#tim stine

[musicollage]

Tim Stine Trio - Fresh Demons. 2020 : Astral Spirits.

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[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Tim Stine

Photo by Santiago Covarrubias

If a musician’s test is the ability to project an individualized sound, guitarist Tim Stine has passed the test. Stine moved to Chicago a dozen years ago after growing up in North Dakota and studying in Minnesota and Ohio, and since then has followed the city’s pathway to relevance by working as a concert series organizer and an astute sideman as well as an idiosyncratic presence on his instrument. His winding compositions don’t fall easily into either the straight ahead or outside camp, any more than his playing falls into the trap of gratuitously flashing technique. On Stine’s two most recent records, the trio date Fresh Demons (Astral Spirits) reviewed here by Tim Clarke and the quartet session Knots (Clean Feed), he develops his melodies patiently, but spikes them with reversals, dissonances and tempo change-ups that’ll keep you leaning forward just to catch where he’ll go next.

Michael Gregory Jackson — Clarity

Michael Gregory Jackson is one of my acoustic guitar heroes. Compositionally, I don’t think we have much in common, but I have been poking around with his improvisations for years. This record is my favorite of his, and features Oliver Lake (who I also love to listen to), Leo Smith and David Murray. I was introduced to this album by some older musicians in Chicago, whom I respect very much.

Experimental Sound Studio — The Quarantine Concerts

Lots of great stuff coming out of ESS since the pandemic started. It has made me feel connected to music (again) in a way that I haven’t felt since this all began. Please tune in and donate if you can.

Summer Walker — “CPR”

I love modern R&B. Summer Walker has all of the stuff I like about 80’s classics (she has a light Sade vibe), but is of course very modern too. Her Last Days of Summer recording is my favorite pop music of the last 3-4 years. Nobody better ask me to do an R&B record, because I’ll do it in a second. (I know that won’t happen).

“Justice in June” — A resource compiled by Autumn Gupta with Bryanna Wallace’s oversight for the purpose of providing a starting place for individuals trying to become better allies

A friend sent this to me recently, and I’ve found it very helpful. This is a Google Doc that was put together by friends of friends, and it’s arranged by how much time you have to spend each day to educate yourself on how to be a better ally. It’s 15 pages and plenty of links, and even weekly plans. There are books recommended and talks and other things, but what I can appreciate most about it is that they have also included action items. Who to call, who to write, and what to do? Here is a great place to start, if you haven’t already.

Rob Mazurek and Jeff Parker Duo — Live @ Serralheria, Sao Paulo on Dec 17th, 2013

I’ve spent a lot of time with these two individually and as a duo too. This is a beautiful snippet from a performance in Brazil from 2013. This hints at so, so many styles of music and sound. I don’t care what kind of music it is. What have these two done and still do for Chicago music? There’s no telling. Also, shoutout Rob’s Octet Galactic Ice Skeleton, with hero John Herndon on drums, and Jeff’s The Relatives, my favorite Chicago guitar record.

The Melvins — Ozma

What can I say? I’m from North Dakota and there’s a lot of metal and metalheads. When a kid turns 15 in North Dakota, they are issued a copy of Lysol and Houdini. I love those recordings too, but didn’t find this one until much later. It’s everything I love about them, but better. The sort of crappy recording quality adds to its ‘it'. DRUMS!

Jon Hassell — “Last Night the Moon Came Dropping its Clothes in the Street”

Modern trumpet/sound master making deeply creative music in his 70’s at the time this was filmed. I first heard the ECM album that this tune is from right when it came out 10 years ago, and it hasn’t left my mind the whole time. Sometimes I can get dragged down by the influences I hear in music and here, I do not care at all, I just want to hear this. Fourth world music.

Joe Lovano — Rush Hour

A friend played this for me recently. Gunther Schuller arranged and conducted everything on here. I love his arrangements on the John Lewis album, The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music. My mother is a choral conductor and I’ve long been fascinated with the use of voice compositionally. It’s perfect here. especially on “Prelude to a Kiss.” This whole album feels like a dream. Lovano plays like how I think I play when I’m dreaming.

Luther Vandross — “A House is not a Home”

This is vocal mastery. Everything about it is perfect. I cry every time I hear this. There is no vocal pop music that hits harder than this. No autotune, not a bunch of production bullshit. His band (on his most famous records) would record the track and then Luther would come in and sing along and do the take. Check out this interview with Nat Adderley Jr. and Marcus Miller about their experience with him.

Paul Desmond (with Jim Hall) — “Easy Living”

There are a bunch of these records, and I’m sure you’ve heard at least a few of them; Bossa Antigua, Desmond Blue, Easy Living, and Glad to be Unhappy are my favorites. The link above is “Easy Living,” from the record of the same name. I can understand if you don’t like this — or lots of other things on this list — but it speaks to me. This has calmed me in ways I didn’t expect to be needed to be calmed over the years.

[dustedmagazine]

Tim Stine Trio — Fresh Demons (Astral Spirits)

Fresh Demons by Tim Stine Trio

Guitarist and composer Tim Stine, bassist Anton Hatwich and drummer Frank Rosaly come together on Fresh Demons, their second album on Astral Spirits, to cast forth a series of cascading pieces that rarely settle on a rhythmic or melodic motif for long. Stine’s acoustic guitar is brittle and woody, splintering into jagged shards that feel like they might be building into something stable, only to fracture anew in a panicked rush to explore new ideas. Hatwich’s bass is round and warm, smoothing out the spaces between Stine’s guitar and Rosaly’s tumbling, splashy drums. They collectively hack their way through the brambles into open spaces, then fresh shoots tangle together into gnarly new forms.

Opener “Talking Faster” has the kind of intervallic stretching that evokes a precarious walk across slippery rocks, scribbly note runs bringing to mind the expressive exuberance of scat singers. On “882233,” Stine and Hatwich initially lock in for some tight unison playing, before Stine breaks away to add some bright counterpoint. There’s relief from the frantic, scrambling atmosphere on “OTR,” as the feathery drumming and tentative bass fan out beneath some languid playing from Stine, plus a long, expansive passage left simply to drums and bass. There’s an almost math-rock feel to the start of “VVVValley,” before the pulse quickens and Stine starts to shred — or as close as you can get to shredding on acoustic guitar.  

“Watched Trains” is a relatively funky start to the second half of the record, the trio collectively convulsing in an awkward groove that stumbles and pirouettes, peaking with an ace drum solo from Rosaly. “Object” is a tense tightrope walk in which space plays as much of a role as the instrumentalists, and “686868” is the shadowy twin to the first half’s “882233.” There’s some kind of resolution on closer “FADS,” as Rosaly and Hatwich face off and slow things right down, bulbous bass notes suspended over metallic scratching and pinging; stepping out of the picture, Stine is no doubt patching up his sore fingers, having unleashed the kind of playing that makes such a comparatively mellow finale necessary. But it’s short lived: the bass and drums soon rise into a rolling boil, like watching something threatening approach from far away.  

Tim Clarke

[uncannedmusic]

Over/Out: Loris in residence @ Bar DeVille, April 2014 / additional spring performances

In November, Chicago guitarist Tim Stine debuted a tight outfit of four local improvisors intent on exploring an ambient terrain of dark tones and textures. Stine—along with James Davis, Jeff Greene and Frank Rosaly—forged a stark sonic path issuing instrumental chants and calls that rippled with torment and violence.  The core value or object among the players was raw and undeveloped but strikingly cogent.

This spring, we’re honored to host the continued calibration of one of the most imminent young voices in Chicago’s union of experimental music. Please join us Tuesdays, April 1, 8, 15 and 22 at Bar DeVille to bear witness. Loris is Tim Stine (guitar), James Davis (trumpet), Jeff Greene (bass) and Frank Rosaly (percussion).

II March/April/May @ Bar Deville II

March 25 - Brett Naucke & Michael Vallera / dang!fever April 1,8,15,22 - Artist in Residence: Loris April 29 - Matt Ulery/Rob Clearfield/Michael Caskey May 6 - Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan May 13 - Nick Broste Trio May 20 - Darts & Arrows

Over/Out is a music series promoting improvisation and experimentation in sound Tuesdays 10pm @ Bar DeVille, 701 N Damen Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.