The Abysmal Richness Of The Infinite Proximity Of The Same

The follow-up release to Anthony Coleman's Selfhaters, The Abysmal Richness of the Infinite Proximity of the Same finds the Selfhaters Orchestra realizing a music that yields a different experience with each listen. The title track, in eight parts, never fully opens, remaining part shadows and space, and part substance throughout. The Selfhaters abide no boundaries between jazz, improvisation, klezmer, and classical; all of these form one pool — music — from which they draw. "His Masquerade" is a comparatively short piece by Coleman solo on piano, adding occasional vocal tones. The final piece, Fifty-Seven Something, is a backyard of stretched, discordant clotheslines on which small clusters of action and melody are hung out to stiffen and dry, with very engaging results. This release is less accessible than the first album (which was mostly live recordings), but is still rewarding.