Tim Berne - Fractured Fairy Tales (1989), 8/10

One of the most uniquely engaging instances of modern avant-garde jazz, Tim Berne’s Fractured Fairy Tales combines a unique palette of instrumentation with offbeat compositions and free improvisation all while presenting a remarkably sympathetic set of songs. The opener “Now Then” is nothing short of electric and entirely stimulating, while “SEP” dares to experiment with space and dynamics outside of the initially appealing assortment of sounds. Berne’s personality can be heard through his saxophone but more clearly and perhaps more importantly through these rapidly evolving compositions that quickly jump from idea to idea, compiling a rapid-fire collection of intriguing notions one after another. This is explicit and definite in “Hong Kong Sad Song : More Coffee” where you can hear and feel the shifts between precision and untethered improvisation. Mark Feldman’s violin and Hank Roberts’ cello add substantial depth and intensity to a song like this third track where percussion and horns typically reign supreme, and sometimes still do. The vocals during “Evolution of a Pearl” are wonderfully unsettling while also presenting as whimsical, intertwined with the instrumentation in an eerie blending of sound that covers an impressive amount of musical and dynamic ground. The result is an uncommonly visual soundscape that, again, dares to go places most modern jazz either refuses to or is incapable of. The closer “The Telex Blues” extends the already existing tropes a bit further while leaning into its influences, making it a thematically sound closer notable for Baron’s CZ-101 synth. Herb Robertson’s credit as performing the laryngeal crowbar is a nice touch. An exemplary instance of modern jazz that excels in all aspects of composition and performance while displaying a refreshingly eccentric personality from Tim Berne.