Roscoe Mitchell is likely most known as being a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His forte is combining minimalism and improvisation, with his use of percussion and woodwinds being the main focus. On his latest album titled DOTS, the improvisationist brings us nineteen pieces clearly in the realm of experimentalism. If you enjoy completely improvised playing and very sparse musical soundscapes you may find some enjoyment here. Mitchell uses a variety of homemade percussion using various metals and other materials but does this in a very sparing way. Like the percussion sounds, his saxophone playing is completely obtuse and random, to these untrained ears, linked together in unrecognizable patterns. Mitchell is certainly well versed in the use of overdubs, a technique he uses frequently throughout the disc’s nineteen pieces. For me, DOTS was rather difficult to process as I tend to need a melody to latch on to. I do give the artist credit for his unconventional approach to musical form. As such, 2.5 stars it is.
Track Listing:
1. Slow Ride One (3:59)
2. Slow Ride Two (3:56)
3. Glide And Run (3:55)
4. Skip (3:33)
5. Hey (3:32)
6. Oops (3:48)
7. Light Green (3:48)
8. Vast Horizons (3:38)
9. Shimmer (3:33)
10. Clang (3:28)
11. Startle (3:14)
12. Dots (5:06)
13. Let’s Go There (1:26)
14. Do The Dang Thing (3:12)
15. Boom Ba (4:08)
16. Click (1:17)
17. Now The Color Blue (2:11)
18. Moving Bell (3:33)
19. Silence (3:25)
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Roscoe Mitchell is likely most known as being a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His forte is combining minimalism and improvisation, with his use of percussion and woodwinds being the main focus. On his latest album titled DOTS, the improvisationist brings us nineteen pieces clearly in the realm of experimentalism. If you enjoy completely improvised playing and very sparse musical soundscapes you may find some enjoyment here. Mitchell uses a variety of homemade percussion using various metals and other materials but does this in a very sparing way. Like the percussion sounds, his saxophone playing is completely obtuse and random, to these untrained ears, linked together in unrecognizable patterns. Mitchell is certainly well versed in the use of overdubs, a technique he uses frequently throughout the disc’s nineteen pieces. For me, DOTS was rather difficult to process as I tend to need a melody to latch on to. I do give the artist credit for his unconventional approach to musical form. As such, 2.5 stars it is.
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