Jabe Ledoux - Total Refusal (Preparation VIII)

Released: August 7

Total Refusal represents both a musical and moral statement on the current state of the world. The concept behind it draws inspiration from a book and its associated movement”…Free Jazz and Leftist Nationalism…” which ostensibly invokes musical expression as an agent of change. While Ledoux’s work here represents something most would consider to be quite far from free jazz, the spirt of improvisation runs deep through all three longform pieces, totaling about an hour. Each piece is entirely driven by rhythm and the drum set is almost completely different from piece to piece, with each piece having been recorded miles away from the last but still utilizing at least one central piece - a reclaimed whisky barrel made into a drum. They all tie in together perfectly, even with outwardly and loudly showing their distinctions from the last. 

The first of these pieces is simultaneously speedy and meditative. The majority of it is driven by what sounds like a single drum played in a fast galloping motion, like wild horses running up an embankment, joined intermittently by a booming drum hit and momentarily paused by the distinctive sound of a gong. The second piece represent something that sounds more like trepidation, opening up with a persistent sound of something being sawed by hand in slow and monotonous fashion. This same rhythm is later picked up by something that sounds like bolts and screws shaken gently in a coffee can. Then, the entire composition shift back into drum hits that bring in an equal sense of frustration and energy. The final of these pieces feels like a return to the beginning with those almost tribal sounding drum rhythms inviting much of the runtime while winding in that sense of frustration heard in the second track. 

These three pieces seem to follow a distinct progression in mood. At first, there is the realization that- a sense that something is wrong yet not well defined. The second part expressing the dread of the realization, manifesting as somewhat disjointed resignation at first then full anger and frustration. The final part feels like a coalescence of these two pieces - a full realization of the state we are in an abject rejection of it. It’s a surprisingly innovative presentation that is not only a great performance, but a pointed, if not abstract, statement.