by a bass drum thump, feels conclusive. Yet the ritual of the title can end in neither sorrow nor lightheartedness. VIII. pairs ruminations from Curtis with the chiming bells, bowls, gongs, and cymbal crowns of Sorey’s percussion setup. The duo remains tight to the end, Curtis catching pitches from Sorey’s tuned gongs and working the notes into melodies.

"Invisible Ritual'’s flickers of the familiar feel necessary and grounded, fun but not emptily so. It rewards immediate repeat listening, but its scale means that doing so would make an afternoon of it. I recommend that. Once, having loaded the album onto my phone for a long run, I arrived at the edge of a park. Unknown to me before that day, blanketed in fog and deserted but for geese, it invited a pause. On one edge, a steep hill made it look as though the world abruptly ended there. To the left, ramshackle old houses huddled; to the right, anonymously sleek new condominiums had just gone up. III. made for the perfect soundtrack: slightly surreal, somehow dark yet luminous, a clouded summation of our zeitgeist. Invite Sorey and Curtis into your space and see how they change the lighting.

— Nick Stevens, 3.31.2020

Consider for example, Invisible Ritual (Tundra Records TUN 014 newfocusrecordings.com) that joins Americans Jennifer Curtis (violin) and Tyshawn Sorey, who plays percussion and piano. Curtis’ background includes playing old-timey music and membership in the contemporary chamber group ICE. Sorey composes for ensembles such as ICE as well as gigging as a jazz drummer with the likes of Myra Melford. The pair stretch boundaries only slightly during expected chamber music violin-piano configurations here. But while there’s a near rococo feel when the pianist sticks to prudent and deliberate patterning and the fiddler sweetens textures to the quasi-baroque, other sequences such as Invisible Ritual III and Invisible Ritual V are invested with dynamic animation. A heavier touch encompassing key clip and clinks from the piano adds swing intimations further propelled by impetuous violin glissandi and, especially on the second tune, triple-stopping variations and col legno taps. Contrast is more markedly defined when percussion is involved. Starting with a folksy exposition, gong-like reverberations and arco string strokes add to the reflective mood. The same sort of savvy is brought to faster numbers. Kinetic steeplechases are propelled by chunky drum rumbles and cymbal echoes from Sorey as Curtis, jumping from strained squeaks to pizzicato plucks on the fiddle, references the heads as they create new distinctive melodies. There’s even a point on Invisible Ritual VIII where the blend threatens to create a Balkan-style dance rhythm. Versatility and cooperation is most obvious on Invisible Ritual IV, where Sorey’s beat stretching and riffs complement Curtis’ dynamic moves back and forth from spiccato to arco, often during the same line. As he slaps cymbal and snares, he heads into hoedown territory and then turns to tough tremolo sweeps to face down the ferocious clip-chop percussion challenge.

— Ken Waxman, 9.01.2020

Just as Sorey- already one of the preeminent composers of his generation- is not a stereotypical “jazz” percussionist, Curtis is not a conventional violinist, having also played drums in “rock” bands. Both artists’ eclectic tastes pervade Invisible Ritual. Hues of the blues, rock, classical, jazz, and Celtic, East Asian, and Appalachian music emerge throughout its eight movements. “IV” seemingly marries Eastern European fiddle with Mahavishnu Orchestra like melodies and driving drumbeats before morphing into a frenzy of notes and pizzicato phrases. Throughout the album, one can sense the impression of both Steve Reich and Henry Flynt, among many others. At times, the duo even escapes expectations on their instruments’ respective timbres. In addition to Sorey putting aside his sticks to sit behind a piano, Curtis produces unexpected but welcome tones with her four strings. For a few moments in “II,” she finds a way to make it sound like she is wielding a panflute from an indigenous group in Latin America, to which she is met with a series of gongs. And on “VII,” manipulation on the vibrancy of strings produces new tones entirely. Overall, Invisible Ritual is an intricate exposition on the universality of sound.

— Rob Shepherd, 12.14.2020

It’s difficult to replicate the magic that happens when you bring together a group of brilliant improvisors who have a long history of collaboration and creative trust in one another. Such divination is at the heart of Invisible Ritual (released on New Focus Recordings’ TUNDRA imprint), the ecstatic timbral playground of violinist/composer Jennifer Curtis and multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey.

Comprised of eight freely improvised tracks, Invisible Ritual is a whirlwind of virtuosity–it’s bebop meets new complexity with swirls of fiddle tunes incisively slicing through. Through years of working together, Curtis and Sorey have both the patience and the willingness to let things develop slowly, organically. The resulting album is a deeply satisfying journey of process without destination, a gradual unfurling that begs the listener to let go and float wherever the tide takes them.

— Amanda Cook, 12.15.2020

Shortly into this series of duos between Curtis (violinist with the International Contemporary Ensemble) and Sorey (composer, multi-instrumentalist, here playing drums or piano), I completely forgot they were improvised, so structurally satisfying is each piece. That sense of being in good hands as a listener is there in both the high-wire moments and the contemplative sections, with the latter being some of my favorite moments on this dazzling collection. Everything from Neue Wiener Schule knottiness to jazz fusion thrills to post-rock quietude and more are reference points and connecting the dots is pure delight.

— Jeremy Shatan, 12.26.2020