RAISING HOLY SPARKS

“In Praise Of Monkeywrenching, In Memory Of Edward Abbey​.​.​.”

Raising Holy Sparks is David Colohan playing music with quite a variety of people on quite a number of records. He also plays quite a number of instruments on quite a variety of styles of music on those records. I think the words I’m looking for are “creativity” and “talent.”

For “In Praise Of Monkeywrenching, In Memory Of Edward Abbey…” he plays with drummer Enda Trautt and the two of them create a mighty free jazz noise. They jump out of the gate in fairly aggressive fashion, drums and sax speeding along. While there are moments where one or the other takes a bit of a “breather,” the music on the first two tracks maintains a level of energy and forward momentum. The third and final number reins things in a little bit compared to the first two; while it has its momentary bursts, overall it felt a little more measured and almost plaintive at times. These two musicians make a nice racket together. Maybe RHS is creating some of the anarchy, musically, that Abbey applied to environmental activism. Or maybe it’s a simple case of free your mind and your jazz will follow.