Paul Motian
Conception Vessel

Paul Motian percussion
Keith Jarrett piano, flute
Charlie Haden bass
Sam Brown guitar
Leroy Jenkins violin
Becky Friend flute
Recorded November 25/26, 1972 at Butterfly and Sound Ideas Studios, New York
Engineers: Kurt Rapp and George Klabin
Produced by Manfred Eicher

This album was conceived at the behest of Manfred Eicher, who encouraged Motian to lead his debut album as composer and leader, making for a glorious entry into a longstanding relationship that has since produced much fruitful collaboration. “Georgian Bay” congeals with the steady plucking of guitarist Sam Brown, who cuts a striking, if subtle, presence throughout. Supported only by a smattering of cymbals and Charlie Haden’s crab-walking bass lines, the piece betrays little of Motian’s prowess, saving it instead for “Ch’i Energy,” a flurried solo through which his centrality becomes vividly clear in a concise, powerful statement. This makes the looser affair of “Rebica” all the more lyrical. Charlie Haden is at peak performance in this GBD setting. One moment finds him providing ground support, while in the next he has already ventured off into more airborne ruminations. Brown returns after a pensive resistance, flirting with the music’s surface like a drowsy Derek Bailey. The title track raises the curtain for Keith Jarrett’s spotlight moment, which strangely does little to change the album’s surface texture. Despite the lack of melodic drive, the interplay between piano and drums breeds skillful ramifications. Though not the easiest piece of music to put one’s finger on in this program, Jarrett’s fiery exuberance as he whoops his way along makes for one of the most intriguing cuts therein. The flute and percussion noodling of “American Indian: Song Of Sitting Bull” is a suitable forum for the pianist’s wind-work, which meshes well with Motian’s rattlesnake-like maracas. “Inspiration From a Vietnamese Lullaby” adds bass and the violin of Leroy Jenkins to the latter configuration for a meandering journey into new improvisatory heights.

Despite being an album headed by a drummer, it eschews the mundane trappings of steady rhythms, indicative perhaps of Motian’s attempt to branch out into uncharted territories. In this respect, it succeeds . The jacket art speaks volumes of the album’s sound: round, symmetrical, cardinally oriented, yet also firm, heavy, and earthbound. Conception Vessel is a worthwhile example of ECM’s early sound and openness to the avant-garde, emblematic of the label’s ongoing interest in pushing (if not defining) boundaries.