|
Even after three decades of existence The Gatherings Concert Series is still giving up its secrets. From the extensive archives of event recordings comes yet another remarkable benefit album of which fans of innovation will be examining and meditating on for years to come. The Gatherings 22 April 2023 (40:44) provides the complete live presentation by the Philadelphia-based KiloWatts (a.k.a. Jamie Watts) - who on this date managed to fill the three dimensional sanctuary space of St Mary's Hamilton Village as fully as he did the listening minds of all those in attendance. Confidently in control Watts aptly added some delightful new content to our aural data banks. Under quick review this creation may seem like a 40 minute mere Ambient jam. Not so. The performance methodically took its time to get where it was going - one luxurious moment after another. A genuinely striking piece, this recital's route was rich with incident, texture and color. First through mist, gloom and shadow, then as if touched by some rare light the music sparked dreams about love, fate and more. With its decorative flourishes, ribboning synth leads and vivid chordal motion this staging supplied moments of great artistry while pushing into new sonic territory. Besides all the electronic invention, Watts is a very competent keyboardist - a fact which becomes apparent as rapid turns at the synth lead to expressive electric piano accents and a grand piano resolution. A wonderful work of the imagination The Gatherings 22 April 2023 plays as a finely nuanced musical exhibition of surprising emotional power. It is not like anything Watts has made. It is not like anything anyone else has made, even though it contains echoes of dozens of other realizations that appear to have fed the musician's fertile imagination. This concert construction has no center. It wraps around you. Fleeting, it comes and goes - but not without leaving a mysteriously beautiful human trace.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 25 April 2024 |
