Dave Rempis’s latest releases reveal his influences even more clearly than his earlier albums - you could hear Coltrane (on Harvesters with the Rempis Percussion Quartet), Brötzmann (on Propulsion with Jason Adasiewicz, Joshua Abrams and Tyler Damon), and some more. And that’s also the case here. Otoliths is the second album by his transatlantic quartet Earscratcher, which brings him together with his long-time collaborators Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and electronics and Tim Daisy on drums, plus the outstanding Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik.
Their second album shows a band that has built on the foundation of their debut but which has also evolved. While their first one was strongly characterized by an energetic playing style (Rempis was a bit reminiscent of Jimmy Lyons then), the follow-up focuses more on quieter and slower passages without denying the energy. Cecil Taylor’s bands can certainly serve as a reference here as well, but it’s less the Unit from the 1970s and 80s than his European quintet of the 1990s and 2000s with Harri Sjöström (sax), Tristan Honsinger (cello), Teppo Hauta-aho (bass), and Paul Lovens (drums). Of course, the four were driven more mercilessly by the great pianist than Elisabeth Harnik does it here with the three guys, but as soon as the improvisations are energy-driven, then things really get going.
“The Attic and the Atrium”, the first and longest track on this album, recorded live on tour in the US in December 2024, takes a 15-minute run-up before it literally explodes. It’s not as if the band has to find its feet. The structure is clear and precise (and in this respect, Cecil Taylor definitely shines through), the quartet builds tension very subtly, and you expect the tempo to pick up every second. Fred Lonberg-Holm’s electronics and his bowed trills in particular are responsible for a dark mood, which Elisabeth Harnik reinforces with her counterpoints. A first brief thunderstorm quickly passes, the sky calms down, Rempis withdraws from the action, and the piano, cello, and drums sound almost spherical. This gives rise to moments of unusual melody (which were not unfamiliar to the late Taylor either), with Rempis countering Harnik’s, Lonberg-Holm’s, and Daisy’s atonal elements with lines in which Johnny Hodges or Ben Webster shine through. And just when you have settled into the melodious sounds, all hell breaks loose. “The Attic and the Atrium” is one of the best pieces Rempis has produced in recent times (and there have been many exciting recordings by him lately). But that doesn’t mean you can ignore the three other pieces. “Ossicles” and ‘Scapha’ are significantly shorter than the first track, but follow a similar structure, with the quiet passages being shorter. And last but not least, there is another highlight at the end: “Umbo” is a typical piece for a Rempis band. Tension-driven, but also elegiac, spiritual, epic. You want to lose yourself in it and wish it would never end.
Otoliths is another masterpiece by the Chicago saxophonist, and I wonder how long he can maintain this extraordinary level. On his label Aerophonic alone, there are about 70 recordings now, none of which are even mediocre. Dave Rempis is one of the outstanding musicians of our time.
Otoliths is available as a CD and as a download. You can listen to it an buy on the label’s bandcamp site: https://aerophonicrecords.bandcamp.com/.
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