Aaron Shragge & Ben Monder: This World of Dew
Human Resource Records

The combination of shakuhachi, guitar, and dragon mouth trumpet might produce a novel sound, but don't mistake the album on which they appear as a novelty. On the contrary, This World of Dew is a deeply engaged set of poetry-inspired meditations by trumpeter Aaron Shragge and guitarist Ben Monder, collaborators since 2009 whose third release (following 2010's The Key Is In The Window and 2012's Hollow) achieves thoroughly compelling results. Both are actively involved in the NYC music scene and bring impressive credits to the project: Shragge's played with the likes of Dave Douglas and William Parker, whereas Monder's issued six albums as a leader and contributed to over 200 as a sideman, Bowie's Blackstar among them.

The instruments first. In addition to the shakuhachi, an ancient Japanese bamboo flute known for its breathy sound, Shragge plays a customized trumpet equipped with valves and a seven-position slide; both instruments allow microtones to be easily produced (he's also credited with flugelhorn on the date). He and Monder augment their gear with reverb pedals to generate textural effects that enhance the atmospheric potential of the material. Inspiration for the fourteen compositions (all penned by Shragge) came from poets ancient and modern: Kobayashi Issa, Matsuo Basho, Li Po, Nishiyama Soin, and Charles Bukowski.

In providing a resonant guitar foundation for Shragge to emote over, Monder often assumes a supporting role, but even when playing reticently his contributions are critical. There are passages where the guitarist's heard alone, too, and during such moments the artful nuance and harmonic understatement of his playing has a huge impact. And in some instances, such as “There is Always One You Follow,” he's at the forefront, his chiming chords backed in this case by the repeating swirl of a shakuhachi pattern.

However esoteric and exotic the project might look on paper, in practice it communicates with emotional directness. Shragge's shakuhachi expressions during the second half of “Companion,” to cite one instance, communicate with a vocal-like quality that's disarmingly powerful. During the seven-part This World of Dew Suite, he alternates between shakuhachi and horn, the customized trumpet enabling him to slur from one note to another, the effect bluesy in keeping with textual material that concerns the poet's grief as he mourns the loss of his young daughter. Shragge's dragon mouth trumpet allows for broad range of musical effects, and it's not uncommon for his playing to range between woozy, braying, and haunting within the same setting.

A graduate of the New School Jazz Program, Shragge also earned a Master's degree from NYU in music therapy; to that end, one could imagine the peaceful “Settling” being used as part of a healing session of one kind or another. When the flugelhorn-electric guitar pairing is adopted, the results gravitate in a rather more jazz-like direction (see “Roll the Dice” and “Old Dust”), though that's hardly objectionable; if anything, the album's pleasingly enriched by the move. The flugelhorn-guitar combination returns a final time for the closer “Sun Coming Down,” a lovely ballad sensitively rendered by the partners. Here and elsewhere, the symbiotic connection between the players is evident, as the two subtly modulate tempo to enhance the effect of their shared expression.

July 2018