Orlando Consort, Perfect Houseplants - Extempore II (2013)

Extempore II is the second collaboration between two quartets in widely varying fields: the early music specialist vocal group Orlando Consort and the jazz combo Perfect Houseplants. This project is structured as a mass in honor of St. Michael based around the medieval tune L'homme armé and various members of both groups are responsible for the pieces that make up the whole. The resulting patchwork arrangement of ideas works better in the second half of the program than it does in the first, where the variety of approaches seems a bit disorderly in terms of overall flow. On the surface, this type of collaboration invites comparison with Jan Garbarek's spacey and successful recordings with the Hilliard Ensemble, but beyond that there is nothing in common to be found between the two. Extempore II is very English in style and at times is reminiscent of progressive 1970s groups such as Gentle Giant or Matching Mole. At first listen the opening treatment of L'Homme Armé might tickle your funny bone, as the combination of the strident fourteenth century battle song and progressive jazz is so improbable. But once into Extempore II, you get a sense that there is something about the disc that works. In the Sanctus, Credo, Agnus Dei, and concluding Dona nobis pacem, the combination works very well -- these mass movements contain some genuinely moving, well-considered, and well-improvised music. Extempore II is almost a sure-fire hit for jazz-loving clergy; as to how lay people may approach it is another matter. Nonetheless, Extempore II is a challenging, thought-provoking disc that represents a change of pace for fans of either jazz or medieval music, even if there is no guarantee that it will be embraced by either category of listeners.