Saxophonist/composer Cole Pulice often draws on metaphors to describe their alluring electro-acoustic music. For the 2021 solo debut ‘Gloam’ they suggested the music mirrored shifting patterns of a twisting kaleidoscope whereas the follow up ‘Scry’ was closer to gazing at a stained-glass crystal ball from different angles. You wonder what poetic phrases Pulice might be considering for ‘Land’s End Eternal’, their third offering out now via LA’s Leaving Records? The shimmering, amorphous vista that this new work reveals feels in many ways more expansive and less reflective than Pulice’s previous offerings. ‘Land’s End Eternal’ opens out onto a vast plain of music, something you gaze upon, wonder with and see beyond.
Pulice eases us into the experience gently with Fragments of a Slipstream Dream, a piece which suspends saxophone calls in the wafting breeze of a looping drone. There’s a folksy simplicity here, an unhurried way of being. The monotone background chords are harmonium toned while the opening cry of the sax, part Uilleann pipes, part shehnai sounding, hovers with a shrill beauty. Pulice is casting both a magical earthiness and eastern mystery here before the drone suddenly crumbles, clearing space for elegiac, Stetson-esque flourishes. Echoing and extending Fragments’ sublime tenderness, In This & Every Life introduces chiming guitar zen to the lusciously crooned sax-lines. Something deeply emotional wells up within this tune. It’s not sombre or downcast but captures a moment where sadness intersects with hope, while gentle tumbling piano sooth Pulice’s breathy reed whispers.
By introducing the guitar to their sonic palette for the first time on record, Pulice is bringing a fresh perspective and more tonal vibrancy to their soundscape. The saxophone may remain their central voice but the guitaring adds both a melodic tease and dynamic freedom throughout these pieces. Such effusive progression elevates the album’s core composition, the epic three-part sweep of In A Nook Between Hidden Worlds. Inspired by the atmospheric geography of Land’s End National Park, North West San Francisco, the same Land’s End referenced in the album title, this trilogy of tunes celebrate the other-worldly aura of this rocky cliff-hung passageway.
In A Nook Between Hidden Worlds Part 1 thrums with a resonant peacefulness, the relaxed guitar twang and unforced sax song duetting on a melody that Pulice has been holding onto for some time. It’s uncluttered, clear and airy, a fresh-breeze pause looking out from the headland which dawns slowly amongst the fluttering lines, strums and harmonics. Part 2 drifts more mystically, an improvised lament where the sax voicings sigh longingly and the more free-form guitar chords, like Fred Frith at his most becalmed, resound with thoughtfulness. The final view from In A Nook Between Hidden Worlds finds the two instruments flowing more purposefully, their patterns arm in arm as if wandering home resolved. Once again the detailing is exquisite. The occasional, gentle swell of signal processed accordian sounds, the warmed jazz inflections of the guitar and the delicate curl of the sax notes, all contributing to the wonder of this piece.
In contrast ‘Land’s End Eternal‘ draws to a close with Pulice going more widescreen, panning out and extending possibilities to an orchestral scale with After The Rain. Fluttering guitar layers are the foundation, giving a Kim Myhr-like subtle momentum, while the sax melody has a stoic pride about it which echoes the bluesy reverence of Mehldau’s ‘Highway Rider’. To bring added humility guest vocalist, ambient-folk singer Maria BC mirrors the main theme with their unshowy, pure voice, softly urging the song towards its closing brass-bathed waves. It’s some finale, not overblown but effusive, elevating and authentically realised.
Following on from Peace Flag Ensemble’s stunning ‘Everything Is Possible’ album earlier this year, it feels like the electro-acoustic/ambient jazz intersection has found another enduring touchstone with ‘Land’s End Eternal’. Cole Pulice has always made intriguing, enlightening music with their solo releases but this album throbs with an outgoing vitality and vibrance. Its sense of place and natural warmth is waiting to be shared.
Get your copy of ‘Land’s End Eternal‘ by Cole Pulice from your local record store or direct from Leaving Records HERE
