Album Review: Forever Stories of: Moving Parties from Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt

Album:  Forever Stories of: Moving Parties
Artists:  Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt
Label:  Earshift Music
Website:
https://peggyleecoleschmidt.bandcamp.com/album/forever-stories-of-moving-parties

Coming together in 2019, the duo of cellist Peggy Lee and guitarist Cole Schmidt are artisans of ambient jazz.  Their recording Forever Stories of: Moving Parties is a vision of fluid soundscapes accented by stimulating effects.  Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, the pair write improvised phrases that open up the listener's cerebral senses, tantalizing the imagination and offering insight into otherworldy emanations.

The chord schemes move like ghostly apparitions, embodying phantom-like figments, free floating abstractions rising and withdrawing at random.  The notes posture glides upright in luminous hues.  Schmidt remarks in a press notice, "The initial concept for the record had to do with hosting a party that included all kinds of people and characters, connecting on different conversations in different rooms of the house."

Bodies move like specters, giving the listener insight into a vast territory of introspection and interaction, resonating a metaphysical connection and emanating an amicable and inviting nature.  Lee and Schmidt display a shared vision, blending composed material with improvisational freedom, creating a comfortable balance for the listening experience.

The free floating strings of Lee's cello ruminates serenely across "It Will Come Back," as Sunny Kim's chanting vocals blend into the fabric of the empyreal instrumentation.  "Doctor Dawn" shifts the course into ambient effects with an earthy tone as Schmidt's guitar musings brush gingerly across the melodic swells, giving the track a soft rock tremor.

The folksy Celtic tint of Lee's cello strings clench the solemn tone of the improvisations coursing through "Mercy," as JP Carter's trumpet thrusts into the billowy current.  The recording advances into the haunting emanations of "Absences," following with the bopping vibrations of Schmidt's guitar splayed across "Try To Waltz."  

An ambient cascade of glimmering notes from Wayne Horvitz's Wurlitzer spiral and swerve seamlessly along "Gloop," moving into a wall of sharp pellets echoing, coiling, flaring, howling, and pealing through "Sun Gods," producing a vignette of introspection.  The lulling swells of "For Ron Miles" are garnished in Horvitz's twinkling keys and the shimmering flakes of Sara Schoenbeck's bassoon, Carter's trumpet, Meredith Bates's violin, and Melissa Hubert's flute, making for a peaceful atmosphere.

Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt have a history of collaboration, with roots in projects that include SICK BOSS and Echo Painting. Their musical partnership was further solidified during a 10-day residency in Montreal in 2017.  Due to the lockdowns in 2020, the pair needed to adapt to an innovative approach, shifting their work to remote collaboration.  Their ability to adapt to different circumstances is perceivable in their music, shifting their phrasing, tone and exertion to be in accord with the other musicians.

Produced by Erika Angell and Wayne Horvitz, with Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt, Forever Stories of: Moving Parties integrates various shades of ambient jazz.  The duo stimulate the imagination and provide an innovative vision for linking composed material and improvised music.

Musicians:
Peggy Lee - cello
Cole Schmidt - guitar
JP Carter - trumpet & electronics
Sara Schoenbeck - bassoon
Melissa Hubert - flute
James Goddard - alto saxophone
Lisen Rylander Löve - tenor saxophone, electronics, & voice
Wayne Horvitz - piano, organ, Wurlitzer, & electronics
Meredith Bates - violin
Frank Rosaly - on electronics
Dylan van der Schyff - drums & percussion
Mili Hong - drums
James Meger - electric bass, synth bass, processing
Sunny Kim - voice & electronics
Erika Angell - voice & electronics

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