Keith Kelly & Ask Not - Out of Hope, We Remember (2021) [Official Digital Download]

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Keith Kelly & Ask Not - Out of Hope, We Remember (2021) [Official Digital Download]

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When the shared reservoir of our humanity reaches its newest low point, can looking back aid us? Can remembrance help us manifest the desire to go on?
Looking is the first thing I remember. I wouldn’t say I was studying it, but I held it in my hands and turned it over and over and over. I’m sure I held it when I was outside sitting in the cracked back patio, and though there aren’t any pictures, I probably had it at my 5th birthday, all smiles at the Darth Vader cake my mother made for me. I carried it until it was smoothed over, made smaller and smaller as it passed between my hands.

These recordings happened in one weekend. The combination of artists is novel - in terms of their unique approach to playing, their lived experiences, emotional spaces they occupied, and relational dynamics to one another. I care deeply for each one of these musicians and am a huge fan of their individual musical voices and the various projects they lead and participate in. Being able to create this particular *something* could only have happened with this collection of folks all together at this particular time - some kind of music that nestles between rock/jazz/ambient/experimental. It bears repeating, these are one-take pieces. What is documented is the in-the-flow responses to one another. Not much was communicated beforehand except a title and, sometimes, a vibe or maybe who would begin first. Other times, someone would just say, after the title was spoken, “I got something,” and off we went. What I am most engaged with is the compelling nature of the rise and fall of the music. It spins. It coils. It sits. It cools. The music has a hitch and then doesn’t. Three or more sounds become indistinguishable from one another and then could not be less alike. There is an horizontal-ness to this group improvisation that is possible only with listeners/makers who are comfortable with a certain kind of musical architecture and who hold deep reverence and care for one another. Keith Kelly, Aug. 2021