Listening to Songbird Suite, my first thought was that it was both avant-garde and accessible at the same time. Structure is thrown out of the window in a group of pieces that oscillate between free jazz and free improvisation, but this album is marked by a sense of fun and lightheartedness. Part of the reason for this is its melodicism, its adherence to mostly major keys (and adherence to keys in general). On the other hand, this melodicism is achieved through controlled insanity. The performers on this album should be commended for either having a gift for pounding randomly, but pleasantly, on their instrument, or for being able to memorize incredibly complex, precisely composed pieces. Free jazz/free improvisation, by all reasoning, should not sound this nice; rather than being chaotic for the sake of being chaotic, Songbird Suite provides a thoroughly pleasing sense of the chaotic, like falling into a pit of harmonic, perfectly tuned bells.
The question here, then, is whether or not I prefer this version of free jazz/free improvisation, or its classical noisy, jarring, challenging texture. I am pleased that this album has changed my perception of the genre; however, Ibarra's approach is too restrained to make a highly memorable impression. Here, the aesthetic is influenced by micro elements as much as macro. For instance, in the opening track Azul, a violin is beautifully abused while the piano provides bizarre variations on a simple theme; but, I can't help but think how much synergy could have been achieved had the drummer, playing the same line throughout the whole song, captured more spotlight with a few unique, drum-bashing fills. Similarly, the album's driving force seems to be the maintenance of a nature-inspired atmosphere, so much so that it trades out the element of jarring surprise that often characterizes the genre. Ultimately, the album focuses on melodicism more than I think it should have; a more insane album, yet one that remained somewhat melodic, would have been an instant classic in my mind. However, it is still very listenable and unique, warranting a recommendation.
