Kit Downes and Tom Challenger: Vyamanikal (Slip, 2016) ****

By Joe

This is the second offering from the duo of Kit Downes and Tom Challenger, the first being "Wedding Music", an album of pipe organ and tenor saxophone duets using a conventional idea of melody and improvisation. "Vyamanikal", their new album, takes a sharp left turn musically, giving us a very interesting new perspective on the duos musical thinking. On "Wedding Music" Kit and Tom concentrated on their instruments as the main sound producing sources, on this release the duo have taken all aspects of their performance into account. Using everything around them to create a truly original musical vision which includes not only the two instruments, but also the ambience of each church and the sounds that filter into them. Recorded in 5 different churches in Suffolk, England, the duos label describes it as "[...] a collection of transcendent improvisations where the primordial moans and whistles of remote organs meld with gossamer saxophone.", and indeed they are!

Listening to this album a few names came to mind, ambient musician, Biosphere, the sound artists Tim Hecker or even the work of Ben Frost. Although this acoustic duo's music is far from the sonic world of the aforementioned artists, it does have some similarities. Downes and Challenger's music is made up in real time, with no electronic manipulation, but their interest in capturing, and using, the space that they perform in does come through. The sound of the pumps or vibrations produced from the different organs used, gives the music an effect like being in the engine room of a ship. Apart from these sounds you can also hear birds singing away (inside the church?), giving a very live feeling to what you are hearing.

The music itself is far from the bold melodic statements that came with "Wedding Music".  On this record everything is very minimal, low organ drones swirl around dissonant chords that hover in the air, rarely resolving in any logical sense. The saxophone of Tom Challenger almost caresses these rich organ sounds in a way that feels like he is coaxing a mythical beast (of some sort) out into the open! The two musicians build gradually on these strange and almost unnatural atmospheres throughout the seven pieces, finding imperfections and reflections in the church's acoustics which they develop into their drone quality improvisations. The result of this is that the duo has really brought together their musical vision in a very original, and although I speak of monsters and unnatural sounds the music is in its own way better described as spiritual and hypnotic.

Speaking of 'spiritual' may explain the title "Vyamanikal", which, as we're told, comes from an adaptation of early 20th century Sanskrit texts talking about aerospace technology and flying vehicles in ancient Sanskrit epics. Whatever the meaning, the music the duo makes is magical, or even spellbinding, in the true sense of the word.

Lastly, you'll have noticed I haven't described the individual tracks as, if you're curious, you'd do better to visit Slip's Bandcamp site where you can hear the album, meditate on the music, and even buy it - its a limited edition CD and/or cassette version.   

Highly Recommended!

Note: I'm not sure if there's physical CDs for sale, but, Slip kindly sent me a copy which comes in an intriguing presentation, and certainly well worth getting if you're interested in hard digital versions.  

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Sylvaine Hélary: Spring Roll ▪ Printemps (Ayler Records, 2015) *****

[b]By Joe[/b]


It may be difficult to make a better introduction to this album than Stephane Berland does in his press notes to this quite spectacular release:

"First created in 2011 at l'Atelier du Plateau in Paris, the concert/performance "Printemps" offered audiences a hybrid between theatre, music, sound poetry and political manifesto - for it was focused on the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, among other things - where the intertwined words and voices of Julien Boudart, Xavier Papies and Egyptian blogger Aalam Wassef created a reflection on the magic of the (new) beginnings."  

This double CD album is another strong offering from the Ayler label, and this time presents us with an amalgam of modern jazz mixed with quasi contemporary classical music. This highly sophisticated music blends improvised sections which flow quite effortlessly with written instrumental passages and recited texts. The main group is made up of a quartet (see below), giving the music a chamber-jazz quality. Having said that the ensemble is in no way a polite tea-dance group, they really attack the complex music with amazing precision and energy. 

Printemps (CD1) has the main bulk of the texts. These are concentrated (when read) into a couple of the pieces. The texts follow the first 15 letters of the Arabic alphabet - read out before each short passage. The music is precisely composed around these vocal interludes, the detailed interplay between the spoken text and the music is mind boggling. The instrumental sections are sort of bridges between these piece, however there are plenty of extended writing in these also. Although there are solos, much of the music on Printemps I would guess is composed. However the marvellous writing (composition/orchestration) carry you along in a way that made me think of Stravinsky's L'Histoire de Soldat. 

The second CD Spring Roll is a shorter affair. It has a wonderful opening duet (tenor sax/flute) sounding not unlike Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz*. The main bulk of Spring Roll is instrumental, although there are some vocal interludes, some of them sung (Île, tk5). Although the music is very complex there are in this piece moments where soloists get a chance to improvise, often whilst the ensemble supports them. In track 3 there's two wonderful sections, one featuring the piano, the other another improvised duet, but this time between piano and tenor sax. Overall Spring Roll certainly gives much space to the individual instruments. Bruissements du monde gives us a chance to hear Sylvaine Hilary alone - playing a wonderful extended solo flute introduction. L'esquive (tk6) has a nice blend of synths, percussion & piano accompanying a fiery sax solo. The track then passes via some complex contrapuntal writing before settling down before leading into a narrated passage in German (Jean Chaize).

This is a highly recommended album, and certainly 5 stars if ever there was one. The work and detail put into these two compositions is quite spectacular, and if you like contemporary jazz meets classical you'll find a lot of very interesting music here, and I would add there's most definitely "never a dull moment".       

The main ensemble is: Sylvaine Hélary, flutes, voice; Antonin Rayon, piano, synthesizer; Hugues Mayot, saxophones, clarinets & Sylvain Lemêtre, vibraphone, percussion. The guests are: Julien Boudard, ms20 synthesiser (printemps); Aalam Wassef, voice (printemps); Xavier Papaïs, voice (printemps); Yumiko Nakamura, voice (spring roll) & Jean Chaize, voice (spring roll).

Translations and transcriptions of the texts (original French texts and English translations) can be found on the Ayler website.

* = Lee Konitz being an alto player, not a flautist.

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Marc Ducret - Tower-Bridge (Ayler Records, 2014) ****

Review by Joe

For all of those who haven't heard Marc Ducret's Tower series, now is maybe the time to start. This record represents the last instalment of an incredible journey through many musical territories, yet with one musical thread tying them together, that of Marc Ducret's original musical thinking. Tower-Bridge is the fifth, and supposedly last part of the series (see below) which took as its inspiration Vladimir Nabokov's novel Ada. There are copious liner notes - as liner notes throughout the various volumes - which give some explanations to the connection between the music and the book, but for this short review it is suffice to quote the Ayler Record's presentation which states, "[t]he music [is] composed to convey Nabokov's text complex structure and writing process"¹.

Although I reviewed several albums from the series - digital versions sent by Ayler records - so I haven't seen the covers.  However, I did get a hard copy of this latest record. I'll mention the music shortly but the packaging of this disc merits a detour. The album is made up of double CD, with triptych folding sleeve, a small booklet with extracts from Nabokov's Ada, and an interesting fold-out with some notes from Ducret - which include a score of his composition Real thing #3. A last bonus is quite a crowd draw, access to exclusive video content, a 23 minute film by Sylvain Lemaire titled Tower in the Mist. I won't tell you what's on the film, after all that would only spoil the surprise! So, what can I say except buying a 'physical' copy is well worth the money.

The music on the album is taken from two live concerts recorded in Strasbourg in 2012, producing around a 100 minutes of music over the two CDs. Like the previous albums, this recording re-examines pieces from the 'tower' series. An example such as sur l'électricité (tk1 CD1), has been presented in two formats. The first time was on volume two with Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Dominique Pifarély: violin and Tom Rainey on drums, along with Ducret on guitar. The second time was on volume four (an excellent album), where Ducret performed a selection of these pieces in solo format on acoustic guitar.² The appeal of Tower-Bridge lies more in the extended performances of these pieces, and of course the line extended up that performs them. The musicians, 12 in all, are the sum of all the albums in the series, forming a sort of mini big-band. This produces plenty of sparks and some fine music with powerful solos supported by tight ensemble playing.

If you haven't heard Marc Ducret's music before and you're open to rock meets free-jazz meets Zappa meets contemporary classical music, then you'll love this. There's plenty of dynamic interaction between the musicians. Ducret has a knack in providing action-packed pieces, his rhythmic concept often develops around tight interlocking contrapuntal lines to produce long melodies which have a logic of their own. He also loves to use dissonance as a tool, combining it with rhythm in a powerful combination.

There is so much on this record it would be impossible to delve into each piece. A few highlights include Tim Berne's inimitable alto leading the way on sur l'électricité (tk1 CD1). This track has a lot of information, a great theme, and plenty of muscular interludes with several gripping solos. The fantastical atmospheres conjured up in Real thing #1 (tk2 CD1) builds around a succession of duet/trio sections leading gradually to feature for the violin of Dominique Pifarély. Track 3 (CD1), real thing #2 has a wonderful strident solo from Kasper Tranberg (trumpet) who manages to ride over the heavy rocking ensemble, punctuated by powerful piano chord clusters. Softly her tower crumbled into the Sweet Silent Sun (tk1 CD2) flies out of the speakers like an angry neighbour shouting. The final track of the album L'Ombra di Verdi (tk3 CD2) produces a mysterious theme in the closing half which hangs somewhere between a film noir theme and a 6/8 rock ballad.

What else can we say about such a great record? I guess that if you haven't heard Ducret before this is a good place to start, there's fine compositions and performances all here. And, if you like this then you'll need no encouragement to look into his work even further. As for Marc Ducret fans, if you haven't got this one, buy it!

The website says this is a limited edition of 1000. 

Here's a video of the group live. The recording is more 'centred' sound-wise, but here you get some idea of the groups sound, and size. If you look for Ducret's Tower-bridge project on Youtube you'll find plenty of other examples. 

The musicians on this record are: Kasper Tranberg - trumpet; Dominique Pifarély - violin; Tim Berne - alto saxophone; Matthias Mahler - trombone; Fidel Fourneyron - trombone; Alexis Persigan - trombone; Frédéric Gastard - bass saxophone; Antonin Rayon - piano; Sylvain Lemêtre - percussion,vibraphone, xylophone, marimba; Tom Rainey - drums; Peter Bruun - drums and Marc Ducret - electric guitar

Other albums in the Tower-bridge series:
Tower, vol. 1, Tower, vol. 2, Tower, vol. 3, Tower, vol. 4

¹ http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-1.html, accessed Sept. 6, 2014.
² It's interesting to add that volume four is the only record that has pieces unique to that record. There are a few pieces which are re-examined from the other volumes, however, tracks: From a Distant Land; Sisters; Ada; ... A Distand Land; Sybil Vane, and Electricity (by Joni Mitchell), are to be found only on this album.  

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The Necks: Open (Northern Spy, 2013) ***½

Reviewed by Joe

This, according to what I see on the Necks' website, is their 17th album, quite an achievement for a band that plays improvised music! I have to admit this is the first Necks album I've heard and the reasons I choose this out of the pile of records. I'd heard, and read, so much about this band who seem to have a very faithful fan base, something not unlike EST did before the untimely death of Esbjörn Svensson. The group's 'ethic' for those who don't know them is to make one long improvisation per set/album, not unlike the fabulous Mujician did. To define a style would be difficult, but from what I've listened to in the last few days - I've tried to hear a couple of their other records for comparison - most of the music is fairly minimalist, melodic, modal, and groove oriented. Interestingly we haven't reviewed any of their records on this site, but if you put 'Necks' into our search engine you'll find a few of the projects involving the band members - Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Bucks (drums) and Lloyd Swanton (bass). 

As with their other albums, each record has a 'feel'. As an example the well loved "Hanging Gardens" album, released back in 1999, was what fans called a logical extension to Mile Davis' "In a Silent Way", and it's true that that album has a sort of contemporary feel that one can imagine Miles would have approved of. In the case of "Open" the album starts with a quasi Indian raga/sitar like atmosphere that will define the next 40 odd minutes (the album is a little over an hour). With the use of light glistening arpeggios and gentle bass notes they cleverly manage to conjures up, via sound, a picture of a hot, dry and dusty place. When the piano leaves the drums to play percussive fills at around 11mins, the trio cleverly manage keep us 'within the atmosphere' and also give the music plenty of space.

Of course it would be possible to go through the record with a minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow account of each little change, but what is more important is the overall atmosphere of the music they create. It's full of shimmering images, crescendos that build up over several minutes only to die away leaving space for another idea. The modal style gives their music a very hypnotic and powerful direction, keeping you fixed listening, wondering what is that sound, where is it coming from and how will it develop. Of course, like all good music this record is like a film, one has to listen to the whole thing to get the point.
 
What is the point? I guess that in recent years musicians have really developed the idea of music with 'space' and 'atmosphere' as prime components - Arve Henriksen, Jon Hassel, the Foton Quartet or even Skogen. On this record the Necks manage to combine all these strands 'minimalist', 'new-ageism', 'world-music', 'improvisation', 'groove', to produce atmospheric music which can be listened to on many different levels. Could it be described as exiting, and soothing?
       

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Alexander Hawkins Ensemble: Step Wide, Step Deep (Babel Label, 2013) *****

Reviewed by Joe

This is the third Alex Hawkins record we've reviewed. At the end of 2013 we had "Song Singular" and excellent piano solo recording, and in 2012, "All There, Ever Out", a very fine 'Ensemble' record. The new 'Ensemble' record follows on in the same direction as the last album but with a slight change to the line-up. Gone are the cello sound of Hannah Marshall and vibes of Orphy Robinson. Violinist Dylan Bates (brother of Django, for all interested) has been brought in, a 'blower' has been added, clarinettist Shabaka Hutchins and Neil Charles and Tom Skinner have taken over the roles of bassist and drummer. The excellent guitarist Otto Fischer, one of the ensemble's key sounds, is still there, good news on the sonic front.

One of the first jazz records I ever bought was Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch". That record, as I'm sure you all know, was a fantastic mixture of swing, atonal melody and adventurous improvisations. This record reminds me a little of that same spirit of Dolphy, memorable swinging melodies with plenty of fine solos and improvised passages. "Step Wide, Step Deep - Space of Time Danced Thru" (tk1) leads of the proceedings in real style, probably the most Dolphy-esque piece on the record. This is due, in part, to the new line-up's bass clarinet and violin front-line playing the melody. The other reference is probably the wonderful 'joyous hippo' type solo on this tune from Shabaka Hutchins' bass clarinet. The other members also get a chance to solo, placing phrases wherever possible in the rocky (lurching) rhythm section. The whole piece builds up over the 12 minutes finishing up in joyful mayhem.

I guess that some of the pieces are pure improvisation such as "Forgiven Only Words..." (tk2) and the strangely titled "MO (Itoqqortoormiit)" (tk3). On these pieces the players improvise together in a way that shows real listening skill, taking the music out but keeping some sort of uniformity. The wonderful "Listen/Glow" (tk4) starts out in this fashion but develops in a very powerful way. Clearly a mixture of improvised and composed, the group negotiates the music moving from one section to another in a very creative manner. This is one of the highlights (for me) and made me wonder what rules were used to keep the pieces so focused? The composed pieces - those that clearly have organised melodic material - and the [more] improvised pieces balance the record in a very natural way.

Three tracks round of this excellent record, "Advice" being a sort of quasi-blues riff that circles around-and-around whilst Dylan Bates plays bluesy solo lines. "Ensemble/Melancholy" treads that fine improvised line only to uncover a jumpy composed intervalic melody right at the last few bars. "Baobab Constellation" (tk7) closes the record, a very gentle piece - reminding me a little of some of King Crimson's soft improvisations - where the players show us that volume and dynamics are also worthwhile exploring.  

Highly recommended.

This video is a good introduction to the ensemble and the record....enjoy!


The Alexander Hawkins Ensemble is: Otto Fischer (gtr),  Neil Charles  (bass), Tom Skinner  (drums), Shabaka Hutchins (clarinet), Dylan Bates (violin), Hawkins (piano).

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Alexander Hawkins: Song Singular (Babel Label, 2013) ****½

Reviewed by Joe

Piano solo albums are one of those mediums that reveal much about the composer, probably because there's really no place to hide! "Song Singular" is a new album out on the Babel label from the composer/pianist Alexander Hawkins made up of ten pieces. It shows off not only his very quirky, but catchy, compositions, but also what a top level pianist Hawkins is. Stylistically it's difficult to place him in any one camp but if you're familiar with the solo albums of pianists Randy Weston, Matthew Shipp, Misha Mengleberg, Craig Taborn or Myra Melford then you have an idea of the type of playing and musical direction the music takes. In particular, like Randy Weston, his use of a strong bass note rhythms, Hawkins manages to create complex melodies which even if abstract are also accesible.

There are ten titles on the record, one of them a re-worked version of "Take the A Train" (Billy Strayhorn). The music borders between a contemporary classical feel, not unlike Henri Dutilleux, and bright powerful Monk type spiky melodies built around intervalic leaps and a stumbling time feel. "Stillness from 37,000 ft" (tk4), has a bass line that sounds out of sync. With its melody gradually building up steam, the two lines,  like a conversation, vie for their own space. "Two Dormant, One Active" (tk5) starts with a curious line reminding me of of a standard. This is not surprising, a few tracks later at "Take the A Train" (tk7), you also have the same reaction of "I know this tune, but ...?" Another tune that does this is "Hope Step the Lava Flow" (tk6) which is the closest you get to a regular tune with an almost walking bass line. Maybe it's this which makes the music so interesting. Themes and ideas develop, giving you food for your ears you listen intently, following the maze of notes that unravel. "Early Then, M.A." (tk2) and "Dancing Between Points" (tk8) could be called ballads, playing with time or tempo, and could be called - could one say - rhapsodic. They both use the piano's  full range to create lush chord sounds and rippling arpeggios.
 
This album will be a delight to anyone who enjoys melodic (modern) music that has a direction. On this record you get to hear a pianist developing ideas with no holds barred, creating music and pushing boundaries at the same time.

A quick note: Alexander Hawkins (and his Ensemble) released this album in tandem with "Step Wide, Step Deep", also released on Babel this year. As yet I haven't had time to listen to the ensemble record, but I notice there are a couple of titles which pass between the two albums. We'll keep you posted here on the blog in the next weeks for an update - the album looks very promising!

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