Gregg Belisle-Chi: enso
ears&eyes Records

The title of Gregg Belisle-Chi's fourth recording as a leader and second on ears&eyes Records (2019's Book of Hours the first) perfectly captures the essence of the guitarist's goal for the project. The Zen-related term 'enso' has to do with the painting of a circle using a single brushstroke, the gesture intended to symbolize a moment when the mind is so unencumbered the body acts as freely. As important as that is, the critical idea is less about the character of the result and more the practice itself, and it's this that so strongly influenced Belisle-Chi during the development and recording of the album. In simplest terms, by adhering to self-imposed everyday rituals, creative energy is able to channel itself into productive areas more freely; the artist gets out of the way, so to speak, so that material can emerge uncorruptedly. Anxiety and doubt subside as self-acceptance sets in, with the artist embracing the perfection of the moment even if the outcome itself is imperfect.

Helping him realize this concept in musical terms are electric bassist Matt Aronoff and drummer Jason Burger, both clearly attuned to the guitarist's sensibility and playing style. There's a calm and assurance to this music, recorded at Figure 8 in Brooklyn, that belies whatever anxiety-inducing circumstances Belisle-Chi might have experienced at the time of its production. The impression left is of an artist confident in his abilities, comfortable in allowing the music to come to him, and smart enough to wait for it to reveal itself. Indicative of the mindset he brought to the project is “lux ravus,” whose dramatic opening theme is one that had been in his notebook for years; the piece only came together, however, when he humbly allowed the song to tell him where it needed to go. Slow and dreamy in tone, the tune exemplifies the close connection the material elicited from the three players. The music advances unhurriedly without lapsing into stupor and with each musician sensitively nurturing changes in dynamics and texture. Tumultuous episodes alternate with studious passages in a track one imagines would be a lethal exercise when enacted in a concert setting.

Belisle-Chi possesses ample dexterity as a guitarist, but enso is hardly about flash. The nucleus around which everything revolves is composition, some of them compact one- to three-minute statements and others long-form travelogues in the eight- to thirteen-minute range. Such expanse allows for the exploration of new writing approaches like the one used for “mu meson.” In this instance, melodic fragments or note series are etched onto a large piece of notation paper, after which inversion, transposition, and mutation are applied to bring about larger forms that are then woven into a final structure. With such a strategy involved, it makes sense that the track would include multiple sections yet nevertheless feel cohesive in the way each flows naturally into the next.

In keeping with its title, “circa 1999” honours a period in his life when he was teaching at Mark Murphy's Music in South Orange and thus reacquainting himself with the music of Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and others due to student interest. The track is harder and more rock-oriented than some of the other pieces yet not so much it feels disconnected from them. Meanwhile, the guitarist's lyrical side comes to the fore during “tragedy,” while a few other tracks revisit the plodding tempo of “lux ravus,” “no god in the sky” and “bellingham” two examples. Their slow tempos aren't objectionable, however; instead, they enhance the music's contemplative character and encourage the listener to reflect as they unfold.

October 2020