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MARK DRESSER(b)

He doesn't receive anywhere near the publicity given to his friend, and fellow bassist, William Parker, but make no mistake about it: Mark Dresser is a giant in the free jazz / new music continuum and has been so for years. Dresser has been keeping a still lower profile since moving from New York back to San Diego to work in academia at University of California at San Diego's music department.
The material on Guts—which is subtitled Bass Explorations, Investigations and Explanations—is organized as a "triptych" by the Kadima Collective. This means the package contains a DVD (informational), a CD (solo double bass performances without overdubs) and a very informative 16 page booklet which explains, in great detail, much of the background and many of the technical features of the package.
First up, the DVD. Anyone who has had the good fortune to witness Dresser perform in the last 20 or so years can attest to the notion that he is a master of "extended techniques" on the contrabass. Many of these are mind boggling—both visually and aurally. Others, however, are subtle to the naked-eye and one of the beauties of this DVD is how it reveals and explains such "hidden" techniques. The DVD itself is divided into three sections: the first is a conversation between UCSD new music composer Roger Reynolds and Dresser. Reynolds and Dresser collaborated recently—and the conversation goes a long way toward explaining what that really means. The second part is an interview, without questions, with Dresser. He explains some of his background, early inspirations—guitarist (Jimi Hendrix, bassist Charles Mingus)—and methods. The final part is the real joy of this release: over an hour of what amounts to a master class in extended bass techniques, skillfully shot and explained in great detail, with the bonus of downloadable files as well.