The latest release from pastoral improv troupe Orfeo 5 is tinged with a certain melancholy due to the passing of vocalist Ali Rigg.
Main man Keith Jafrate, having chosen to review some pieces with which Ali had been involved back in 2007/2008, contacted Shaun Blezard and the sad circumstances came to light. These five older pieces were to be part of the collection of current work and the later additions work as bookends or cocoons around the earlier tracks, keeping them safe.
Across the bulk of this album, Keith’s saxes weave long, sinuous soundscapes through which various vocalists make their intrepid way. Opener “The Long View” introduces Keith’s breezy, romantic side, the sax an effervescent delight, but the Lynchian discord of the synths also lends it an unsettled air.
There appear to be two saxes on the sprawling “Midwinter Light” and blt 63‘s vocal starts off as breathy, smoky vapour around which the saxes entwine, partly protecting and partly enticing, trying to draw it further into the light. The piece drifts gently and hesitantly like a slow waltz around a secluded garden, deliberate but with a warmth that keeps off the early morning chill. It lasts for almost fourteen minutes and blows endlessly cool, but with the voice warming as the frost clears. This long-form style is so right for these pieces that are short on structure but long on atmosphere, and “Straying From The Path” moves like a dervish, spiralling freely over the mantra-like litany of the close to the bone collective’s seemingly random words. The sound is even freer here, but a little more disturbed, more easily spooked while being grounded by Dianne Darby and Liz Tolan‘s intoned vocals. These opening two tracks are nicely varied, and in some ways prepare you for the step back in time to Ali’s section. Her voice on “Countless Pedestrian Agonies” is a distant dream over weather atmospherics that dispense with structure. There is a sweet and soulful resonance, with the found sounds sending a lovely quiver through the bustling backdrop.Her vocals approach as if she were in a mysterious, unfolding landscape, and the smokey sax and sounds of nature help with that dreamlike vibe. There is an interesting diversity when Keith’s vocal comes into play, his ancient poet’s voice lending further freedom to Ali’s soar and the jazzy references of “Recalling The Call Of Birds”. She goes really deep into the words, sipping and savouring with the minimal backing only highlighting the flavours. It sometimes feels as if you are trespassing on somebody’s inner thoughts and that proximity only heightens the intensity.
Things become noisier and a little sinister as we move on, and “All My Skin Alight” feels as though we are listening to this unfolding next door to a club, the beats breathing through the wall, surrounded by static. It hits a groove, and here Ali sounds soulful as the funky sub-bass propels things for the first time so far. It is supple and a little sexy and once again we find another side to the album. The final two tracks are Keith’s vehicles and his poet’s delivery really suits the heartworn words of “Broken Hymn”, a steady comedown leading into a reprise of the opening track, taking us safely back to the beginning. The Long View is a wildly appealing and warming series of tracks that highlight Orfeo 5’s questing sensibility and are a fitting legacy to the memory of Ali Rigg. It is a journey of intimate yearning, resting in the arms of a world that both warms and inspires. A triumph.-Mr Olivetti-
