Rhonda Taylor - chaos theory

Avant Music News

The Free Jazz Collective 0

By Nick Ostrum

Rhonda Taylor is Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory at the University of New Mexico, Las Cruces. I am not sure how much location informs this album, but there might be something to Las Cruces’ removal from the usual metropoles. The distance might even have been crucial to chaos theory ’s sound, one that follows different musical lines than so many other solo sax releases.

And chaos theory is all about exploration. The album is divided into a side a and side b, and each composition, abstract and loose, appears twice on the album in different realizations, each time leading to a different conclusion. Rather than melodic variations on a theme, much of the divergence between, for instance, the first and second versions of the morning after occurs through sonic processing and layering. Despite this, Taylor and her technique remain central to this album.

Side a shows considerable range, from whistles and bird songs to a delicate, breathy pieces (exorcism) to explorations of longer tones. Much of this half is minimally processed, drawing attention to Taylor as a lone venturer on these sonic pathways through the neighboring and surprisingly though subtly vibrant deserts. Event horizon, the final part of side a, breaks this tendency somewhat, as it evolves from a soft minimalist drone into a harsh-noise clarion call, not unlike some of the territory Nate Wooley and Peter Evans have explored when amplified. Side b beginning with the second take of the morning after, however, takes this augmentation much further. It plays with space, and glitchy radio-fuzz chirps, and layered over bird recordings. To a greater extent than on the first realization, here the birds sing with the saxophone to the extent that they become more electronic as the processed sax comes to sound more natural. They meet in a strange middle. Exorcism follows with a return to the harsh noise workings of event horizon. The divergence diminishes on the final three takes on side b, which fall into a grouping on side b as they do on side a. The focus is long notes. The effect, however, is different. The sounds are often clearer and sound closer to the ear. What had been hazy on side a deepens on side b, often sounding fuller and cut with different degrees of space and sound. Appropriately, event horizon closes again, and blasts the ears.

I have not really heard much like chaos theory before. It lies somewhere between long-tone modern classical, amplified trumpet experimentation, and electro-acoustic noise. Through it all, however, it sounds deeply personal. One hears emotion. One also hears a coldness and, often, the clash between the two.

chaos theory is available as a download from Bandcamp:

chaos theory by Rhonda Taylor