Miriodor – Signal 9 (Cuneiform, 2017) ****

By Chris Haines

Maybe in part due to the amazing amount and quality of new improvised music that I had the privilege of listening to and writing about over the last year, I have recently been revisiting old albums, many from the seventies and eighties, some of which I probably haven’t listened to since then. Much of this music could be said to come under the umbrella of progressive rock, which in some ways has enabled me to ‘clean my ears’ in a way that Murray Schafer might approve of before I reconnect with the wealth of improvised music that is continuing to be released, with the audience interest for it also gaining momentum at present. One of these groups, Miriodor, is still going strong and far from reforming to hash out old favourites to a worn-out audience, as many progressive rock bands have, their music is still fresh and vibrant having recently released a new and interesting album in the form of Signal 9.

This is the ninth studio release from the avant-rock group who have been steadily releasing an original catalogue of work over the last thirty-odd years. A group that is also recognized and linked with the Rock In Opposition movement, and although they weren’t one of the original groups in that loose collective, there are sounds and structures in their music which are reminiscent of bands such as Henry Cow. Originally hailing from the French Canadian province of Quebec, the group has had many line-up changes over the years, with the current formation consisting of Pascal Globensky (keyboards), Rémi Leclerc (drums), Bernard Falaise (guitar), and Nicolas Lessard (bass, keyboards). Signal 9 is also dedicated to one of the founding members of the group, François Émond, who sadly passed away during the making of the album.

Miriodor’s music is often comprised of complex composed structures with sudden switches between a variety of stylistic themes and genres, making for a colorful and interesting heady mix of diverse musical moments. If I were to pull out one track off the album that defined the group’s sound the most, the piece ‘Portrait-robot’ would probably be it. One of the longer tracks on the album it starts with a motorik bass and drums rhythm, which is joined by an angular keyboard melody before the guitar comes in signaling an immediate change of melody. This gradually builds and builds in typical rock fashion, which then collapses into ambient and electronic sounds. After a while the music regains the strong rock rhythm section backing topped by mellotron sounds that quickly give way to a humoresque and circus-like music. Without any musical theme wanting to outstay it’s welcome it quickly proceeds into a final thematic section that is a development of the ambient and electronic passage. As mentioned previously it is these many changes in stylistic musical material, incorporation of humour and whimsy, classic rock backing, fragmented/angular melodies, and experimentation with sound, which are either all incorporated into the longer tracks or are shorter tracks juxtaposed alongside one another in the running order, that characterizes the musical mission statement of the group.

The album is excellently arranged and the clear structures define and shape the wealth of musical information that is being communicated to the listener in an ordered and resolute manner. Miriodor seem to find a way to keep an originality to their music without doing anything radically different from album to album. For me this is the essence of good musicianship and artistic vision, which they encapsulate in the cocktail of sound that they have consistently produced over the life span of the group. In this respect Signal 9 is a rewarding album for their many fans and as good a place to start for any who are unfamiliar with their enjoyable brand of progressive music.

Here’s the opening track off the album, Venin.

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Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Evil in Oslo (Rune Grammofon, 2016) ****

By Troy Dostert

For a group that has been together for around five years and released several strong recordings, the Norway-based Hedvig Mollestad Trio continues to face the challenge of finding its core audience.  As a band with a solid foundation of riff-heavy hard rock influenced heavily by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, with a good deal of prog-rock sensibility as well, a lot of jazz listeners won’t be inclined to take the band all that seriously.  But at the same time, their significant improvisational complexity and dedication to long, instrumental-only compositions means that they won’t be connecting with a lot of traditional rock fans either.  The fact that they’ve played to great acclaim on the jazz festival circuit in Europe may indicate which way things are leaning for the group at present.  In any case, this live recording should help make a case for the band’s prowess, as it’s a compelling display of propulsive, guitar-based music that is quite well-played and infectious.

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen is a superb guitarist, equally adept at churning out hard-edged, pile-driving riffs and offering up atmospheric, effects-laden explorations.  Listen to her delicate, introspective work on the haunting ballad “The Valley” for evidence of her versatility. And her partners are similarly skilled, with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad finding a healthy balance between straightforward rock rhythms and occasional openness for improvisational freedom.  To a large degree it’s the flexibility of Mollestad’s bandmates that makes this group more than just a “rock band”: take for example the free-ish interlude about five minutes into “For the Air,” the album’s opener, with Brekken and Bjørnstad surging along, leaving the steady rock beat aside for a moment with the help of Brekken’s nimble bass line; or the detour into a reggae-inflected rhythm midway through “Ashes,” the second song on the record, over which Mollestad provides some tasty effects.  Sure, at over seventy minutes of music stretched over nine songs, things can get a bit monotonous at times, as this is fundamentally a rock record; a bit more harmonic and rhythmic invention here and there wouldn’t hurt.  Even so, there’s plenty to enjoy, and it’s a really fun record to crank up loud to test the limits of your stereo.

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Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Black Stabat Mater (Rune Grammofon, 2016) ****

By Eyal Hareuveni

Black Stabat Mater is the twin album of the live, double album Evil in Oslo, both were released on the same day. The live album summarized an era of this Norwegian, Oslo-based power trio, highlighting the trio spectacular manner of abstracting the killer riffs of guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen into expansive, rhythmic textures, backed by the tight, kicking rhythm section of bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad. Black Stabat Mater, a wordplay on Black Sabbath and the catholic hymn, the trio fourth studio album, experiments with more open and adventurous terrains.

The opening piece, the 14-minutes of “Approaching/On Arrival”, demonstrates the trio new approach with Mollestad Thomassen's soaring, psychedelic-fusion-tinged and effects-laden extended solo, at times bringing to mind Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore's seminal solos with her fingers running up and down the guitar neck, but devoid of all metal clichés and spiced with highly addictive riffs. Suddenly, it morphs into a free-floating, dense metallic-noisy drone that blends influences from Sonny Sharrock and Thurston Moore. “In The Court Of The Trolls” is a fascinating deconstruction of later-era, prog-rock of King Crimson with a raw, primal energy. “-40” is a fragile and hypnotic searching soundscape that stresses the trio imaginative, collective interplay. “Somebody Else Should Be On That Bus” closes this impressive and too short album, only 33 minutes long, with a heavy bass and drum grind, the basis for Mollestad Thomassen's acrobatic solo.

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Hypercolor – Hypercolor (Tzadik, 2015) ***½

By Chris Haines

The music of Hypercolor is firmly rooted in heavy rock and contains a real aggression and attitude that this music demands.  The pieces on the album are of a composed nature, however, there is a looseness in the sounds produced that seems to be borrowing more from improvised music.

Although this should be of no surprise with the band comprised of Eyal Maoz (guitar), James Ilgenfritz (bass), Lukas Ligeti (percussion) and the varied influences that each of them bring to the project.

The album is kick-started by the industrious and energetic opener of Squeaks with it’s thundering but intricate toms intro from Ligeti, the raw and powerful riffage, giving way to pyrotechnic squeaks and squeals from Maoz, all being cemented together by Ilgenfritz’s solid bass line with punk rock demeanour.  A short punchy number that serves its purpose: to thrust the trio’s music into our conscious awareness and announce its arrival with gusto.  With Maoz’s skronking guitar well to the fore throughout the album it is with interest that he resembles Sonny Sharrock the most on the Lukas Ligeti penned track Ernesto, Do You Have A Cotton Box? due to the melody as much as his tone and phrasing. At times the music on the album reminds me of post-rock acts such as Trans Am, but also moves beyond that remit to give a fresh spin on instrumental rock music.

It appears that the bands rationale was to write complex arrangements for the pieces only to perform them with a more carefree and Dadaistic stance to create a hybrid between rock, no wave, and free improvising ideals.  It takes a while for it to really get its hooks in you but there is a natural blend between the written parts and the sections where the music moves into more improvised territory.  A brave and bold statement, not so much jazz-rock as rock-jazz.

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The Cellar and Point - Ambit (Cuneiform Records, 2014) ***½

By Chris Haines

OK, so this isn’t Jazz and it certainly isn’t a type of free music.  As part of Cuneiform Records latest set of releases, The Cellar and Point conjure up the sounds of avant-rock and chamber-rock style groups with similarities to bands such as Miriodor and Univers Zero.

Carefully composed pieces containing meticulously arranged musical lines which are rooted in the overall structure of the pieces weave an ornate and, at times, complex texture that is very colourful in sound with the resources of the septet being maximised to this full potential.  Irregular patterns and atonal melodies create interest but there is also a very accessible feel to this album as well.  The piece Arc being a good example of the latter, sounding like a slightly more beefy version of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, whilst Tabletop (a) with it’s heavy guitar, rock drumming and syncopated lines could be mistaken for a piece by the Italian progressive band Yugen.

Whilst it’s clear that the band exhibits a broad range of influences across the genres of avant-garde and experimental music it is interesting to note that the two cover versions on the album both come from the Classical Modernist movement.  Fünf Canons i, op.16 is a rather sombre and dirge-like instrumental re-working of Anton Webern’s composition, whilst György Ligeti’s piano piece Étude XV is treated to a much more sympathetic arrangement.

The Cellar and Point are: Joe Bergen (vibraphone), Christopher Otto (violin), Kevin McFarland (cello), Terrence McManus (electric guitar), Christopher Botta (acoustic guitar & banjo), Rufus Philpot (electric bass), and Joseph Branciforte (drums).

This is an ambitious and well-received debut from the group with much to enjoy.  If you cherish the sounds of the aforementioned avant-rock groups then there should be plenty for you to like about the music contained within Ambit.

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Led Bib – The People in Your Neighbourhood (Cuneiform, 2014) ***½

By Julian Eidenberger

Led Bib is usually considered a jazz-rock band, and while that’s a label that captures some aspects of the band’s sound, it is still a bit of a misnomer if not accompanied by further qualifications. Indeed, it’d take quite a bit of shoehorning to make the British quintet fit neatly into said pigeonhole: To begin with, there’s very little actual “rock” music to be found on The People in Your Neighbourhood (the band’s fifth full-length). Unlike many classic jazz-rock bands, Led Bib show an interest in jazz beyond Miles’ feverish Electric Jazz; nods to Modal Jazz, Bop and even Swing abound here, while the “rock” part of the equation is often only implied rather than acted out. This is also reflected in the band’s line-up: Instead of employing an electric guitar as lead instrument, the band features two alto saxophones on top of drums, double bass and keyboards. In the absence of this rock signifier par excellence, it’s up to the drums and keys to add a rock-ish feel to the proceedings.

This, of course, is not per se a problem, and the album really starts in a rather impressive way, with the first five cuts being particularly strong. Whether it’s the groovy, swinging New Teles, the kinetic This Roofus or the melodramatic Angry Waters – there’s hardly any reason to kvetch here. Finally, Recycling Saga caps off this impressive string of songs; it’s probably the highpoint of the entire album, moving slowly and elegantly towards a gorgeous conclusion, recalling Kind of Blue’s thought-out constructions in the process.

Unfortunately, though, The People in Your Neighbourhood is also an album that overstays its welcome; by the time Plastic Lighthouse comes on, the listener is already well-accustomed to the band’s modus operandi and starting to crave for some variation. In a way, one of the band’s greatest strengths – its sense of form – becomes its biggest weakness as the album nears its end; what seemed elegant in the beginning, starts to feel unwieldy and even bloated here. In general, the album’s second half lacks discord – in both the literal and figurative senses. There are hardly any “stumbling blocks” to break the routine and reawaken the listener’s interest. That being said, Orphan Elephants is – while short on surprises – nonetheless a strong way to end the record.

As it is, The People in Your Neighbourhood is a decent record, but it might’ve been a brilliant one had the band taken more chances.

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People - 3x a Woman: The Misplaced Files (Telegraph Harp, 2014) ***½

By Stefan Wood

"3xawoman" is the latest album by People, a group formed by guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Kevin Shea (of Mostly Other People Do the Killing).  Here, they are joined by bassist Kyle Forester and a brass section consisting of Peter Evans (trumpet), Sam Kulik (trombonist) and Dan Peck (tuba).

One would think that this group, given their pedigree, would be an exploration into jazz improvisation, but People is not about maintaining musical boundaries.  While the opening track, "Prolegomenon," essentially features only the brass players in an improvised chamber piece, the next track, "These Words Make Up the Lyrics of the Song," reveals a genre bending blend of alternative, punk, and free jazz, with Halvorson and Shea providing the hardcore elements offset by Evans, Kulik and Peck, who maintain a controlled and even temperament above the crushing din.  There is that dichotomy between the genres that inhabits the entire album, sometimes favoring jazz or improvisation, other times hardcore punk or math rock (pick your alternative subculture here). 

"What's So Woman About the Woman" is straight up punk, with Halvorson providing the low end rumble of the guitar and high end wailing vocals, with Shea just drilling his drum equipment to a pulp.  There's also a sense of humor throughout; a subversive send up of the alternative music from the past twenty five years.

The best track on the album, "The Lyrics Are Simultaneously About How The Song Starts and What the Lyrics are About," is a hilariously and fiendishly good showpiece for Halvorson and Shea, in a send up of the 60's classic "Madison Time," Shea literally lays out vocally the entire track, notifying time signature changes, structures, procedures, etc as if they were dance steps.  "Reinterpreting Confusing Lyrics To Popular Songs" is Shea wailing like Frank Black from the Pixies, incoherent, with acoustic guitar accompaniment.  The structure of the album also has a Minutemen "Double Nickels on the Dime" feel, with seven of the track at under 90 seconds, all of those concise sonic structures that rush into your listening experience and then abruptly leave. 

There are moments where the album settles a little too comfortably in the alternative music world -- "Interoperable Intertrigo" and "Piles for Miles" feel like they could have been pulled out from a Breeders album.  "3xawoman" is at its best as a subversive mashup, a sonic fun fest by seasoned musicians.

Recommended.

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Microwaves – Regurgitant Phenomena (New Atlantis, 2014) ***½

By Julian Eidenberger

In the case of noise-rock power trio Microwaves, the choice of subject matter is not completely arbitrary vis-à-vis their music. In other words, the band’s obsession with retro-futurism is reflected in the music itself, and not just something that provides the band with a more readily distinguishable “image.” For one thing, Microwaves make extensive use of a synthesizer, and there’s probably no other instrument today that is so closely and readily associated with the idea of an “outdated future.” Beyond that, the trio plays a style of music that could be called retro-futurist, as well – a style that was cutting-edge in bygone times. This remark, however, is not meant as disparagement; Rather, it is meant to call attention to the fact that the band’s main influences – 90’s noise-rock, 80’s hardcore-punk, late-70’s no wave and post-punk – are, in a way, timeless styles of music, styles that haven’t lost their edge and are therefore still futurist, albeit in a “retro-” kind of way. Those styles – or rather their best exponents – continue to be relevant, probably because “their future” – their potential – wasn’t fully realized in the past.

Regurgitant Phenomena is, then, a time capsule of sorts that brings back to life old, but still relevant sounds and ideas; As such, it shouldn’t be accused of regurgitating (pun intended) past styles. Most tracks here fly by in hardly over two minutes: They rely mostly on fast, punkish tempos, but frequently inject proggy time changes, too. Yet while tracks such as Drug Damage – which definitely bears a strong resemblance to cult favorites Dazzling Killmen – or Goonraker, which sports an angular guitar-synth hook, are certainly not without charms, the two longer tracks Dead Hand and Clone Parade, both of which last over six minutes, are probably the high points of the album, since they expand on the spacious, synth-heavy side of the band’s sound.

In sum, Regurgitant Phenomena is a rock-solid album that – while not particularly “jazzy” in the usual sense of the word – could and should appeal not only to adventurous rock fans, but to listeners accustomed to the more experimental side of jazz, as well. Don’t let this time capsule remain unopened.


Listen and buy from the label.

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Guitar Week: The Power Trio

Our guitar week enters it second day, this time checking out some recent 'power trio' efforts. There is something wonderfully elemental with the combination of the guitar, bass and drums delivering a pared back but typically power packed jazz/rock.

By Paul Acquaro

Nilsson/Fonda/Nilsson - Powers (Konnex, 2013) ****

Scandinavian guitarist, and current Brooklyn resident, Anders Nilsson has been creating some very interesting recording lately. Last year saw Kalabalik with fellow guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim and drummer Gerald Cleaver, as well as the dark and brooding solo album, Night Guitar.

This latest, Powers, features a power trio, with Peter Nilsson on drums and Joe Fonda on the upright bass is an exciting exploration of tightly wound jazz rock. Throughout, Nilsson's guitar unravels in dark snaky lines and tight total clusters. Fonda's bass and Nilsson's drums sound excellent as well, dry and crisp and to the point.

The crunchy beginning to the first song 'Powers' sets the tone for the album. In the background you can hear vocalizations for one of the musicians, spelling out the syncopations and rhythms undergirding the tunes, revealing that this must be a live in the studio recording. The energy is palpable. When we get to Nilsson's guitar solo (or rather perhaps it's still the main melody?) the tone is biting, the lines are clean, and the energy is high.

The second song, 'Tri-Cep', is a more open affair musicians exploring pushing different directions, indicating that this is not a one trick trio.

Dylan Ryan's Sand - Sky Bleached (Cuneiform, 2013) ****

The bassist on drummer Dylan Ryan's album is no stranger to the power trio. Devin Hoff, upright bassist for Nels Cline Singers is a powerful player whose driving lines support this fantastic organism. Indeed, the whole group group works together quite naturally. For example, the second tune, 'Barocco' begins with a bright and strong polyrythym from drummer and band leader Dylan Ryan. Hoff slips in between the accents and beats, filling spaces between the complex and buoyant grooves.

If drummer Ryan is this cell's nucleus, the cytoplasm is Timothy Young, who's guitar contributes to the overall harmonic gel of the group. His playing is not the flashy kind, but more in the style of say Nels Cline or Ben Monder (I'm thinking of Monder's album Dust right now).  His work on a song like 'Psychic Jouney' is a study in texture and tension. Giving way from simple melody to a crushing chordal crescendo, it's a powerful song that eschews flash for substance. The follow up track 'Mayan Sun' is a brief sonic improv that is tough but accessible. 'Time Stalkers' has a sound and feel reminiscent of Bill Frisell's work with the Ginger Baker Trio.

The rather dark monstrous metal riffs that kick off 'White Magic' morph quickly into shards of dangling melodic lines. The rhythm section pounds out the surf beat until the opening bass lines of the closing 'White Nights' change the mood drastically.

Overall, a really exciting album and an introduction to a new group from which I hope to hear more.

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Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz : Abraxas: The Book Of Angels Vol. 19 (Tzadik, 2012) ****

By Paul Acquaro

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz's interpretations of John Zorn's second Masada book is a raucous one that is full of energy and urgency. In fact, the Tzadic website describes it well as the "most primal and tribal installments in the Book of Angels series"

This power quartet of sorts is Blumenkranz on the gimbri - a bass-like instrument from Morocco, Aram Bajakian and Eyol Maoz on very electric guitars, and Kenny Grohowski on drums. Sharing in some of the energy and rawness of Marc Ribot's Asmodeus, Abraxas devilishly mixes the dark klezmer melodies and rhythms with full on free-punk-jazz energy.

However, it would be quite wrong to lump the whole affair under a label like punk, which can suggest a certain well worn consistency. Songs like 'Yassreil' is atmospheric and mysterious, 'Muriel' blistering, and the 'Nahuriel' begins with a prog-rock like set of riffs before devolving into a whorl of distorted guitar. Suffice to say, at the tunes all have their own identity within an approach that is insidiously infectious.

Perhaps the relative simplicity of the gimibri could be seen as the core of the recording. It has three strings, one of which is a drone, and overall lends itself well to the looping bass lines of the songs. It is from these lines that Bajakian and Maoz spin feral melodies and Grohowski pushes them along deftly, like on 'Nachmiel', which starts with a comfortable melody and soon evolves into a multilayered free-rock affair.

There is a certain consistency to the music, there is a certain amount of cohesion that connects this book of songs, and there is a wonderful contrast between the delicately melodic and thrillingly thrashing.

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Ross Hammond - Revival Trio (self released, 2012) ***½

By Paul Acquaro

Consider me a fan of Ross Hammond's earthy tone and free but 'composed' approach. I first heard the Californian guitarist when I had a chance to review the free-jazz-rock  Adored this past winter. This new release, which is a document of a recent but now dormant project, The Revival Trio finds Hammond exploring African music, but still well within the aforementioned jazz-rock -- or maybe even jazz/folk-rock -- framework.

As Hammond explains, the impetus of the project was simply a desire to explore "African-influenced improv music -- a’la Abdullah Ibrahim, Ali and Vieux Farka Toure, Boubacar Traore and a few others." This combined with his own accessible and organic approach makes for an enjoyable aesthetic, which can sort of be described as a more muscular approach to the style that Bill Frisell touched on with his Intercontinentals.

Starting with the tune 'Ali' where a repetitive rhythmic line gives way to a powerful improvised melody, to the building intensity of "Littlepants" and "All Our Dogs", this group demonstrates its adeptness with African styles, while staying true to their own musical approach. Bassist Shawn Hale and drummer Vanessa Cruz are integral to the interweaving of the sinewy melodies and flowing rhythms.

Overall, the recording isn't quite as varied as Adored, but it is a compelling and quite satisfying listen. It's exciting to hear how musically adventurous this trio was, and while this group may not exist any longer, I'm sure something else will spring up in its place, perhaps building on the groundwork laid.

Listen and download at: http://rosshammond.bandcamp.com/album/revival-trio

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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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Elephant9 with Reine Fiske - Atlantis (Rune Grammofon, 2012) ****

By Paul Acquaro

A few weeks ago I caught up with some slightly older releases, finally getting to Elephant9's 2011 release Live at the BBC. Upon posting, I had no idea that this new studio album was dropping, and like a sudden blast of refreshing Nordic air, the latest Elephant9 made an unexpected and most welcome arrival.

However, before I go any further, I cannot help but ask the question: How can you make a good thing, like Live at the BBC, even better? 

It seems that if you're Elephant9 and have had a good run of albums mining the early canon of jazz-rock, notably Weather Report and Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, the answer, it seems, is by adding Swedish guitarist Reine Fiske to the mix and amping up the intensity. 

'Black Hole' kicks off the album with a short staccato burst of percussion and then a full bodily plunge into driving rhythm and heavy Hammond organ. It seems to a signal a new darker and more powerful musical attitude. A tense energy builds in the tunes, leveling the ground around them and building a new coruscating landscape. 

When it comes to the added guitarist, Fiske is as much a texturist as a soloist. He's shaping sounds, he's blending into and thickening the melodies and harmonies, and he's adding arching solo passages. Even on the more ephemeral atmosphere of the introduction to 'The Riddler' and the title track 'Atlantis', he blends seamlessly with Ståle Storløkken's keyboards, coloring and accentuating. His guitar has quickly become an integral voice in the group. 

Overall, the sound of this recording seems a bit heavier and at the same time bit more spacious than the earlier two albums, which was a direction hinted at on the live album. Nikolai Eilertsen's bass lines and Torstein Lofthus' drum work are as solid as ever and Storløkken's keyboards cover a huge sonic range. Well into prog-rock territory but still deeply rooted in jazz improvisation, the songs are not so much mind-blowing intricately assembled odd-metered vignettes, but bedrock for the textures and improvisations on top. Atlantis is a welcome addition to the Elephant9 discography. 

© stef

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CHROMB! (self released, 2011) ***

By Martin Schray

The first thing that strikes you is the cover by Benjamin Flao. Drawn in the tradition of Japanese mangas four train wagons are flying through the air like toys, coming straight at you. There has obviously been an explosion, maybe a terrorist attack. The place reminds of the suburbs of an Asian metropolis like Mumbai or Ho Chi Minh City. A record with such a cover could be interesting.

The second thing is the breakbeat in the first track Il l’a fait avec sa soeur. It comes totally surprising and it is laid over the saxophone and an extremely distorted bass. Already here the references of the music are proudly displayed in the sunlight: London based drum and bass sounds of the late 1990s (remember Goldie and Roni Size?), heavy rock á la early Soundgarden, John Zorn’s Naked City and his soundtrack albums, Giora Feidman’s klezmer, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Prog Rock the way bands like Rush played it. Amazingly you find everything in one track as if all these people were composing and playing together.

In fact it is a really young French band from Lyon we are listening to: CHROMB! is Camille Durieux (keyboards, piano, electronics), Guillaume Gestin (drums), Lucas Hercberg (bass, electronics), and Antoine Mermet (alto sax, electronics, vocals) and – at least to my knowledge – this is their first album.

Most of their music seems to be notated, there are strict harmonic structures but the solos are freely improvised. The songs sway between pure John Zorn lunacy in Apocalypso in which the saxophone screams and yells wildly over bass/keyboards riffs in unison and postmodern elegance in Des Lombrics which is based on a sick electronic big band sample that could have been on the latest Portishead album. The album literally fades away with Maloyeuk, an ill-bred Prog Rock monolith full of electronic effects, which reminds me of bands like Neu! or even the Residents. Maloyeuk also includes a hidden bonus track in which the musicians are just shouting and screaming like mad animal in the zoo.

So why only three stars? Sometimes the Prog Rock elements go simply too far, the band pushes the boundaries here. Especially in Tu es ma pause dejeuner there is too much Fender Rhodes jingle, there are too many layers of quirky synthesizers and the vocals are definitely over the top. Here the bands sounds like the ugly side of Deep Purple or even like Yes. This becomes even worse in Atmosphere 4014, a mediocre futuristic pop song suffering from candied Eighties high pitched vocoder vocals.

My advice for the future: Take them under your wings, John Zorn, and sign them for Tzadik. They are talented musicians and they have some of your weird humor as well. But they need some guidance.

The album is available on the band’s website on vinyl, CD and as a download.

Listen to the whole thing here: http://soundcloud.com/chromb


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Beninghove's Hangmen (2012) ****½

Reviewed by Joe

If you've been wondering what to put on at your latest party, or just looking for some good time music which isn't schmaltzy type slick R'n'B, or Lady Gaga, then look no further here's Beninghove's Hangmen. In fact just at the moment when you were wondering what could possible fit in between your John Zorn, Shock Headed Peters (*), The Lounge Lizards, Nino Rota and 3-Mustafa-3 records along comes this fine raunchy band lead by naturally Brian Beninghove, a saxophonist with a mission, or so it looks like if you check out his website. Here he's following up on a sort of retro music that mixes film noir, punk, rock-a-billy and of course a slice of jazz. It's a great mixture of 'genres' which as I mentioned earlier is easily digested in plenty of situations, and like John Zorn's vision of the world of film noir and all that surrounded it Brian Beninghove obviously knows his references in this style. The album comes across as a suite, although I don't know if this is intentional, as the tunes don't link up or segue into each other, it's more a matter of coherence in the writing style that produces this effect. The tune's titles say much about the music and it's stylistic references, with names such as 'The Puppet-master', 'Tarantino (tarantella)'  or 'Jack Miller'(**) one can't miss the film, pulp fiction or comic book references.

To add to all this excitement is the fine sax playing of Bryan Beninghove who plays some splendidly screaming solos, completely in tune with the atmosphere of the music. The other players are no slouches either with some excellent guitar playing from either Dane Johnson or Eyal Maoz ... yes there's two guitarists, so whilst one is holding down the fort the other one gets a chance to rock (***). Both guitarists really let rip, balancing rocking chord player with feedback or raunchy distorted solos that risk taking your head off. It's nice to hear the blend between the various instruments, there's no ultra long sleep inducing solos, not on the album at least, just interventions with plenty of punch delivered at just the right moments. The front line of sax and trombone (the excellent Rick Parker) keep a good balance between pastiche and modern jazz when playing melodies such as Xopo (tk 2) a klezmer/Greek/Bulgarian horo type theme. Or Sushi Tango (tk 7) with it's retro melody which moves into party mode in the middle before returning to the serious elegance of the initial tango. In fact all the tunes have something on offer, Mingus like jubilance Roadhouse (tk 11) and even a ballad (of sorts) which signs off the album Film Sketch 1 (tk 12). There's not much to add really, if you like plenty of punchy music mixed in with fine themes that conjure up other worlds, real or invented, then try this one. Remember one more important thing ..... PLAY LOUD!

Where can you find it? I'm not sure if you can buy a hard copy, but you can download it from here at their Bandcamp site.

* = Do they still exist?

** = I guess this is John Jack Miller the crime writer, or maybe it was the screen writer who wrote some Tex Avery screen plays, or was it Jack Miller of DC comics fame?
*** = If you enjoy two guitar format, and especially something with plenty of hard rocking energy and sophistication, then don't miss out on an excellent Canadian band - Fond of Tigers. Highly Recommended!

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Neneh Cherry and The Thing: The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound,2012) *****

By Martin Schray

Let’s be honest: we all adored 17-year-old Neneh Cherry in 1981 when she showed up with post punk/avant-garde jazz group Rip, Rig and Panic. And we loved the sight of an eight months pregnant Neneh performing her smash hit “Buffalo Stance” on Top Of The Pops. It was unforgettable, it was bold, it was provocative and it was sexy. However, after her top ten hit “Seven Seconds” with Youssou N’Dour in 1994 she somehow disappeared from mainstream radars (although she continued making music with projects like cirKus).

18 years later she is really back. And this is not the typical legendary-pop-queen-returns-after-time-out-with-jazz-standards comeback album. Why not? Because she has teamed up with the Scandinavian hardcore avantgarde madmen The Thing (who named their band after a composition by Neneh’s stepfather Don Cherry) to play punk, hiphop and jazz covers including songs by artists as different as The Stooges, Suicide, MF Doom, Martina Topley-Bird, Ornette Coleman or Don Cherry.

Even if this sounds random, it is a coherent collection about the question how you can survive as a human being in a basically hostile society. Therefore it makes sense that the underlying musical pattern is the blues. You can feel it in Martina Topley-Bird’s song “To Tough to Die”, which starts with Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten playing a heavy blues riff on the bass, then Mats Gustafsson penetrates the song with another riff on the saxophone supporting the bass. When Cherry starts singing you can feel her anger about the situation: “Seven states away/they're doin'/the strange fruit swing (…) It's in their eyes/It's unspoken/Don't even know they're out to do you harm.” It’s not the only reminiscence of Billie Holiday on the album.

Another statement is made in MF Doom’s really gloomy “Accordion” where Cherry shows her hip-hop qualities. The refrain says “Keep your glory, gold and glitter/For half of his niggaz'll take him out the picture/The other half is rich and don't mean shit-ta”. This is the way it is, most of the people don’t need the superficial tsatske the entertainment industry offers, they need better living conditions, a more human life.

But what can we do in this bleak situation? The answer the album provides is dreaming, burning, and fighting back. In Suicide’s original of “Dream Baby Dream” Alan Vega’s lyrics are set against Martin Rev’s icy cold electronic riffs, you can feel Vega’s anger, his desperation when he is growling and bellowing out the words. It is not an open revolt, it is a retreat, a private revolution against the world, against politics, against economy. However, Cherry and The Thing interpret the song as a struggle against evil forces in general. Paal Nilssen-Love beats on his toms and so he makes the original computer beat slower and darker, singling out its African roots. What already starts as a utopian idyllic version of the world reaches its peak when it is taken to a higher level by Gustafsson’s boisterous, menacing saxophone yearning and shrieking and battling against a brave Cherry – who wins in the end. It is – despite its abrasive approach - a really optimistic view of the world, a real encouraging ending after all the fights and dangers. This is the choice you have.

Dreaming is also the central metaphor in The Stooges’ “Dirt”. The song starts with this incredible rock riff and Cherry is almost flirting with the band’s harsh style singing “I'm just  dreaming this life/And do you feel it?/Said do you feel it when you touch me?” before they move on to free jazz pastures, a perfect storm made of whirling electronics, voice, saxophone, drums and bass.

There are also two original pieces – Neneh Cherry’s “Cashback” and Mats Gustafsson’s “Sudden Movement” – and a reverberating version of Don Cherry’s “Golden Heart” before the album closes with Ornette Coleman’s “What Reason (could I give)”, another awesome blues track on which Cherry sounds like a modern Billie Holiday and where you can hear a really tender Gustafsson. The song offers a final possibility to deal with life’s miseries - love. When Cherry sings What reason could I give/Only that I love you/How many times must I die/ Oh Lord, only when I’m without you I am literally down on my knees. This definitely will be in my top three at the end of the year.

Highly recommended.

Buy from Instantjazz.


Watch “Accordion” here:



Listen to ”Dream Baby Dream“ here:


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Jazz Free - A Connective Improvisation (There Records, 2012) ****

By Paul

'Jazz Free: A Connective Improvisation' seems to have come out of nowhere. There is very little information about it online (as of this writing), though there is brief mention of it on Weasel Walter's website, indicating that it was to be released soon ... but with such an all-star cast of musicians, I am simply glad that it has appeared.

If you believe in packaging, what little there is for this album says that it's 'certified 100% jazz free', a subtle but meaningful switch of the words. The music within is improvised rock with even a bit of country twang thrown in. There are liberal sprinklings of electronics and free percussion which adds complexity and texture, but it's more or less a straight ahead improvised rock affair.

With avant-garde guitarist Henry Kaiser on board along with Cline and Walter, I was expecting a more 'out there' affair, but I'm just as pleased to delve into this guitar driven jam session. Rounding out the group is guitarist Jim Thomas and bassist Allen Whitmen from the psychedelic rock group The Mermen, whose group's name is a reference to Hendrix's "1983, A Merman I Should Turn to Be." This aspect is probably most descriptive of the type of music that this session produced.

I wouldn't classify this one as groundbreaking, but it's a hell of a lot of fun and there are some really great moments of synergistic blistering and bliss. I would not doubt that this album is the aural stepping stone that some rock listeners need to suddenly find themselves possessing the urge to delve further and further into the unknown.

Good summertime listening indeed.

Available through eMusic, iTunes, etc.

© stef

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Aaron Novik - Secret of Secrets (Tzadik, 2012) ****½

By Paul 

It's about half way into the first song 'Secrets of Creation (khoisdl)' on Aaron Novik's Secret of Secrets and after a long classically influenced passage, the strings have interlocked with the keyboards in a dark and moving groove that makes me feel like I'm discovering an unknown chamber in my soul. The sounds takes on an earthy hue and I can feel my heart being pulled from my corporeal being as the strings draw the song up to a tight finish.        

Now prepared, I embrace the powerful entrance to 'The Divine World (terkish)'. The persistent and powerful rock like intro is a multi- layered affair with a klezmer melody atop a weighty rhythm played by the strings. The guitar contributes a swirling line over the dark and churning tempest below, until the strings soon help usher in the next movement and lighten the whole affair with a folk tinged melody.

Throughout the recording, rhythms, countermelody, and complex harmonic movements that reveal great attention to detail and thoughtful construction. While Novik's compositional approach has yielded  lucrative results, his talented cast of musicians really help bring these compositions to life. Novik plays electric clarinet and his group is Matthias Bossi on drums, Cornelius Boots playing the utterly fantastic robot bass clarinet, Carla Kihlstedt on electric violin, Willie Winant on percussion like the timpani, vibraphone, glockenspiel, gong, and tubular bells and Fred Frith on guitar. He also features Bay Area guests Ben Goldberg on contra-alto clarinet, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and Aaron Kierbel on dumbek. The Real Vocal String Quartet and Mafia Brass help round out the contributers.  

Besides the strong musicianship and intriguing song development, there is a third element to the album, which is its inspiration. The album is built around mysticism and reference to 12th century Kabbalistic writings (for a more in depth explanation I refer you to Eyal Hareuveni's excellent review). Suffice to say, I am simply listening to this dark and stirring album as just that, a dark, stirring and electrically charged album, though I'm sure an understanding of its roots and inspiration could shine in some light while deepening other shadows.    

A fantastic work that draws on elements of classical, jazz, rock and electronics to great effect. Certainly worth checking out!

Check out an excerpt here:

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Bushman's Revenge - A Little Bit of Big Bonanza (Rune Grammophone, 2012) ****

By Paul Acquaro

I've enjoyed listening to albums by the Norwegian power trio Bushman's Revenge over the past couple years, but their latest offering is the most impressive by far. 'A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza' is a powerful collection of tunes, that while downright heavy at times, also seems to be constructed with a little more attention to dynamics and composition than previous offerings.

The album kicks off with the appropriately melodic 'As We Used to Sing', a Sonny Sharrock tune whose almost hummable melody is unpinned with some fierce drumming and fine fuzz bass. Then there is 'John Lennon is The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived' which features finger picked acoustic guitar, a melody driven by descending bass notes, and a delicate brush pattern on the drums. It is reminiscent of the Nels Cline Singers and the inclusion of Gard Nilssen's vibraphone is a key element.

A little after half way into the album things really begin to open up. '4E73' features a spacious arpeggiated melody underpinned by sonic textures that hint vaguely at sage brush and prairie, and it slowly swells into 'Tinnitus Love Poem' which has become one of my favorite tracks. It follows an evocative emotional arc as the guitar builds, bends and breaks your heart.

But worry not, while they may have briefly shown a subtler side, tunes like 'Iron Bloke' and 'Hent Tollekniven Ivar Det Har Stranda En Hval' are hard driving affairs. Replete with churning baselines and driving riffs, Even Helte Hermansen's guitar is incisive and cutting, Rune Nergaard's bass line is insistent and Nilssen's drums pulsate strong and free.

Overall, the songs and playing here feels a little more considered and varied than past recordings. While not jazz, the complex free rhythms and improvisational approach give this music a complexity and sophistication that goes beyond rock or metal as well. On the heavier side, but well worth a listen.

You can download the mp3 version from eMusic, and note that there is a companion LP called "Never Mind the Botox" which is available from Rune Grammophone.

© stef

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Bogdo Ula - Prisoners of Freedom (self-released, 2011) ****

By Paul Acquaro

Somewhat reminiscent of Terje Rypdal's more rock oriented work, the Finnish power trio Bogdo Ula creates soaring sonic tapestries that showcase the power of near telepathic interplay. Entirely based on group improvisation, the trio works so well together that they create spontaneous music that could very well pass for composed songs.

Throughout, guitarist Samuli Kristian spins a rich blend of searing melodic leads and dense angular harmonies. While the melodies ride, drive and collide with the rhythm generating friction and intensity, his electric guitar shimmers and glides, filling an immense amount of space. Co-creators Drummer Ivan Horder and bassist Jean Ruin are each just as responsible for the energy and textures that emerge from these soundscapes. The songs often can conjure mental images akin to the majesty and distance embodied on the album's cover image of deep blue tinged mountains in the clouds.

Though some of Rypdal's work (in particular his output with the Chasers in the early 1980s) is a point of reference, 'Prisoners of Freedom' has very much its own sound. On the opening 'Lava Flow' and the following 'Songs from the Moonbog', the interplay is instantaneous and tight and the collective sense of melody is uncanny. Eschewing the majestic leads of the aforementioned songs, 'My Heart is On My Sleeve' is a real highlight. The song builds with actions and reactions between the musicians. Fleet runs on the fretboard and brief chordal accents are held together captivatingly by the rhythm section.

The group sticks to a DIY approach, selling their music via iTunes, eMusic and CDBaby (check their website for links). They have several albums currently available, and it seems that it was only recently, on the previous album 'Charge', that they brought in Ruin on bass. Though a little more on the rock end of the spectrum, appreciators of harder edged jazz-rock like Scorch Trio or Blixt should check it out.

Listen here:

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