Kalimi: Otona No Kagaku (Silent Water, 2014) ****

By Joe

If there was ever a Zen record then maybe this is it? Kalimi is made up of Giovanni di Domenico (Fender Rhodes and electronics) and Mathieu Calleja (Drums), back with this excellent release of minimalist sound duos. Although the record is dated 2014 its taken awhile for the label, Silent Water Label, to put the record out. However, its a welcome addition to their excellent catalogue of contemporary jazz/improvised music releases which include GOING, reviewed earlier in 2015.

The sound and approach of Kalimi could be described as minimalist (although not in Steve Reich/Philip Glass terms). Built around the use of melody and punctuated noise (one could call it), is at moments truly hypnotic. The music is strongly based around developing the keyboard's ability to feedback and hold lingering sounds, along with drum beats which not only frame the music, but give the duo a direction. What makes the drum's approach so interesting is that Mathieu Calleja plays them in a relatively 'straight-ahead' manner, and not as abstract splashes of sound. This helps the music to build-up in an organic way and is in part what makes the music easily listenable, although clearly experimental.

Before saying a little about the music it seems (to me) that the record works well when heard as a sort of suit, and not as individual tracks. As record opens we are introduced to the delicate sound world of this duo. With tracks such as "forever high" (tk1) and "otona no kagaku"(tk6) the music hangs in the air ready to move in any direction. However, other pieces offer a more raunchy solution such as the brief "7.1" (tk2), or the fascinating "selfie my ass"(tk3), which much like a card player gradually revealing their hand, leads us into a dark musical territory. But nothing compares with the two heaviest pieces, the violent "b'hier" (tk4), and "9.2" (tk7), which jump straight in to surprise you with high energy sonic attacks, "9.2" is also the last track on the album which closes this excellent record.

Highly recommended to all who enjoy a mixture of jazz, noise and rock - a possible reference point (or 'tag') could be Supersilent?

For all those interested visit Silent Water's release page here, or contact Giovanni di Domenico directly here. 

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GOING II "Machinery" (Silentwater, 2015) ****½

Reviewed by Joe

This is one of those very special records, although this may be a 4.5 star review, there's no doubt it's a five star listen. This is a record that crosses many boundaries and certainly guaranteed to make you not only sit up and listen but also rock around the room (if played loud enough). GOING a Belgian based group, has a skeletal line up which packs a big punch, 2 drummers, Joao Lobo and Mathieu Calleja, and 2 keyboards/synths/objects (and plenty of effects) are Giovanni Di Domenico and Pak Yan Lau. The sound that they come up with could be loosely post-rock, but also closely allied to improvised music (sound wise). To top that off they have a description on their website describing themselves as a "[..] psychedelic groove band".

The album consists of two beautifully organised pieces. The first side/track "Red Machinery" develops slowly from sparse drums and keyboard sounds into repetitive figures and a complex interlocking groove. The combinations of rhythmic patterns are at the heart of this composition, the melodic seed is simple but varies slightly to blend into (and with) the various patterns. You could 'think' of Chicago group 'Tortoise' for a reference, GOING tap into the same area, overlapping rhythms and rock beats, mixing some great experimental sounds and repetitive riffs, its a delightful combination and very addictive!

The second piece "Blue Machinery", has a slightly harder edge. Its brooding atmosphere and constant recurring single note pattern give this a urgent edgy quality. One feels the piece may brake, at any moment, into a up-tempo groove, but the group hold the music back in a way to produce tension. Minimal solo lines give the track just the right balance between a groove and melody, allowing the music to evolve naturally.

The clever combination of two keyboards/effects and two drummers really gives the music plenty of space, and the lack of a bass to drive the group is actually what gives it the group its pure sound. There are plenty of details to hear within the recording due to this combination and the different paths taken by each instrumentalist. There are no real soloists, just co-operative group made music.      

This is a vinyl release, with one track per side, although it's possible to buy a digital version. I received the music on sound-files and I have to say that it seemed (in my humble opinion) a great medium to host this excellent music, as I found myself listening to the two tracks as one long evolving piece.  

This is certainly a highly recommended release, and easily accessible to many people interested in either jazz, rock, electronica and the minimalism of post Steve Reich's world. Anyone interested should quickly head over to their website as this is a limited edition of 300 odd copies.

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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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Griots - Griots (Mnóad, 2014) ***½

By Stefan Wood

The Griots' self titled album, released this year, is an experimental noise group whose sound evokes those done by many various industrial/noise groups from the late 70's to early 90's.  It is strange that the name "griot," originally a name of a West African musician or storyteller who is the keeper of oral traditions, is used as the name of the group, as the entire album is comprised of sonic textures and noises.  While there are a couple of tracks that use vocals, only one can be legible (and only if one knows the native language being spoken, it's not English).  The other tracks use vocals as a texture, layered on top of one another to create a dynamic sheet of sound.  Most of the other tracks (no titles, just roman numerals) are variations of this layering effect.  The opening track is a sonic trip into an abyss, employing wailing factory like horns and metal clanging percussion.  If there is a story to tell in the griot tradition, it is very abstract, perhaps industrial primitive, perhaps not.  But the sonics are well conceived and the sounds produced are intriguing, to say the least. Recommended for connoisseurs of noise.

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Objeto Amarelo & Rob Mazurek - Eclusa (Submarine, 2012) ***

By Stef

Objeto Amarelo is the solo project of Brasilian sound artist Carlos Issa, who also performed as a member of the Rob Mazurek's octet on "Skull Sessions".

Issa plays guitar and electronics, Mazurek cornet and electronics. This 7" EP lasts only thirteen minutes, and offers a diverse sound collage of shifting colors, ranging from abrasive electric guitar, smoother meditative moments on muted cornet, with deep contrasts of noise and lyricism, of rock and jazz idioms and sensitivities, of assertiveness and hesitation, of chaos and structure. It's short duration doesn't allow for a high star rating, but fans of Mazurek will clearly want to check out this collaboration too.

You can order direcly from the label.

This ends our three day round-up of new releases by Rob Mazurek.

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Kit Downes & Tom Challenger: Wedding Music (Loop Records, 2013) *****

Reviewed by Joe

Gothic jazz arrives, and in grand style! There aren't many organ and brass/woodwind duos, not that I can think of? One record that comes to mind is the glorious "PIPEDREAM" from Keith Tippett and Mark Charig on Ogun records, another - although I haven't heard it - was Jan Garbarek and Kjell Johnsen on "Aftenland" in 1979. Here from Loop records is "Wedding Music", an apt title for music such as this played by Kit Downs (organ) and Tom Challenger (tenor sax).

From the very start the music is majestic, there's no other way to describe such a sound. "Wedding Music" is exactly that, swirling organ just like one hears coming from the local church on wedding days. Kit Downes manages to coax some extraordinary sounds from the pipes. Clicks, atonal clusters, thuds, throbbing sounds, pulsating sub-woofer noises, they're all in there. I guess a lot of the music is improvised yet the duo manage to introduce melodic content into their music whilst finding some really interesting sounds.

As the album progresses the duo move further into a world of sound that is quite unique. Although the albums starts off (quite) normally with the title track "Wedding Music", the duo start to really experiment with textures over the remaining pieces. "Shos" (tk2) has a very sinister type of melody line, here Kit Downes responds to Tom Challenger's melodic improvisations with some serious sonic blasts which make your whole room rumble! "Optics" (tk3) on the other hand starts with tiny tone clusters which hang in the air. You can really hear the atmosphere of the church (recorded in St Paul’s, Huddersfield, UK) as these delicate tones meld together with the sax sounding like a boat lost way out at sea. By the time you get to "Cooks" (tk4) you're ready for anything, and indeed what sounds like a pneumatic drill is in fact the organ! However, interestingly the duo turn this piece into an intimate sound world with the tenor sax playing some flusters of breathy sound over the gentle but dissonant chordal sound.

The last tracks really come together beautifully in an unexpected way. "Restart" (tk5) has sub-sonic chords that hang so delicately in the air forever. The sax touches at these chords like a painter just adding slight dashes of colour to a canvas, aware that one mark too many could spoil the balance totally. "Rat Catcher", the last track is full of silences that are broken by a wheezing organ, or broken bagpipes, yet the duo manage to squeeze a beautiful major chord right at the last second bringing to an end this unique album.  

A very highly recommended album.  

If you don't know Tom Challenger or Kit Downes it's worthwhile checking out some of the groups they're are involved in (although not together): [Ma], the collective group Outhouse, Troyka, The Golden Age of Steam are just a few names that I know. If you visit the individual websites you'll get to discover a very wide range of interesting musical projects.

You can find the album (only a digital download) on the Loop Collective bandcamp page.

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Christian Wallumrød Ensemble: Outstairs (ECM, 2012) ****

Reviewed by Joe

I haven't been a fan of Christian Wallumrød's music for so long, it's a recent fad that seems to have grown on me whilst listening to some live recordings I have of this band. His approach is completely original, if you listen to his other records - trios, the ensemble, solo etc - you'll notice how he's developed his style bit by bit over the years. Moreover, that is what makes it so interesting, one could say it's all the same even! It's a music that works on small details, simple ideas that develop slowly, not unlike a melodically organised version of Skogen's "Ist Gefallen in den Schnee". Interestingly Stef also saw a connection with Wallumrød's collaboration on "Dans Les Arbres", so maybe I'm not dreaming after all!

The texture of the ensemble is of utmost importance to the colour of this music. The original band had Arve Henriksen on trumpet, which may give you a clue to the music stylistically, but since a while Eivind Lønning has been in the trumpet chair. The rest of the group is Gjermund Larsen - violin, hardanger fiddle, viola. Espen Reinertsen - tenor saxophone. Tove Törngren - cello and of course the unstoppable Per Oddvar Johansen on drums and vibraphone, and for all who don't know him, Christian Wallumrød plays piano, harmonium and toy piano. You'll notice there's NO bass and this really makes the music sound somewhere between classical and a sense of world music, which is created via the harmonium and the clever use of drums, often played with the hands. The great use of bass 'movement' via the cello, or sax even gives the music a very special sound. 

"Stille Rock" starts the album like a mournful prelude to the music that follows, Wallumrød's music has that sound, but is in fact uplifting. "Bunadsbangla" is 'the hit' of the album, and believe me he can write some catchy tunes! The album, like most of his work, is best listened to as a whole. There is little space between improvisation and composition, it sounds very organised, but it works well that way. You can make out small sections of improvisation, but don't buy this if you're looking for mind stretching new approaches, it's all about control and the beauty of restraint. There are too many pieces on the album to talk about everything. "Tridili #2" is a baroque piece with saxophone playing overtones and clusters in response to the melody. "Very Slow" is a quite piece (and slow!) using tone clusters. "Folkskiss" is a beautiful ballad that reminds you of a tune you heard long ago, but where - almost Gaelic in feeling! The scrapings and scratchings of "Third Try" could be from a gore movie.

This is a fine album that hangs musically between many worlds of sound. If you love film sound tracks that create space, and if you like organised beauty, then this is certainly one for you. 

    

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Cavity Fang: Urban Problems (Table & Chairs, 2013) ***

Reviewed by Joe

Here's Michael Coleman back with another one of his very interesting cross fusion projects. I've reviewed several different projects of Michael over the years and each one always has some very interesting stuff on it. The last one reviewed here was Arts and Science on Aram Shelton's Singlespeed label. This is another small label Table and Chairs, based I think in Seattle. They - the label - seem to specialise in a very interesting blend of modern/rock/jazz/noise, take a look at their website and bandcamp to get a better idea (and listen).

Meanwhile, the music of Cavity Fang is again a real collection of ideas that Michael Coleman successfully moulds together to produce some very modern sounds. If you like music such as Steve Reich meets Hendrix meets Mahavishnu but without any of the long solos then you'll definitely enjoy this one. In fact the record is very short but the music is intense and packed with ideas and melodies. "Koala and Joey" (tk1) is like an rubato anthem that lies somewhere between the Star Spangled Banner and ..? But by the next tune - "Dreamzz" - you're already in another abstract world, rhythmically complex lines meld together leading you into choppy riffs, which somehow reminded me of a Beefheart instrumental. The whole record moves along like this with new ideas and ambiances jumping out at each track. "Armadillo" (tk3) starts out with a soundtrack of jungle noises, but surely made by synths, keyboards and percussion. Eventually Jordan Glenn - drums and vibraphone - brings in a melody lines on vibes developing into a long repetitive line full of energy.

Some of the music reminds me of the way Fond of Tigers (what happened to them?) layered melodies on melodies to produce new lines. The other aspect that links the two bands together is the three drummers! You get to hear them work out together as they build up a very carefully constructed set of lines on "Prelude to Rara" (tk5) which leads into "Rara", naturally! Looping sax and heavily flanged guitar seem to set up the scene for even more relentless drumming. The last three tracks hang somewhere between garage band rock and sophisticated psychedelia with melodies that use flute and guitar on "This Will Be Your Bed" (tk8). "Droopy-Eyed Monster Shuffle" finishes the album with some grumpy sounding baritone sax riffing away before heading into outer space, exactly what it says it is a monster shuffle!

This is a long way from being a jazz album, but then again it certainly doesn't really fit easily into any category! Drop by the bandcamp website where you can take a listen to the album, see what you make of it or/and buy it: ::: here :::

Michael Coleman - keyboards and compositions, Ava Mendoza - guitar, Cory Wright - baritone sax and flute, Hamir Atwal - drums, Jordan Glenn - drums and vibraphone, Sam Ospovat - drums

       

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Kris Davis - Capricorn Climber (Clean Feed, 2013) ***½

Reviewed by Joe

I remember reading Stef's enthusiastic review of Kris's Rye Eclipse. It's one of the great classics in the free-composed genre, an album more than worth checking out if you don't know it. Here she is again in large formation, something that really suits her great composing skills. Her group is made up of Mat Maneri, viola, Ingrid Laubrock, saxophone, Trevor Dunn, bass, Tom Rainey, drums and naturally Kris Davis, piano. It's a good combination that really gives her compositions a chance to breath and at the same time has a depth of sound. 

The opening notes of the album jump out at you making me think of King Crimson's David Cross pieces/period due to the violin's eerie presence. It's an atmosphere that pervades this album. Fine textures that develop within the group, 'spectral' would be a good term (if we were listening to contemporary classical music). The fine detail that the musicians put into the music is amazing not unlike a painting from the Flemish masters! "Too Tinkerbell"(tk1) the opening piece bravely settles into a group impro from the very start, yet underneath there is clearly a logic which only emerges after about 3 minutes. The wide open choice of notes that make up the theme give time a suspended feeling as if you're floating. This is a style that Kris Davis uses often, introducing notes into her pieces whilst the group improvises around her. A bass line that seems abstract suddenly becomes a melody, the drums seemingly flay around, yet they are a precise part of the melody to come, and so on.

It's nice to hear Ingrid Laubrock playing in a 'melodic' situation. Here she gets the chance to display her line playing to good advantage. Along with Matt Maneri's viola the two often complement each others improvisations to create some very delicate music. The rhythm section of Tom Rainey and Trevor Dunn give a fine performance also. The two players are able to give the impression of complete freedom whilst sneakily heading towards a common goal. Listening to these two players, combined with Kris Davis's piano you start to realise the complexity of some of the compositions. If a piece is rushed too much it would loose it's qualities and the rhythm section plays it just right. "Trevor's Luffa Complex"(tk3) is just such a piece. Starting with a bass solo the group gradually climbs on board until everything is in place, just in time before a strong theme explodes at the end.

Most of the pieces function in this way surprising the listener constantly. It's a style that makes for detailed listening over and over again. Details or structures that you hadn't grasped at first become clearer with each listen, as I already said it's like looking at a highly detailed painting - even Where's Wally for music! "Capricorn Climber"(tk4), "Pi is Irrational" (tk7) and "Dreamers in a Daze" (tk8) all have splendid improvised sections that build up over time, everyone is featured in there own fashion. At the same time the music is never clumsy or heavy handed.

If you enjoy listening to finely balanced music which can be both daring and beautiful then you'll probably find this a very rewarding album. If you don't know Kris Davis's work this may be as good a place to start as anywhere.

A sample of some of Kris's other albums (and collaborations) on the blog are:    
Gauci, Davis and Bisio
Rye Eclipse
Rainey, Laubrock and Davis
Paradoxical Frog
RIDD Quartet

Buy at Instantjazz.

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Mark Solborg - The Trees (ILK music, 2013) ****

Reviewed by Joe

This is one hell of a record, and - for me - yet another direction taken by Mark Solborg. Solborg seems to be able to take elements of music and mould his writing and the choice of players to get the best out of them. On previous recordings such as '4+4+1' and 'Hopscotch' the music has been more 'conceived', whereas this project obviously relies on team work. In fact what stands out on this recording is the empathy between the players and the natural group sound, everyone places themselves at the service of the music. One example that stands out is Peter Bruun's drums. He probably never really hits the drums in a way one would expect to hear from this instrument. He uses his kit in such a subtle way that you only realise that the drums are not 'in your face' quite late in the recording. He plays percussion as well on this recording which may account for the subtlety of the silent sound approach. It makes me think of some of the Supersilent and early Food records where Deathprod (Helge Sten) took out instruments giving the music space, which often has more impact. 

Describing the individual tracks on this record isn't really very helpful as in reality the album works best as one whole piece/listen. Once you've pressed the play button you'll find yourself in a dark world of sounds which keep you fixed to your sofa. I imagine you could pick out 'a' track to listen to, but the atmosphere of the combined tracks seems more natural for a listening experience. There are moments where the sax of Evan Parker or Herb Robertson's trumpet come right to the fore such as the opening track. The two horns play a mournful duet which suddenly stops to let Mark Solborg's guitar step forward playing a solo as if accompanying a silent partner. The music steps off from this point never looking back. I could name a few moments where each instrument takes it's place as the principal voice, but probably the fact that the others decided 'not' to play is of equal importance. I should add that there are several tracks where the horn players play kalimbas or other percussion instruments which adds some very nice textures to the music and of course adds even more space.

The majority of the music is restrained, not unlike the cover photo, and comes across a little like sunlight trying to break through a dense forest. Picking an extract from this record is extremely  difficult, after all where to break into the flow of things? Finally I just went for a short piece called 'Dogwood'. The group goes into full flight for just a few minutes before plunging back into the silent filled gaps of the record.

Dogwood (tk 3) from Mark Solborg's 'The Trees' (ILK music, 2013)

This glorious 5tet is Solborg on guitars, Mats Eilersten: double bass, Peter Bruun: drums, percussion, kalimba, Herb Robertson: trumpet, voice, pump organ, kalimba, Evan Parker: tenor and soprano saxes, kalimba and gong.   

© stef

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Guitar Week: Experimental and Noise

Music and sound to challenge your mind, body and soul. Yes, the guitar can be so many things ...

Peter Kolovos - Black Colors (Thin Wrist, 2012) ****

By Paolo Casertano

After the 2009 New Bodies LP always on his Thin Wrist Recordings, Peter Kolovos is here with his second full-length solo guitar effort and, if possible, he delivers an even more challenging work. If you know him already, you could say that listening to the sharp and strident sonic pilgrimages on guitar of Kolovos is a tough job but somebody’s got to do it, because the experience is strong and always rewarding.

I’d define his approach as maximalist being just the opposite of the minimalist style of other emerging and noteworthy guitarists as Manuel Mota or Filipe Felizardo. He seems not interested in any concession to harmony or intelligible structures; he hits the listener as he hits the guitar, never caressing a string, never sketching something that is less than a total, in some way aggressive, act of sound with no compromises. You may say there are no real tracks to analyse in this work, but there is for sure an approach to understand.

According to the liner notes “he draws form from open sequences of sound events merged and propelled by a distinct internal logic. In his music Kolovos attempts to erase the line between intent and impulse and to create sounds that are immediate and unrepeatable”.

He in fact progresses through hiccupping and fragmented stabs on the strings up to discordant walls of massive distortion where whistles and feedbacks fuel the creation of brief bursting drones and tides of feedbacks. He works unconventionally with reverb and delay, some of the notes pouring out of this stream sound more as early electronics samples than traditional fingering, remembering the tones of some vintage sci-fi movie. The fragments living in this work sound initially as schizoid dialogues between two voices. The first is prolific of dense shades of distortion, it is fractured by waves of delay, it is noisy but rational; it is the canvas waiting for the brush. The other one is stinging, shifty and unpredictable, it answers with howling high-pitched peaks plunging in the vortex where the first tries to swallow it. But you can’t really understand which one is chasing the other, which is attacking or how the other will defend its nature. They merge suddenly as they break up. You can’t relax, you can’t grow fond of a sound. Kolovos operates in the constant deconstruction of any musical meaning and coherent context. When you understand, he’s already gone ahead.

Black Colors is released as a triple vinyl housed in gorgeous heavy cardboard slipcase, each vinyl is then inserted in another slipcase with some interesting pictures based on the subjects of lights and darkness, specifically realized and coupling with the music. The vinyl is mastered at 45 RPM, and this means that if you have a decent record player and you’re so brave to close your eyes, maybe you will believe that Kolovos is there just behind you torturing his guitar. But I admit that if you’re not in the right mood, this image can be pretty scary.

Listen some excerpts (http://www.myspace.com/peterkolovos)
Buy from the label (http://www.thinwrist.com/TWI.htm)

Satanic Abandoned Rock’n’Roll Society: Bloody Imagination (Mikroton Recordings, 2012) ***

By Martin Schray

If Stanley Kubrick had known “Bloody Imagination” in 1968 he might have used it as a leitmotif for the appearances of the monolith in “2001 – A Space Odyssey”.  And if we follow one of Margaret Stackhouse’s interpretations according to its meaning it could stand for the “incomprehensible, -- man, with his limited senses, cannot comprehend the absence (perfect black) of color or light”.

“Bloody imagination” tries to transform this idea into music with this 52-minute sonic sculpture in which the four musicians (resonator guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama already produced this album in 2004, with Naoaki Miyamoto on mid-high frequency electric guitar, Utah Kawasaki on mid-low frequency analog synth, and Atsuhiro Ito on low frequency optron) put up layer after layer of extended frequencies with crass overtones and gloomy, penetrating sounds. It is an unsettling piece of work, pitch-black and mesmerizing, especially towards the end it is even hard to bear. The track starts with a deep buzzing which reminds you of a sputtering motor before high pitched whining, buzzing or hissing noise is added. There is something absolutely brutal in this strange beauty, in its bareness, in its naked sounds, like listening to a constant uproar in your guts and a tinnitus simultaneously. What makes it even more mysterious is the fact that there is no rhythm although there is a certain structure discernable.

But is this even a guitar album? Of course, since the day Keith Rowe has laid his guitar flat, decided to abandon traditional guitar techniques and prepared his instrument manipulating strings, pick-ups, toggle switches and volume/tone knobs turning it into a huge sound processor (according to the liner notes Akiyama uses a samurai sword with his guitar and I don’t want to know what he does with it). Or since SunnO))) have concentrated on pure atmosphere building up huge doom drones instead of using conventional forms.

This is definitely not for the faint of heart. But maybe for you, Paolo.

This short clips says more than my review:

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Outhouse - Straw, Sticks and Bricks (Babel, 2011) ***½

By Joe

If you've never come across the British band 'Outhouse' before, now is the time to get acquainted. This is Outhouse's third record, the first two Outhouse (2008) and Outhouse : Ruhabi (2010) were both classic albums in my humble opinion. I love the mixture of free moments and dark driving grooves that Outhouse seems to specialize in. The band has changed a little over the years with tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip leaving the band to be replaced by Tom Challenger, however the basic formula both musically and instrumentally has stayed much the same. The group are Robin Fincker/Tom Challenger - Tenor saxes/Clarinets,  Johnny Brierley – bass and Dave Smith – drums. On this latest album they've invited Hilmar Jensson (guitar) to add to their sonic landscape and which to my mind really fits very naturally into the group's sound.    

The groups formula for compositions tends to work well again. Although more or less the same as the previous two albums it has developed and become more refined. The group has a style of 'stop:start' type of melodies. These tend to state a theme which then throw a soloist into a very open space to develop some ideas. Gradually the group moves into an exciting rhythm with the melody lines becoming bass lines, or vice versa. It might look at first view that it's just a formula, but with Outhouse they've developed this into a style that works well. It lets the group move freely between recognizable melodies and very interesting modern improvisations. The group although not 'free' in pure terms is (if you heard them) not unlike 'Human Feel' who also managed to finely manoeuvre between several styles to create a very individual, and eventually, influential sound. 

It would be difficult to pick out any particular track as all the tunes, nine in all, have great moments in them.  Luckily - see below - you can listen to the album via the Loop Collectives website. The structure of the compositions is always looking for ways to fuse the various possibilities of freedom and melody. An example such as Fool (tk3) launches out with a improvised entry from sax and drums. The guitar and the 2nd sax comes in with a sort of rubato melody which little by little dominates the piece. This leads the group into open water, but look out, the music then bursts open with a wonderful rocking (unison) melody before leading towards more angular solos. The piece re-descends into light and gentle improvised sound. Golfo (tk5) uses some of the same ideas but gives a wonderful looping melody that's very cleverly arranged to give a soloist maximum possible inspiration, a little like jumping off the top board at the swimming pool! Many of the pieces use this idea in one way or another and all the themes have great twists and turns both melodically and rhythmically. Kitchen in the Middle (tk1) plays an insistent plodding theme before letting the soloists out like dogs let off their leads.

And of course there's Hilmar Jensson who's guitar adds a new dimension to the music, really giving some serious 'umpf' to the themes when playing in unison. At other times he uses the space created by the group to add floating sounds a small solo ideas, not unlike a 21st century Bill Frisell. A good example of this can be found on Luna Verde (tk4).

All in all this is an excellent record, highly recommended to anyone who's interested to hear how the younger generation in the UK have fused jazz and rock, but also the influences of the UK improv' scene. I can also highly recommend the bands first two albums for further listening.  

Listen to the album, and band here via the Loop Collectives site.   

I should mention this album is from April 2011. I'm not sure how it got into our review pile so late, if you've seen this one around you'll now know it's sort of a deja vu moment.


© stef

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Michael Blake - In the Grand Scheme of Things (Songlines 2012) ***½

Posted by Joe

Michael Blake is often classed on websites as avant-garde, although to this day I've never really understood why? His early associations with the Lounge Lizards seem to have set up a precedent which follows him around. In my view Blake is better classed as 'left-field', looking at jazz from a very different angle compared to the average mainstream jazz performers coming from the states. However, Michael Blake's music isn't what you call avant-garde, it's very accessible and often melodic in content. His releases 'Right before your very ears' and 'Control this' on the avant-garde label Clean Feed are often very melodic even in there wildest moments.

On 'In the Grand Scheme of Things' Michael Blake again comes up with another multi-faceted 'Blake-ish' offering, something that doesn't really sit in any particular basket (*), and probably one reason he's not better known in the jazz world. As with his wonderful Blake's Tartar Michael Blake covers a lot of territory. The album is an attractive mix of rock, jazz, semi-free, gospel and electronica, bringing several directions together musically. A tune such as 'Willie (the lonely cowboy)' hovers over a lovely melody, gradually sliding into an out of tempo (rubato) improvisation. This develops organically with the soloists leading the ensemble. On the other hand there's 'Cybermonk' a swinging tune which could of come from his tribute album to Lucky Thompson. Another facet heard on the album is 'The Searchers', a long piece which stretches out to develop interesting atmospheres, melodies and solos. The last half of the album really moves into open space territory. The themes 'A View of Oblivion' and 'Freedom from Exile' are very strong pieces using the possibilities created by the electronica present of a Moog, keyboards and JP Carter's processed trumpet. The melody and development of 'Cordial Drive' particularly caught my ears as it conjures up an almost modern Bitches Brew musicality. The one track (last but one) that again falls outside the rest of the album is 'Treat her right', an old chestnut which became a hit for Otis Redding (among others) which is played with much respect. 

Michael Blake has assembled an interesting group around him known as the Variety Hour 4tet. Two of the musicians Dylan van der Schyff (drums) and JP Carter (trumpet and electronics) have often popped up on our blog, the third Chris Gestrin (keyboards) I know less well. All three are perfectly in tune with Michael Blake's music - Gestrin and Van der Schyff have already played with Michael Blake (check the above musicians links on this blog). Looking at the musicians (above) you'll probably notice the group doesn't have a bass player. So, much of the bass qualities are created by Chris Gestrin using a Moog synthesiser combined with his keyboards. This creates some fine 'spacy' sounds which float round in the pieces and at the same time manage to anchor down the chords/harmonic progressions. The other very important ingredient in the groups musical palette is JP Carter. 'JP' rarely plays any direct solos, but uses his trumpet/electronic set-up to create floating lines that either shadow Blake's own voice, or create (as we say in the jazz trade) 'guide tones' which give the colour of the harmony.

An excellent record and very clever (very creative) in it's use of electronica.          

* = Concerning Michael Blake's multi faceted musical style(s). Some more reviews on our blog here, and another Amor de Cosmos reviewed on this blog several years back. 

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Marc Ducret - Tower Vol.4 (Ayler Records, 2012) ****½

 

Posted by Joe

The instant I saw Marc Ducret's name on the list I rushed to open up the file to get a listen. It's always a pleasure and an experience to listen to Marc Ducret he's, as far as I know, never made a bad record. Everything I've heard has all the elements needed to make great music : original, accessible, avant-garde, melodic, rhythmic, rocks, swings ... and the list goes on. This latest release is another in the Tower series : 'Tower, Vol.4'  and this time a solo project. For those interested Vol.1 was his French ensemble and Vol.2 with a Franco/American group. As far as I know there's no Vol.3, or not released on CD that is. 

I remember (a few weeks ago) reviewer Paolo Casertano's trilogy of articles on Stian Westerhus where he talked about Westerhus as a new Derek Bailey. After reading his articles I immediately thought of a few other guitarists that really deserved a place in that list -  Fred Frith, Hans Reichel, the excellent Keith Rowe, to name three players. Marc Ducret is another guitarist who should also be on that list, and for me he's also on a different level than Stian Westerhus. Ducret's creativity holds no bounds, as this album attests. And, to add to the interest, it's all on acoustic guitar! If you know Marc Ducret's playing from the multitude of artists he works with, you can certainly attest to the amazing range and depth of sounds he manages to coach out of his guitar. He can also write a good, if slightly left field, melody also. Anyone interested in such a project should check out his big band project Le Sens de la Marche.

There are nine solo instrumentals on the record. Each track plays off the different textures or aspects of the guitars sound. The acoustics (in the room where he's recording) are perfect, making for a very intimate listening experience. In fact you can even hear birds in the background tweeting away on some of the pieces.

Some of the highlights for me are - 'From a Distant Land' (Tk1) where he uses his guitar like a Japanese Koto. Ducret eventually turns the piece around with some wonderful 'dampened string' playing which pulses along and sounds not unlike John Cage's piano on 'Sonatas & Interludes for prepared piano'. There's a reprise of this piece, a second take I imagine, later on the record called '... Distant Land' (Tk7). The third track 'Sisters' is a microscopic view of harmonics on the guitar, short but very beautiful. 'sur l'électricité' (Tk2) is a typical Ducret sounding piece, something between Derek Bailey and Gary Lucas in Beefheart's band (ex : 'Flavor Bud Living'). The atonal lines are often a-rhythmic but certainly beautiful to listen to, often developing into chords or strummed sections. 'Ada' (Tk6) another piece with plenty of space also has surprising leaps and melodic twists. It finishes in glorious large chords, which have no real name - harmonically that is.

Finally, what I really enjoy about Marc Ducret's playing, and this record in general, is his ability to constantly come up with fresh sounding music. He manages to be utterly 'in' the avant-garde and yet remain very accessible, not unlike John Cage did. There's always plenty of things for the listener to hold onto (sort of audio guide post), but with plenty of new sounds you can marvel at. The music is full of details and depth which means you can come back to discover something new each time.

If you don't already know Marc Ducret this may be a good place to start. And for anyone wanting to hear what's possible on a guitar this has plenty of inspiring ideas, unless you're thinking of auditioning for the X-Factor of course!

Highly recommended, as always.

Postscript : I sent an email to Paolo recommending the above album. In his reply he made a very pertinent remark which sums up the large range of music to be found on the album. I quote : 

"The music on this record seems to be ancient and really modern at the same time. A rare blend!"

I couldn't have put it better myself, thanks!

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Katherine Young - After Party (Vol.2): Releasing Bound Water From Green Material (Prom Night, 2012) ***½

By Paolo Casertano

Katherine Young, by name and by nature, plays bassoon. The bassoon, or fagot, is scarcely known beyond the boundaries of classical music and orchestral repertoire. Many people, if asked, would probably not even distinguish its shape and know it has such a significant sound and it has had a weighty role for example in many Mozart’s compositions. You can say as well it is infrequently used as a jazz instrument (admitting - not me - that instruments have a preferential application to a music genre). What about the contrabassoon then? That’s the real blast!

In any case this artist may already boast about a substantial discography, important collaborations (Peter Evans, Fred Lonberg-Holm) and a broad live activity as solo performer and as a member of the various large ensembles under the tutelage of Anthony Braxton, extensively touring all over the world. She has been already reviewed on this blog, both as regards her solo work and in relation to the interesting duo “Architeuthis Walks On Land”.

The three-part present work started as a composition for a fixed percussion trio enhanced by an improvising and unorthodox ensemble - mainly brass, the bassoonist included - and it’s strictly connected to the video projections that visual artist Michael Kenney specifically developed for it. This results in a short (just 21 minutes) but highly pleasurable listen.

According to the liner notes from the label, the second episode “Capacity” is the only unaltered document of the premiere performance. In it, especially in the central part, the insisting wooden objects “carpet” perfectly melt with gongs, sticks, drums and for some passages (if I am correct) with a musical saw, building a coherent imaginary landscape made of tone-colors and almost tribal atmospheres.

Katherine Young has instead reassembled the opening and closing acts, respectively “Binding-Releasing” I and II, to encapsulate the main and dominant composition.  The first one moves among whispers, whistles, clacks and ventriloquisms provided by the many brass, softened by emerging gentle piano chords. There’s obviously a constant use of extended techniques by all the musicians. The second and final one starts and grows instead from a deep timbre surrounded by buzzes, obscure synth chords and breaths.

I’m sure that the live execution accompanied by the simultaneous video installment is the best embodiment to take advantage of such a composition.

The release is available for preview or as a digital download from the label and here you have the first part of the related video.

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Fabula (Creative Sources, 2012) ****

Reviewed by Joe

I thought I'd wade into some of the 'noise' CDs waiting to be reviewed in our files. In fact I notice more and more bands around that are working in a completely different area from what we would probably call 'music', a more 'noise' oriented area, built up of work with electronics, live and prepared instruments. With these records one has to find another level to listen on, a little like acousmatic and electro-acoustic music. Pierre Schaeffer a man who is more or less responsible for 'musique concrete' and 'acousmatic music' talked about sounds in a new vocabulary, which I believe is called 'solfege du l'objet sonore'. Here he developed a whole new language to describe the construction of sound(s) to make new sounds unheard before. Anyhow I digress, let's move on to Fabula.

And so we have it, Fabula, made up of four musicians : Axel Dörner - trumpet, Ernesto Rodrigues - viola, Abdul Moimême - prepared electric guitar, Ricardo Guerreiro - computer. But how to describe the music (or maybe the sound) they make? Their music is built of fine layers of sound that come together to form a sort of pleasant 'interference' or wall of sounds that organically change throughout the piece. In fact I was immediately taken by the first few minutes as made me think of the noise an alien may make to communicate with, maybe fans of sci-fi will bare that out? In a way that's the beauty of this piece which spans 46 minutes. We hear many colours and combinations, most of which combine well, keeping the listener fixed to the speakers. The trumpet of 'Dörner' rarely uses traditional notes, sound is of utmost importance, texture seems to be the goal. 'Rodrigues' uses his viola in a more traditional way, franticly bowing his instrument or caressing it in a tentative manner hoping to find new vibrations which produce harmonics. Rodrigues and Dörner also develop moments of extremes of pitch which blend into the whistle and hiss of the group's sound. 'Moimême's' guitar is hit, scraped, fed back and changed in various ways, and even though his natural sound can be heard it is only maybe the tightening of a string, or a hammer-on, all very atmospheric. 'Guerreiro' is probably the only one who sounds like himself (a computer), and of course able to finitely change sound and re-process all that happens around him into a new vocabulary.

The music, which is a concert performance, swells around you creating a sort of semi-industrial sound-scape, sometimes mysterious and at times dark and cold. Yet the great thing is it does progress (develop), if not via a tonal system then by an inner logic that the performers felt at that moment. I guess performances of groups such as 'Beast', or the 'Evan Parker Electro Acoustic Ensemble' also work in this very exciting area which to my mind could be thought of as visual sound.

If you enjoy music that has the ability to make you hear mirages (!?), then you'll enjoy listening to this very image oriented sound piece. If you've been working in heavy industry you'll probably recognise some of these sounds. Just remember, 'Please do not adjust your hi-fi, there is no problem with your system!'

    

© stef

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Fred Lonberg-Holm's Fast Citizens - Gather (Delmark 2012) *****

Posted by Joe

Oddly enough in a world where the vast majority of 'big' names in jazz come from New York we here on the Free Jazz blog seem to review few groups, or musicians, coming from the 'big apple'! When writing about American improvised music in the past years my I notice that there seems to be less real experimentation coming out of New York centred scene (generally). At the present, and probably since longer, it's the Chicago scene that's producing - in my humble opinion - some of the most interesting music in the states. Delmark, a label from Chicago is constantly working on bringing out new music : free jazz, post rock, or other musics, and in most cases it's rarely disappointing. Fred Lonberg-Holm is one of these musicians that is part of this exciting Chicago scene and probably most notably known as part of the Vandermark 5. In this case he is part of another co-operative 'The Fast Citizens', made up from some of the newer and open-minded players on the scene. The idea of the 'Fast Citizens' is that one member takes a leading role as director for the project, although I think they all contribute compositions, and a very interesting idea it is. Until now we've had 'Aram Shelton Fast Citizens' and 'Keefe Jackson Fast Citzens' which although I haven't heard either (as yet), if they're half as good as this recent record I'll be putting them on my christmas wish list immediately!

So, what about this edition, and who are these Fast Citizens? Answer : Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Aram Shelton (alto sax/clarinet), Keefe Jackson (tenor sax/clarinet), Josh Berman (cornet), Aaron Hatwich (bass), Frank Rosaly (drums, etc). The music these players specialize in is probably most closely related to post Ornette free-bop. But it's also part of the whole Chicago scene style which has produced such as the Vandermark 5 and The Engines who often combine free elements, swing and melody together, crossing boundaries stylistically, unlike more abstract approaches in improvised music.

The Music : Infa-Red  (Tk1) sets the scene with a snaking bass clarinet solo invoking the ghost of Eric Dolphy played by Keefe Jackson, and a fast furious hard biting alto solo of Aram Shelton - somewhere between Jackie McLean and Ornette! Fred Lonberg-Holm gets to play his frenetic lines over a wonderful melodic backing which releases into a trio dialogue of alto, bass clarinet and cello before bringing back the original theme. It's a great way to start, but the fun doesn't stop there It's a Tough Grid (Tk2) comes at you with a wonderful cornet/cello duo before developing a melody played by bowed cello/bass, bass clarinet, alto and cornet a wonderfully arranged piece which showcases Aaron Hatwich and Keefe Jackson and later Aram Shelton blowing hard! Much of the music on this album takes it's direction from the experiments of Grachan Moncur, Jackie McLean, Ornette, Eric Dolphy, John Carter and others from this lineage. However tunes such as Later News (Tk3), Simpler Days (Tk6) and Faster, Citizens! Kill, Kill! (Tk5) use elements of post-rock with loops and processing via Lonberg-Holm's cello effects giving the music a very modern mixture, whilst leaving space for soloists to blow over. Sometimes - as in Faster, Citizens! - one wonders if it's guitar or cello with hard strummed chords creating a chordal backing, or as a distorted melody line. Lazy Day (Tk4) is a particular stand out (for me) and the closest one gets to a ballad, featuring Aram Shelton on Bb clarinet. It starts as some modern 20th Century composition, developing into a lovely lilting improvisation. To keep you on your toes the mood changes at the end when cello and clarinet battle it out in a Mingus/Dolphy type love dance ... and then on to the final theme.  

Equally important to the success of this disc is the wonderful use of the doubling instruments, tenor sax/bass clarinet and alto sax/Bb clarinet, also the cornet and cello (in all it's disguises), the music takes on endless colours and combinations - solos, duos, trios etc. The melodies are strong, but never throw-away. The arrangements are thought out to perfection with no notes wasted, nuances and tempos all being treated with respect, and as the album progresses each track offers up new ideas. The rhythm section shows it's perfect empathy with the music, changing moods, tempos (an amazing tempo change on Infa-Red !!!) and styles at will. I could say soooo much more, but my reviews too long already ......!

A excellent release from this strong co-operative, and a record that won't disappoint. Everybody pulls punches on this record, however, there's no squeak-honk-freak outs for those more interested in chaos. It could be on my list of top records of 2012?  

 
Post note : If you look up these musicians (from the Fast Citizens) you'll notice these guys are very active and can be found playing in many different areas and groups.

© stef

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Arts and Sciences - New You (Singlespeed Music, 2012) *****

Posted by Joe

I met Michael Coleman (the leader of Arts and Science) in Brussels quite a few years ago. He was on the usual European tourist trip with a friend of his - maybe Jordan Glenn, the drummer on this album? Michael told me about another interesting project called Schumann's Humans, a group playing the music of Schumann, but re-imagined. I remember checking out via MySpace the group and being highly impressed, but of course since then I'd lost track of Michael's groups and career. Well, time has caught up and here we are in 2012 with a record from Michael Coleman under the title 'Arts and Science - New You', and it's to my ears a corker! I should also add, for all those that read the recent Aram Shelton review, that this is another record out on the excellent Singlespeed Music label.

If you're ready to be taken on a burning trip of musical ideas and styles, then this is the one you might indeed be well advised to check out. If you remember the free wheeling blowing and sheer eclecticism of Human Feel then you'll already have a vague notion of what the music could be. Although not as 'free', it does however have a power and imagination that easily matches that genre breaking group. The groups makeup does (in a way) mirror some of Human Feel's elements as it's two sax front line, no bass, drums and in this case keyboard may suggest. Each of the musicians deserves a mention as everybody plays sublimely well, blowing hot and cold all over the music, prepared to take the risks needed to give the music an excitement and energy that keeps the listener pinned to their seat!

Both Jacob Zimmerman (alto sax, flute, percussion), Matt Nelson (Tenor sax, effects, percussion) are new names to me, and a revelation also. Both players seem to mold together to form a front line that instinctively thinks as one. Their solos sometimes scream out of the speakers and at others come together to form tight ensemble work. Jordan Glenn (drums) is certainly a key player in this complex music which at times sounds not unlike early King Crimson in it's ensemble work. The modern melodies fly out at you never letting one guess which direction the music will take. 'Seram' (Tk 7) swings away at a fast tempo, whilst the gorgeous melody of 'Shunting' (Tk 8) has an almost sinister obstinate riff for the two saxes to blow around. Baby Boner (Tk 3) turns into a polyrhythmic piece, like a pigmy melody taken straight from the rain forests. 'Scientology' (Tk 9) makes use of gongs and bowed cymbals leading us to a beautiful and delicate melody with extra horns and a guitar. And the final brooding 'Jazz/Shadow' (Tk 10) with strangely distorted recorded horns and keyboard, roll like the sea with the two horns wailing above. Every track is a winner!

The myriad ideas of Michael Coleman really keep each track fresh, and although there is clearly a huge range of musical styles, somehow Michael manages to make the whole thing completely coherent. His keyboard playing (only keyboards) never dominates the ensemble, yet there are constant ideas flowing back and forth. His use of the sound palettes available is always well chosen ; mellotrons, percussive glockenspiels, tiny pianos, old wurlitzers, etc. However, what is clear is that this is no solo record, but a true group project that live must be very exciting to hear indeed! The recording technique and sound also used on this record is also very interesting, at times clear and at others heavily treated, all of which (I imagine) is intended.

Highly recommended to all those who love King Crimson, rock, out jazz, Human Feel, downtown scene, pygmies...!         

Listen and download from their Bandcamp page.     

© stef

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Paal Nilssen-Love: The Day the Noise Stood Still

By Paolo Casertano

Paal Nilssen-Love is probably attempting to break down any former record for the highest number of albums a single man, in any conceivable line-up, has published or has taken part in. Since he’s been running his own acronymic label, things are going much more briskly for him.

He is well supported in this noble effort by a handful of musician friends. They share his same purpose and aim themselves to outdistance all the other contenders involved in this secret and not publically declared contest (e.g. Mats Gustafsson, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Ken Vandermark, Fred Lonberg-Holm). Who will prevail? And moreover, is this mathematically possible?

It seems they’re all trying to catch up his eminence Peter Brötzmann - the man who whispers to saxophones. However, Nilssen-Love is not yet forty…

The label has collected in less than five years, fifteen releases, where the founder incontrovertibly substantiates his whole paraphernalia of blasts and implosions through silences and screams, fractures and convergence, orthodox and innovative techniques. As a leader or as a sideman, in large ensembles or in his solo performances, always outlining a fil rouge, surprisingly heterogeneous and at the same time comfortably identifiable.

Packaging of releases as mini vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve is also significant. Should I find a weak point in the whole project, I would say cover art might be definitely improved. But maybe this can be forgiven and maybe again Wizard Brötzmann still has to teach something to this group of excellent musicians he has contribute with no exception to grow and affect.

Such an amount of releases could in some cases bring a lowering of overall quality. In my opinion this has never happened with Paal Nilssen-Love.

Slugfield – Slimezone (PNL, 2012) ****

Paal Nilssen-Love is joined by his long time pal Lasse Marhaug on turntables and electronics and by Maja Ratkje, with her ghostly voices and manipulation devices, for a captivating journey in the realm of improvisation.

When you are familiar with the style of a musician, your listening ability is necessarily shaped by habit. It’s maybe easier to recognize the path and the development that the artist is building and following, and - I believe - this may be in some way as encouraging for the listener as it is for the musician himself. At the same time it become more difficult to be surprised by choices and patterns he decides to display.

In some other cases, anyway, even the absence of recognizable elements - here a real noise burst - can work as a central thread and a decoding key for an album. We could then summarize saying that sometimes a non-event is as much relevant as a known and predictable event. Or better again that, especially for a supporter as I am, the fact the these three great “ear torturers” - lovely speaking - are not choosing the easiest and usual way to catch my attention, is the real value of the album.  Reporting it to literature, in “The curious incident of the dog in the night-time”, for example, the fact drawing Holmes attention is exactly that the hound does not bark. That’s what happened to me here.

From the short opening track and following in the second piece, the electronic background provided by Marhaug and Ratkje is far more diluted and sober than what you would expect from them and from what you easily can find in their reoccurring collaborations. Nilssen-Love enters scraping on cymbals along with far and cyclic piano samples and Sci-Fi echoes surrounding and wrapping him around.

Drumming provides propulsion, sometimes appealing to more traditional rhythms and ensuring a free jazz mark to the final result, sometimes stepping back to allow Marhaug and Ratkje's - and they know each other very well for their many past releases - electronics to struggle one against the other before building layers, or better slabs, of sonic textures.

In the third episode Ratkje welcomes us with the usual but never predictable plethora of unorthodox vocal emissions, ranging from a scat singing style to every kind of noise a human being may emit as a sound source, giving to Nilssen-Love the chance to ethereally approach her course toward a crescendo of altered and abrasive screams.

In ‘Bring’em on’, the fourth and leading track, we go through a long mesmeric development collecting energy for a final eruption of sonic chaos. Reconnecting with our premises, the listener - especially the one already familiar with these musicians - lives in the wait of a burst that will never completely arrive. Nice way to wait. Because it is exactly the certainty that something furious is going to happen that make the tension palpable along the whole work. And again the fact that it is not happening, at least not in the measure you would expect, enhance the listening experience. The plot shifts from feeble micro sounds to harsh noises, crossing electro-acoustic experimentations and punk attitude elements. Drills, samples coming out from what might seem a lousy ’80 keyboard, a toy harmonica and excerpts of radio broadcastings, all find a place in a coherent system.

Best value of such a concept of impro is the freedom given to the listener. You can either choose to follow and analyze structures and paths or lose instead yourself in a comfortable noise magma.

We should maybe remind that the recording is the result of a live performance at Cafe Mono during the 2010 Oslo Jazz Festival. And maybe all these observations are just misleaded by crummy recording equipment. Well, I hope not.

Terrie Ex/Paal Nilssen Love - Hurgu! (PNL, 2012) ****  

Paal Nilssen-Love teams up with guitarist Terrie Ex from the seminal Dutch punk rock band “The Ex”. Punk rock aesthetics and free-jazz approach look like working pretty well together and all the promises of thunders and rumbles you may imagine from such a collaboration are fulfilled.

In the opening act, “Harar”, Terrie Ex seems to keep his guitar on a leash, setting it free once in a while to make it run among bells and hammerings fueled by Nilssen-Love. Then he recalls his creature back. You could really feel like a living thing slipping out from his hands and at this juncture necessarily grating - intentionally or not - on every surrounding surface. Nails hanging on the walls, strings twirling around the neck, pinches and slaps.

The sluggish beginning of “St. George” sketches a landscape of far and scattered chords and clusters of notes which, waiting for the drum to come, gradually gather in a melodic unity. Feedbacks and distortion crave for other metal and wires to infect. And drums then came in the land of backbeats. Just  another brick in the wall of sound.

Distant gongs and unrelenting squeaks open the third interaction of the duo, “Bedele”. Often misspelled on the web, the track is probably named after the Ethiopian city, a country where “The Ex” and a large contingent of jazz musicians including Nilssen-Love have recently and extensively toured. An interesting result of such experience can be heard in the “Baro 101” album featuring Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson on their respective instruments and Krar player Mesele Asmamaw.

Here again is easy to check up on duo’s ability to let the tension grow and evolve switching from improvised and just apparently chaotic noise moments to recognizable punk rock structures and more known shapes.

The concluding chapter “Meta” leans on soft drums made of skin and wood frictions, where trembling slashes of a reverberating guitar find holes to fill. Who is faking to be a cello? Is it the guitar or the drums? If you can produce such a noise, you must be as well able to create such a silence.

Whatever you decide, ask your ears first!


Can be purchased on Instantjazz.  

Listen here:


or here



© stef

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John Butcher and Mark Sanders - Daylight (Emanem, 2012)

Double review.

You may well have noticed that we've started, in fact re-started, publishing a few double reviews. Well, we always have fun at the Free Jazz blog reviewing albums. The problem is that there's so much good stuff that everybody feels like writing about each album. I remember to my surprise Stef doubling one of my reviews a few years back. I'd given it an okay mark and he'd given it an slightly better approval. It made for interesting reading and gave a more balanced viewpoint, as we obviously both liked the album, but in different ways. Since then I don't think we've done so many. Paul and I have reviewed the same album (due to the fact that I hadn't noticed he'd already reviewed the album!!), but on different dates, never together. So hear we are, another double review from Dan and myself (Joe), I hope you enjoy them ...... it - the review - looks quite handsome I find!

John Butcher and Mark Sanders - Daylight (Emanem, 2012) ****

Reviewed by Dan Sorrells

It’s tempting (and often easier) to talk about sound and music using visual adjectives and metaphors. In many ways, vision is our most immediate sense, and language itself is skewed more towards visual descriptions than auditory ones. With that in mind, Daylight is an appropriate title for the duos captured here, not just because the performances were day-time concerts, but because both Butcher and Sanders create music that is particularly visual: largely concerned with tonal color and timbre, but also with aurally mapping the contours of a playing space.

“Ropelight” was performed at London’s Conway Hall, and Butcher immediately saturates the venue with his tenor, feeling out the edges of the room with his low, resonant multiphonics. Over thirty minutes, the piece ranges from busy exchanges of throaty tenor and drums to spare interchanges of chiming cymbals and wispy soprano. Sanders uses a variety of techniques to alter the pitch of his drums, and often juxtaposes deep, rolling runs on the toms with sharp accents of woodblock or bells. The final two tracks of Daylight were recorded almost a year later at Southampton University. “Flicker” and a good portion of “Glowstick” are focused on small gestures, slow smears of sound that diffuse through the space like smoke. Still, “Glowstick” eventually ruptures with a feverish, high soprano, Butcher’s circular-breathing and frantic pace leaving the listener feeling breathless at its end.

Daylight is long overdue. Butcher and Sanders have recorded as a duo only once before (a single track on the Treader Duos compilation) despite their pervasive presence on the world scene. Butcher has a history of distinct pairings with drummers, and Daylight reveals Sanders’ ears to be closely aligned with Butcher’s. Both are alert, temperate players. This isn’t to say they can’t be blustery and loud, only that neither plays to excess. Their shared understanding of dynamism, pace, and the positioning of sound is significant. This ability to so strongly and immediately compliment one another is only a further testament to their status as constantly in-demand improvisers.

Daylight is a great introduction for those unfamiliar, and a satisfying release for fans who have been waiting patiently for more from this pair. Now if they’d only do a trio album with John Edwards!

Check out the partial performance below, which appeared in full on the Treader Duos album. Sanders’ technique is something to behold!








John Butcher and Mark Sanders - Daylight (Emanem, 2012) ****½

Reviewed by Joe

One video (the one that's above) that I've been coming back to on YouTube is a recording of a concert by John Butcher and Mark Sanders playing (in duo) at St Giles in the Fields church, London in 2008.  It's remained a firm favorite of mine to come back and marvel at the constant ingenuity of these two musicians to keep up a constant flow of creativity over such long periods. This record is a document (a small portion I imagine) of pieces played in 2010 and 2011. Ropelight (tk1) is recorded at the Conway Hall, London in 2010, and Flicker (tk2) and Glowstick (tk3) are taken from a concert in Southampton (UK) in 2011. As you'll notice there's only three tracks ...! Good news in fact, you get treated to some nice long improvisations, no editing down, or time constrained recordings - Tk1 30:07, Tk2 5:57 and TK3 18:45. And to my ears it brings out the best in both players, or maybe I should say it  lets you hear the players warts and all (except there aren't any), and probably the closest you'll get to hearing these two giants of the UK improv scene without attending a concert.  

What about the music? Well, what can you say about the playing of John Butcher? If you've never heard it before it's a MUST, if you think you know what a saxophone sounds like then get ready to have your preconceptions re-configured. His growls, multi-phonics, flutter-tonguing, clicks, shrieks and many more sounds permeate the music in not only a musical, but playful way, constantly keeping the listener transfixed. On this record John Butcher successfully incorporates his highly personal sound explorations with a more mainstream melodic approach to great effect, Ropelight being one example. Most of the time Butcher looks around in all corners, seeing what he can pull out of the bag that will not only give the music a new direction, but is also a direct link to what's been played. It is in this complementary role that Mark Sanders wonderfully nuanced playing comes into it's own.

What can you say about Mark Sanders? One of the top percussionists on the UK improv scene, a creative player that manages to keep abstract improvisations moving forward, giving them a sense of rhythm, a hard thing to do! Yes, between them they manage to make music out of sound exploration, no mean feat! Sanders swirling percussive drums move around the saxophone, a little akin to watching a tai-chi workout, and although never becoming a swinging ensemble there is a sense of rhythm which keeps the music moving forward as needed. I also loved his use of tuned percussion (I'm not sure what they are) to colour the music, giving it an extra dimension (*). Glowstick highlights this, the clangs, bangs, whoops and shrieks at times give you the impression of being in a performance at a Tibetan or Balinese temple. Butcher and Sanders for me excel on this piece finding a way of complementing and inspiring each other to be not only creative, but also coherent.

Certainly the duo of the year ... so far, amazing stuff!

* = It also made me wonder why more drummers don't use these more often in their sonic explorations.   

© stef

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