New City Music preview by Dave Cantor

Arrive – There Was (CF 217)
Listening still ranks as one of the most important aspects of performing. Ask Pauline Oliveros, she agrees. Aram Shelton, a onetime local who now resides in the Bay with his alto sax but makes frequent pilgrimages back to Chicago, is well acquainted with the necessity to bleat out incomprehensible melodic progressions, but then rein it in and allow enough room for his cohort to expound related musical ideas. Affiliated with everyone from Weasel Walter, another East Bay transplant, to the Functional Blackouts, Shelton’s dates as a leader aren’t as varied as his other recording concerns, but hint at the ability to augment his tone and style on demand. Working with the Portuguese imprint Clean Feed, Shelton’s brought out “There Was…” with his group Arrive. The band, a quartet including Jason Adasiewicz on vibes, Jason Roebke with his bass and sometime-Vandermark associate Tim Daisy on drums, turned in six tunes for its latest release. Strikingly broad for an offering hemmed up in avant-jazz terms, the quartet works in airy tones as much as frenetic improvised passages and even tosses in a few drum solos. “Frosted” finds Daisy being featured for a romp over his toms, somehow avoiding overt African references, exemplifying Shelton and his group’s ability to adroitly assimilate influence without sacrificing the personal. Marshall Allen and John Gilmore, from Sun Ra’s groups, don’t function as the center to Shelton’s sound. It’s lighter, even sidestepping Art Ensemble ties. The band leader’s new(ish) digs out west, though, might serve as a better point of reference—Mills College is out there. But even Anthony Braxton doesn’t hold sway over Shelton’s approach to music. He’s a rare contemporary player capable of adding in some Euro-styled experimentalism with rhythmic ideas, no doubt, gleaned from his work in the Windy City.
http://music.newcity.com/2011/06/20/preview-aram-sheltonelastic-arts/

Chicago Reader review by Peter Margasak

Arrive – There Was… (CF 217)
Reedist Aram Shelton founded his quartet Arrive in Chicago, and though he moved to the Bay Area in 2005—the rest of the band still lives here—the group has only gotten better throughout this period of forced long-distance collaboration. Arrive’s recent second album, There Was . . . (Clean Feed), sounds more assured, focused, and unified than their 2005 self-titled debut. Granted, the group has been playing most of the album’s six tunes on and off for several years, and they cut the record right after completing a U.S. tour—but Shelton has also grown as a composer. The rhythms are less jagged and more fluid, the melodies are more elegant, and in the hands of Shelton (on alto sax) and his front-line partner here, vibist Jason Adasiewicz, the arrangements sound more thoughtful and rich. Shelton’s playing is intense but not overloud, and I hear a shift from the more buoyant sound of Ornette Coleman toward the tightly coiled style of Eric Dolphy (sans his trademark intervallic leaps). The pairing of an astringent alto with vibraphone inevitably evokes late-60s Blue Note sessions with Bobby Hutcherson, who worked with Dolphy and with brilliant altoist Jackie McLean. But Shelton sounds more like himself than ever, and with empathetic support from the agile rhythm section—bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy—so does Arrive.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/aram-shelton-keefe-jackson-and-anton-hatwich-arrive/Event?oid=4071016

The New York City Jazz Record review by Jeff Stockton

Jason Adasiewicz  – Sun Rooms (Delmark)
KLANG – Other Doors  (Allos Documents)
Aram Shelton’s Arrive  – There Was… (Clean Feed)
Giving up the drums to take up the vibraphone is like quitting basketball to try out for the volleyball team. It seems to be a choice that limits one’s options. But this is just what Jason Adasiewicz did, purposely taking up a fringe instrument and mastering it in a fringe musical category, helping restore the vibes to its former glory.

Sun Rooms is the self-titled CD of a trio completed by Chicago luminaries Nate McBride (bass) and Mike Reed (drums). While each instrument has its individual moments, the strength of the music is found in the interplay, Reed zipping brisk rolls off his snare, McBride bowing feverishly or walking his bass with aggressive intent and Adasiewicz striking the vibes to create resonating harmonies. You can hear the physicality in his playing in the way he holds back his mallets until the final second and in the ringing overtones that move through the air after he strikes. The tunes are relatively compact yet tightly composed, the band’s sound harkening back to economical BlueNote classics like Out to Lunch or, better still, Point of Departure. Sun Rooms offers similar disjointed harmonies, unconventional melodies and layered rhythms that together generate a cohesive blend.

The backstory to Klang’s Other Doors tells how clarinetist James Falzone was approached to interpret the music of Benny Goodman for a Chicago jazzfestival. The young musician had his misgivings about reliving elements of the clarinet’s past. It’s hard to tell if Falzone continues to distance himself from Goodman’s legacy but it’s a pity if he does because the contemporary takes on some classic Goodman small group sides are the best thing about Other Doors. Divided equally between new arrangements and new pieces, Falzone and his group of Chicago allstars (Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy, augmented here and there by Josh Berman, Jeb Bishop, Keefe Jackson and Fred Lonberg-Holm), the players are melodic and joyful on the Goodman tunes and relatively abstract and improvisatory on the originals. Simultaneously reverent and progressive, Other Doors is an impressive combination of practiced virtuosity and spontaneous creativity.

Yet another release to spring from the incredibly fertile and cross-pollinating jazz scene of Chicago, Arrive is a band comprised of Klang’s rhythm section supporting alto saxist Aram Shelton. On There Was… the tunes may be Shelton’s, but it’s Adasiewicz as often as not taking the lead. Whether it’s with Daisy’s brushes on “Frosted”, Jason Roebke’s bass on “Golden” or producing the hazy nightclub-of-the-imagination atmospherics of “Lost”, Adasiewicz’ hits his vibes hard and lets the metallic soundwaves reverberate in your ears. The action shot of the band on the inside cover tells the tale of this group’s barely contained fierceness: Daisy locked in, Roebke swinging, Shelton’s horn rising ever so slightly upward and Adasiewicz in a defensive stance, about to pounce on the vibes with both hands.

All About Jazz review by Mark Corroto

Arrive: There Was… (CF 217)
It is astonishing to consider just how many differing ensembles in which a modern jazz musician might participate. Take, for instance, the players heard in alto saxophonist Aram Shelton’s Arrive. Besides his own band Rolldown, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz can be heard in seven other bands, including those of Rob Mazurek, Mike Reed, and Nicole Mitchell. Likewise, Tim Daisy (Ken Vandermark’s favorite drummer) lists thirteen active bands, and bassist Jason Roebke, a half dozen. For his part, Shelton (who splits his time between Oakland and Chicago) lists another dozen bands, include the West coast groups Cylinder, Ton Trio, and Marches, and, from Chicago, the Fast Citizens, Rolldown, his Quartet, and the band heard here.

Formed in 2001, Arrive builds upon the band Dragons 1976, a piano-less trio Shelton and Daisy created with bassist Jason Ajemian. Where Dragons 1976 mined the message of Ornette Coleman, Arrive plies a post-Coleman world, with Bobby Hutcherson’s Dialogue (Blue Note, 1965) offering a reference point.

The inclusion of Adasiewicz’s vibraphone adds both a second percussionist and a chordal instrument. His literally striking performance elevates Shelton’s compositions, focusing the music on both melody and physicality. The pulse applied by bass and drums can sometimes be ignored, but Adasiewicz’s vibraphone on the title track pushes Roebke and Daisy to the forefront, emphasizing that pulse. As a working band, Arrive maintains a tight rein on the compositions. “Cradle” begins as an odd-timed waltz that evolves into a delicious 4/4 groove; the Same goes for “Frosted,” Shelton introducing this restrained and quiet piece, before giving way to some interplay between Adasiewicz and Daisy. Elsewhere, Roebke’s bass fuels “Lost,” before stepping into a gnarled solo and silence, the band bringing him back into the intricately woven song.

Where this disc shines is not in the soloing but the melodies and orchestrated group interplay. Shelton’s composing, and his sense of space in choosing musicians who play well together is a gift. This combination might be the best coalition of Chicago artists working today.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=39506

All About Jazz review by Troy Collins

Arrive - There Was… (CF 217)
A longtime fixture of the fertile Chicago jazz scene, Aram Shelton’s relocation to Oakland, California has not diminished the alto saxophonist’s presence among his peers in the Windy City. Courtesy of a rigorous touring schedule, Shelton maintains memberships in numerous ensembles, including Jason Adasiewicz’s Rolldown, the collective ensemble Fast Citizens, and Arrive, his quartet with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy—three of Chicago’s finest improvisers.

Recorded in 2008 after a two week tour of the East coast, There Was… is the quartet’s third album, following Live at Elastic (Single Speed Music, 2008) and their 2005 self-titled debut on 482 Music. Originally founded in 2001, the group’s practiced rapport is manifest in fluid interchanges and seamless transitions that lend the intricate structures underlying Shelton’s complex writing a casual sense of clarity. Although Shelton’s tuneful post-bop readily evokes the adventurous 1960s-era Blue Note recordings of such luminaries as Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill and Bobby Hutcherson, Shelton and company transcend stylistic preconceptions with a modernistic spin on the tradition. A judicious use of melodic counterpoint, intervallic themes and shifting time signatures provide these compositions with an expansive dynamic range and bracing vitality unique to their time.

Shelton’s nimble cadences reveal a pliant tone that veers from plangent to strident. His serpentine phrasing enhances the soulful ardor of lyrical motifs while instilling a commanding fluency to his more abstract excursions, which include bristling chromatic trills and vocalized ululations. From supple kaleidoscopic shadings to ringing metallic cascades, Adasiewicz’s versatility has made him omnipresent in the Chicago jazz scene; his harmonic audacity makes him a perfect foil for Shelton’s unfettered explorations. The rhythm section gracefully negotiates fractured rhythms and vacillating tempos with swinging aplomb, while making strong individual statements themselves—such as Roebke’s expansive rumination at the center of “Golden,” or Daisy’s rousing drum-line inspired coda on “Frosted.”

The quartet’s commitment to organic development and narrative detail is exemplified by the episodic “Lost” and the closer, “Golden,” which slowly build from balladic musings to ardent finales. The former tune modulates from pointillist call-and-response to a bracing 6/8 vamp as Roebke and Daisy underscore the billowy sustain of Adasiewicz’s double-mallet attack, providing a locomotive undercurrent for the leader’s architecturally concise solo. Ascending to a fevered pitch, Shelton unleashes a compounding array of coiled variations, driven by Daisy’s rigorous downbeats and Roebke’s elastic ostinato, that culminates in a thrilling climax of rock-like intensity. “Golden” follows a similar arc, trading pneumatic precision for a nebulous maelstrom of expressionistic drama.

Alternating angular bop melodies and lilting swing motifs with languid noir blues impressionism and aleatoric introspection, Arrive navigates a multi-hued panorama of sound. Drawing inspiration from past masters while moving headlong into the future, There Was… offers an adventurous yet accessible variation on the jazz tradition, demonstrating Shelton’s subtly innovative take on historical antecedents.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=39510

Free Jazz review by Paul Acquaro

Aram Shelton’s Arrive- There Was… (CF 217)
****½
Aram Shelton’s ‘This Was…’, recorded with his group Arrive in 2008 is a serious affair that is quite a fun and demanding listen.

I was first struck by how cool this group was, cool in the sense of how the vibes, the upright acoustic bass, the commanding sax, and some very hip drumming, casts a spell. At the same time, I was impressed by how hot the band was, in the sense of, well, just tearing it up. Their intensity is impressive, but so is how neatly they color outside the lines. While on the surface the tunes may feel very composed and modern, a deeper listen reveals some fine and fierce free playing.

I think by the time I got to the tune, ‘Lost’, I found myself thoroughly engaged. Jason Adasiewicz’s vibraphone and Jason Roebke’s bass generate a palpable density that is buoyed by Tim Daisy’s drums. On top, Shelton has a serious foundation for spinning fractured and dazzling solos. Adasiewicz shines throughout, using the vibes to set a dark, sometimes mysterious, atmosphere. His solos, like on the laid-back ‘Frosted’ are as tantalizing as Shelton’s, reacting to the rhythm section, always servicing the aesthetic of the song but not pulling any punches.

Shelton’s composing blends sophisticated syncopation and harmonies, and all the songs are distinctive. The suspended and slow building ‘Golden’ comes to mind as a highlight. All four instruments act as part of the melody, building up to a small peak before resolving into some free playing. Soon it becomes a duet between the vibes and bass, their conversation becomes more obscure, but captivating, only to soon be joined by the others and driving to a greater crescendo. Shelton solo is rather intense but always in control of the exuding passion.

The contrasting qualities of this album are what makes it so tantalizing. It’s laid back, but aggressive, cool but passionate. Composed, arranged but free and unpretentious. There is not a dull or unimportant note or rest that is out of place on this edgy piece of modern jazz.
http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/

The Jazz Review review by Glenn Astarita

Arrive – There Was… (CF 217)
This quartet provides a many-sided view point, where freedom of expression is laconically aligned with the avant-garde strata.  Stationed in Chicago, the quartet led by alto saxophonist Aram Shelton offers a program consisting of subtle hooks, detours and focused theme-building exercises.  Engineered upon straight forward bop, capacious improvisation, and numerous subplots, the quartet throttles the intensity level throughout.

Shelton and vibist Jason Adasiewicz are strong foils, whether they generate light and perky swing vamps or abide by a flotation-like modus operandi, witnessed on “Cradle.”  Strategically interspersed with unanticipated unison choruses and linear phrasings, the musicians sustain a fresh sound, sparked with bristling flurries and counterpoint maneuvers.

Shelton is a fluid saxophonist who keenly sculpts melody and dissonance.  Therefore, he straddles a fine line between the free realm and post-modernism.  Moreover, the rhythm section shades, complements and assists with revving up the overall game-plan.  For instance, on “Fifteen,” the soloists fuse sparse phrasings into an introspective motif, nicely contrasted by drummer Tim Daisy’s off-kilter responses.  And with the final track “Golden,” the band is in no rush to get anywhere, but raises the pitch during the bridge.

Arrive is a unit that crafts a mark of authenticity but doesn’t slash and burn with maddening intensity.  In effect, the musicians enliven the freer realm with an artsy underpinning.  Therefore, the album is not a platform teeming with innumerable technical gymnastics and wanton soloing spots.  Among other positives, it’s an endeavor created with substance and fluent ideas that synchronize the best of many jazz-induced mechanisms.
http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-21424.html

JazzWrap review by Vern

Aram Shelton…Rising Above It All

Aram Shelton’s Arrive – There Was…(CF 217)
Aram Shelton has spent years moving and developing his musical language. From his home state of Florida to Washington D.C., Chicago and now currently residing in San Francisco, Shelton is becoming one of the most revered saxophonist’s in underground circles. All the while, he has maintained a creativity that is both skillfully harmonic and resolutely improvised. Aram Shelton encompasses both the free jazz aesthetics of Ornette Coleman and the tonal language of Jackie McLean. Shelton was an integral part of the Chicago scene with the groups Fast Citizens (w/Keefe Jackson), Dragon 1976, Cylinder and his most consistent and flourishing, Arrive.

Arrive is now on their third record, There Was… (Clean Feed Records) the quartet puts together some fantastic arrangements with dizzying improvised moments in between. There Was… could be considered the second official album. The previous album Live At Elastic includes all but the title track “There Was”. The Elastic album is a bit rawer and possibly more “works in progress” until fully realized for There Was.. On the opener and title track, Shelton and Daisy interchange some aggressive and fun-filled passages. This is met with the same energy when the trio of Daisy, Roebke and Adasiewicz gather and tear through chord changes. It’s a well structured melodic piece with improvised moments that settle nicely inside your ear.

“Lost” really experiments with time, rhythm and harmonics. The group gently improvises its way through the first half with a steady and balanced groove laid just underneath by Roebke and Shelton. Adasiewicz later takes the group into “third stream” territory. It’s a frenetic dreamlike moment between the trio again before Shelton completely lets loose. It’s the type of aggression that makes his collaborative efforts with Keefe Jackson shine.

“Golden” quickly becomes an expression of free acoustic magnification (I kinda made that one up. Needed something that sounded good.). But “Golden” does typify everything Aram Shelton is about–exploring new structures, deconstruction and re-framing/reshaping the sense of things. It’s has ballad-like quality that slowly builds into a triumphant exclamation of purpose.

With There Was… Aram Shelton again makes the case that Chicago artists (whether in Chicago or just leaving) are on the boundaries of jazz and testing it, to see what come next. Highly Recommended stuff.
http://jazzwrap.blogspot.com/2011/04/aram-sheltonrising-above-it-all.html

Time Out Lisboa review by Jose Carlos Fernandes

Arrive – There Was… (CF 217)
****
There Was… administra com justeza a liberdade que dá frescura e ímpeto ao jazz e a estrutura que permite que o edifício não pareça uma amálgama de caprichos momentâneos e mostra que há formas criativas de reciclar o jazz da Blue Note circa 1960.

O saxofonista alto Aram Shelton lidera este quarteto com base em Chicago e providencia seis peças free bop, que o vibrafonista Jason Adasiewicz (Lucky 7s), o contrabaixista Jason Roebke (Jorrit Dijkstra, Jason Stein) e o baterista Tim Daisy (Vandermark 5) moldam com apurado sentido de cumplicidade. Shelton, com as suas linhas sinuosas e assertivas e lirismo ácido, leva “Lost” a um final intenso, e “Frosted” voga como uma nuvem, tornado mais leve do que o ar pelo vibrafone encantatório de Adasiewicz.
http://www.cleanfeed-records.com/disco2.asp?intID=358