Eight musicians (clockwise from left) play on Plutonium: Jonathan Greenstein, David Spies, Mark Hetzler, Tony Barba, Michael Brenneis, John Christensen, Paul Dietrich and Greg Smith.
Jazz music developed during a time of massive industrial expansion in America, and the storied “Jazz Age” of the 1920s and ’30s was marked by a particularly frenetic advancement of machines and communication technology. In some ways, it’s the perfect art form to make sense of the rapidly changing world — the onomatopoeic rhythms and melodies could almost mimic the sound of engines, factories and urban bustle.
Michael Brenneis, a longtime Madison drummer, puts an abstract modernist twist on the concept of industrial jazz with his new album, Plutonium, which debuted Nov. 18 at Arts + Literature Lab. Consisting of a suite of compositions with apocalyptic titles, the music is gorgeous, thrilling and just a little bit terrifying.
The sprawling compositions are played by an octet of fabulous musicians — Brenneis on drums,Tony Barba on clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, Jonathan Greenstein on tenor saxophone, Greg Smith on clarinet and baritone saxophone, Paul Dietrich on trumpet, Mark Hetzler on trombone, David Spies on tuba, and John Christensen on bass. “Titans,” a more than 17-minute epic, could be an EP unto itself — the opening chords perfectly mimic an air horn warning blast before launching into a woozy, tempo-shifting bop propelled by wild polyphonic melodies and Brenneis’ steady yet nimble drumming.
The opening track “Platoon or Peloton” shifts deftly between several themes: first dissonant and militaristic, then driving and melodic, pushing and pulling until the piece builds to a powerful finish. The chilling “Lung Blisters” could be the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic death march across a toxic wasteland. “Coal Wars” employs a strange but extremely memorable rhythmic pattern and makes effective use of the massive tonal range in the instruments, from tooth-rattling baritone saxophone to piercing woodwind. Title track “Plutonium” builds up to a depraved calliope that showcases the players’ virtuosic talent.
How do you even think of music like this? I do not know. But the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium (which funded the project) should give these people more money so they can make another album ASAP.
