If ever a mountain sculpture is dedicated to the groundbreaking masters of Minimalism, Terry Riley’s bearded mug will be amongst those chosen for the chiselers. An avant-gardist with unusually wide appeal and creative longevity, Riley’s approach remains distinctive even as he’s influenced thousands across numerous genres. Documenting a live performance at the Metamusik Festival in Berlin in 1975 and released by the Kuckuck label in 1982, Descending Moonshine Dervishes is not one of Riley’s most celebrated recordings, but it belongs in the discussion of his greatest works. Having reissued the album on vinyl in 2016, Beacon Sound of Portland, OR is offering a fresh edition on August 9.
Born on June 24, 1935 in Colfax, CA and thankfully still with us, Terry Riley is justly renowned for an innovative body of work that stemmed from the great 20th Century bohemian tradition. On the scene since the 1950s, Riley studied composition in the Bay Area where he met fellow Minimalist heavyweight La Monte Young; they both studied with Pandit Pran Nath, and Riley would go on to be an occasional member of Young’s legendary Theater of Eternal Music.
Along with such major avant-garde figures as Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, Jon Gibson, and Steve Reich, Riley was involved in the San Fransisco Tape Music Center. It was at the SFTMC that Riley premiered In C on November 4 and 6, 1964. Along with Riley, all the names at the top of this paragraph took part in those performances. For the Columbia Masterworks recording released in 1968, the personnel had shifted to include trumpeter Jon Hassell. Along with Riley (who played saxophone), trombonist Stuart Dempster was the only holdover from the SFTMC premiere.
That Tony Martin operated the light show for the In C premiere brings a bit of foreshadowing to Riley’s artistic pursuits. That is, the 1969 Columbia Masterworks release Rainbow in Curved Air was the Minimalist album of choice for many an adventurous hippie; sure, they likely just considered it “head music,” possibly getting turned onto it through a freeform station on the FM dial (in a long set that might’ve also included Sun Ra, Sandy Bull, Red Crayola, Soft Machine, and the United States of America. Those were the days).
Occasionally folks express surprise over Riley’s influence on the rock scene (there is The Who’s titular namedrop, but also the Riley/John Cale collaboration Church of Anthrax released in 1971), but given how psychedelic his stuff can be, with Rainbow in Curved Air the prime example, an argument can be made that Riley should’ve been even bigger.
An extended work divided into sidelong segments for vinyl, Descending Moonshine Dervishes fits right into this psychedelic scheme of things, played by Riley on a modified Yamaha YC 45D organ, as outlined by Louise Gray in the March 2017 issue of The Wire, Riley is using Just Intonation and a bit of tape delay so that he’s effectively duetting with himself.
Descending Moonshine Dervishes will resonate with anyone who is familiar with Rainbow in Curved Air, but the music stands up wonderfully on its own, as (per Gray again) it’s part of a series by Riley that predates the recordings of Curved Air and In C. Along with Descending Moonshine, the 2LP Persian Surgery Dervishes, a document of two performances (one from Los Angeles, the other from Paris) released in France in 1972 by the Shanti and Shandar labels, completes the series in recorded form.
Nobody sustains the blend of repetition and flow quite like Riley. For those who find most drone-based music formidable, Riley’s approach is relaxed while retaining a core intensity, making it a fine entry-point to the form. There are numerous peaks, including a soaring conclusion that inspires visions of baroque cathedrals and really drives home that Riley is connected to those earlier classical traditions.
The elements Riley adapted from prior classical styles, along with jazz and Indian influences and even those psychedelic affinities, were always integrated smoothy into the whole. Riley is always himself. His impact on the course of Minimalist composition and improvisational disciplines is huge. Descending Moonshine Dervishes captures him in stellar form.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
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