
Pear - Extempore
MAY 24 RELEASE INCLUDES CARL VERHEYAN, JIMMY JOHNSON, JENNIFER LEITHAM, PRINCE DIABATE, CINDY WONDERFUL
LISTEN TO EXCLUSIVE STREAMING TRACKS FROM extemp’ore
On the opening strains of “Dewey Miles,” the mysterious lead-off track from Pear’s extemp’ore, the voice of Miles Davis intones (in that oft-imitated gruff demeanor): “Don’t play what you know, play what you hear.” Later in that groove-heavy piece, Miles declares: “I don’t want to be labeled anything. I’m a musician.” Those two mantras serve as sage-like guidance for the duo of pianist Nick Pierone and percussionist Rick Milne (the core of Pear) on their auspicious debut. Given license to paint vivid colors on a blank canvas, this could be a soundtrack to a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. Pear dives headlong into a pool of provocative sound where the freedom principle prevails and the results are wide-ranging and genre-defying. Drawing on a wealth of musical influences, the audacious duo has concocted a striking pastiche where Miles and Cecil Taylor sit comfortably beside Brian Eno, Digable Planets, Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Bad Plus and Jaco Pastorius, with touches of minimalism, lyricism and spoken word experimentalism thrown into the subversive mix. Continue reading