Sol Sol – Unaccustomed Soil (Signal And Sound Records, 2019) ****

By Gustav Lindqvist

The small Swedish label Signal And Sound Records releases their sixth album; Unaccustomed Soil with the newly formed quartet Sol Sol. This one was recorded in the famous Swedish studio Atlantis by the legendary Janne Hansson, and there’s a soft and smooth sound that flows through my headphones as I see the sun set as I go for an evening stroll in a city far away, listening to this for the first time.
But first something about the personnel on this album.

Elin Forkelid (formerly Larsson) is a reedswoman that you should immediately put on your radar. Similar to Anna Högberg, who we have covered and interviewed here on FJB, Forkelid’s got a tone and style that will go from sugary sweet to razorsharp and from joyful to drenched in tears, in seconds. She moves effortless through different styles as she plays the different horns. On FJB she’s most recently mentioned as a member of Anna Högberg Attack , but I would like to recommend checking out the albums she released with her group Elin Larsson Group too.

David Stackenäs on guitar is a seasoned artist who’s played in the Lina Nyberg Band, The Ägg and Seval just to mention a few groups -but also solo, most recently on the Clean Feed release Acoustic Guitars.

Mauritz Agnas on bass – not to be confused with his brother Konrad Agnas (who can be heard on Orakel, and on the five-star album De Långa Rulltrapporna I Flemingsberg), can be heard on Agnas Bros on which Mauritz plays with his three brothers, but also together with drummer Sebastian Voegler and trumpeter Thomas Caudery on the 2018 release Gröndal.

Last but not least, drummer Anna Lund, who like Forkelid plays with Anna Högberg Attack. She can also be heard with her own group on the album Hurrakel from 2017.

There’s a nod to maqam, a wink to hard bop, a wave to free jazz and a dance with the standards. The album starts with the slow-paced title track Unaccustomed Soil. It’s a soft start that searches for ways in and ways out. Both Stackenäs and Forkelid follow each other up, up, up to where the air is thin. Stackenäs somewhat reminds me of Mary Halvorson and it blends well with Forkelid’s lyrical way of playing.

Lund and Agnas seems to enjoy each other’s company as they gently travel together through the songs. Lund travels outwards and back, across and above Agnas. On Our Mobile Home a cool lounge beat is accompanied by Forkelid who at first seems to just enjoy the ride, but soon drifts away to the place where she clearly has a lot to say. And as Agnas, Stackenäs and Lund keeps cool, Forkelid has a sense of urgency and a deep need to finish what she came for. And then we’re back on the beat. There’s that middle eastern vibe again. This is music for the mind and for the soul.
Unaccustomed Soil is a balance act between the composed and the free. It’s Scandinavian Noir, it’s the summer that disappeared without a warning, it’s the sun going down. It’s the scavenger hunt, it’s the happy moments but also the cracked mirror.

I like Sol Sol absolutely best on Gotta Get Out where the Lunds easy going and relaxed beat is spread wide across the sound stage and Forkelid drops the gauntlet and just lets her horn scream! But I really enjoy hearing Stackenäs back there, not hidden in the mix, but just a little bit lower. It provides a vibe that Forkelid can use to bounce free form against. Stackenäs takes over the scene and has cut-off notes

On the final song Valparaiso Stackenäs gives us a James Taylor-esque introduction and then a soft and sweet melody ends a beautiful album that gives me hope, and a smile on my face. Sometimes walls mustn’t come down completely. Sometimes balance is good. And sometimes the world just needs some good music.

Unaccustomed Soil will be released on April 13 and can be purchased on Signal And Sound website, I’m told the webshop will be opened soon; - Signal And Sound. You can also listen to a little bit of the album here:

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Trapper Keaper - Meets Tim Berne and Aurora Nealand (ears&eyes Records, 2019) ****

By Nick Ostrum

I caught half of this quartet live a few months ago. Tim Berne, a musician I had strangely never seen during my years in greater New York, headlined, accompanied by some local musicians. One of these was Aurora Nealand. Although Berne was amazing, I was already expecting big things from him. Nealand was the real discovery of the night. She played accordion, electronics, vocals, plastic cup, sax, chain, and, quite likely, a few other objects I am forgetting. She was responsive (as was Berne and the bassist that night, James Singleton). And, she converted simple colloquial sounds – the crushing of a plastic cup, the rattling of a can, the scrape of a chain, the howl of a voice – into a rich tapestry of sound that simultaneously felt playful and serious.

With that night in mind, I was pleased to come across Trapper Keaper Meets Time Berne and Aurora Nealand. Trapper Keaper is a New Orleans “space-funk duo” featuring Marcello Benetti on drums and Will Thompson on keys. On this recording, Berne contributes his sax and Nealand, her aforementioned bag of tricks.

The first track, the aptly titled “Boom,” begins with Nealand’s wailing vocals, soon accompanied by a driving dance beat and Berne’s soulful lamentations. This track is brief but evokes a surprisingly refreshing combination of Water Babies-era Miles and contemporary electronica. Already, the listener can deduce they are in for a wild ride through a series of layered and fragmented, but almost danceable and pervasively energetic sound-worlds. Tracks such as “Unidentified Flying Objection” is slower and softer than the first two pieces – though energy and tension burgeon beneath the surface - and features sax hummings and mutterings, vocalized melodies, and Trapper Keaper’s fragmented grooves. Subsequent tracks fluctuate between a manic energy and the rich textures. At times, the latter pieces approach ECM-styled production (albeit with a little more vigor) as Berne lays down smoky, downtown phrasings, Trapper Keaper drive the rhythm with their contorted rhythms and pitter-patter drums, and Nealand contributes everything from yowls to amplified chain-rattles to manipulated bubble-sounds. “Flame Among the Ashes” is a richly textured exploration of stilted psychedelia, that evokes Branford Marsalis’ work with the Grateful Dead. And, just when it feels like the music is getting too loungey, the music shifts to more abstract and entropic territory. The final piece, “Amarcord (Fellini Memories),” begins with a solitary whistle, then a soft, hummed lullaby. Sax squeals, bird chirps, spacey electronics soon fade in, followed by a bluesy saxophone and a sparse, muted drum. This is one of the least intense tracks on the album. It is also the most curious, directed, and haunting.

This is not normally the type of album I would seek out. That said, I am glad I gave this one a chance. Although a few tracks seem to end before they begin, these pieces are overall compelling and, when taken together, cohesive. Cheers to Trapper Keaper, Berne, and Nealand for pulling this off so well.

The album releases in CD and digital formats on April 12th

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Claudia Solal, Katherine Young, Tomeka Reid, Benoit Delbecq - Antichamber Music (The Bridge Sessions, 2019) **½

By Keith Prosk

This particular bridge between the French and American improvising communities joins Claudia Solal (voice) and Benoit Delbecq (piano) with Tomeka Reid (cello) and Katherine Young (bassoon, effects) for 9 tracks across 39 minutes. Solal and Delbecq have not recorded together previously but have a duo due out (at the time of this writing) later this year on RogueArt. Reid and Young have recorded together on Anthony Braxton’s Trillium E and Trillium J operas as well as a reversed transcription of Black Sabbath’s “Into the Void” performed by a 10-piece jazz orchestra called From Beyond. This is the first time the French and American players have recorded together.

The words on this recording are from James Joyce’s Chamber Music, a collection of 36 love poems known for their accessible lyricism, facilitating their frequent use in music. For the Antichamber Music project, the poems aren’t necessarily used in order of the collection, or in full, or even linearly. They can be sung, spoken, or perhaps just intimated. This freedom in choice of material allows Solal to improvise along with the musicians. The project appears to have specific goals, of associated timbres, imaginary quartets and scores, threads, a breadth and bridging of genres, but the information surrounding it is so vague that it seems like it really just stems from a desire to explore the interaction of improvised narrative with improvised instrumentation.

The narrative definitely dominates the interaction. The voice is loud in the mix. Solal might wait for space or allow space but there is very little communication from voice to instrument except for the “mmm-mmms” and “ooohs” mimicking the cello and bassoon in “O Cool is the Valley Now/Sweet Imprisonment;” more often than not, Reid and Young will react and briefly harmonize with Solal, or Delbecq will match her cadence. Except for some some “mmms” and “ooohs” on the aforementioned track and “Forget me Not,” the voice is completely narrative with no extended technique and sung or spoken in a kind of sultry lounge style with no affectation reflecting the content of the material or fragmentation of it. The music bubbling beneath the voice is often sparse and austere, reminding me of Maneri/Maneri/Phillips or the chamber music of Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa. Delbecq has a glassy, delicate, shimmering style until he reaches inside the piano to create a sound closer to mallet instruments (or strum a few beautiful glissandos). Reid appears to move through this space most comfortably, playing arco, plucking, or drumming the body with her fingers like rain on bamboo and readily communicating with every member of the quartet. Young seems particularly restrained on this recording, but her playing is simultaneously soulful, jarring, romantic. The music is bewitching, yet its potential feels unrealized as it must more often play around the voice than with it. “O Cool is the Valley Now/Sweet Imprisonment” and “Forget me Not” are good tracks, and the first and last minutes of the release are sublime, with many glimpses of beauty in between.

Antichamber Music is available digitally and on CD.

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Rouba 3i + Tony Buck live at Borderline Festival (Athens, April 5 th, 2019)

Rouba 3i + Tony Buck

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos


Borderline Festival, now in its 9^th year, is a commodity for Athens. Only a handful of people are willing and able to pay the expenses so that musicians, of any kind of adventurous music, can come to Greece and perform. It is a pity that for the past couple of years the festival seems to be turning its back to free jazz and free improv music in favor of building a more “contemporary” image for itself. Thankfully for the financial wealth of Onassis Cultural Center, prices are low, allowing many people to get to know artists and performers that in many other cases they would not.

This year saw Borderline collaborating with another important festival of Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Irtijal. Forging relationships is always the best thing to do when it comes to any kind of social behavior. It would be far more important, though, if these bonds would stand not only for and from the music. We live in an area shattered by wars (not only in Syria), baffled by the oppression against the Palestinian people. We are watching, thousand by thousands, refugees with no papers trying to flee war and oppression from all over this sea. I really would be much happier if all those were to be reminded (in any way) throughout the festival’s venues and actions. The only implication from this collaboration is that music brings people together and smashes borders. Thankfully it does.
The occasion of this collaboration is another fruitful proof of the above. Although it seems like an antithesis to talk about music from Lebanon while two thirds of the Rouba 3i (I’m not exactly sure about Sharif Sehnaoui) live outside Lebanon. Their trio with The Necks drummer, Tony Buck, was a gig to catch. As you can clearly see, their positioning on stage had the warmth of a friendly occasion. Seated very close to each other, the four musicians produced a unified sound with no solos. Their playing was cohesive interaction during the (must say we wanted more) forty minutes they performed.

Everybody’s approach was the one of collective improvisation. Christine Abdelnour’s sax lines and notes were long and sustained, keeping her instrument on the verge on inaudibility. The same cannot be said for Mazen Kerbaj’s trumpet, an instrument that is gradually becoming more and more percussive in his hands and mouth. Sharif Sehnaoui’s gentle approach to his acoustic guitar added flair to their, sometimes, low timbre and rugged audio results. Even though it’s contradictory to talk about individuals on this set, Buck’s playing was a joy to see and listen to. His use of almost everything in keeping the rhythm of this rhythmless (sic) performance, made me even more frustrated by not having caught The Necks live yet…

They achieved a continuous flow through their set and this is never easy. The quartet’s performance was palpable with small improvisational gestures. Everybody was eager, willing and able to leave room for the others, while, at the same time, their overall performance was always energetic. I was left with the impression that this fluidity of means and noises needed more time to breathe and most importantly to present its fruits.

@ koultouranafigo

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Free Jazz Festival Saarbrücken

By Martin Schray

For the fourth time, Stefan Winkler and his team succeeded in organising an exquisite free jazz festival in Saarbrücken (located on Germany’s border to France and Luxembourg). Last year they were supported by the Bundesstiftung Kultur with 20,000 Euros and there was a feature article in the big German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, which also drew attention to the festival. This year, it was more difficult to raise money because the federal funding was cancelled and local and private donors had to secure the financing. There were also other imponderables to overcome in the run-up to the event. First of all, the Lithuanian guitarist Juozas Milašius had to cancel his  appearance in a duo with Sabir Mateen. However, the festival organizers were quickly able to find a very suitable replacement with Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopez. But when two days before the festival start Charles Gayle had to be hospitalized, it became difficult*. The fact that the FMP legend Michel Pilz could be engaged for the festival program spontaneously speaks for the improvisational talent of the organizers, because the actual motto of the festival (“Celebrating the 80th birthday of Charles Gayle, Trevor Watts & Joe McPhee“) could at least partly be salvaged - Pilz is actually already 83.

As always, the festival began with some preliminary events, among others with the wind quartet of Nils Fischer (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, double bass clarinet), Hartmut Oßwald (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Frank Paul Schubert (soprano and alto saxophone) and Andreas Krennerich (sopranino, soprano and baritone saxophone), and the NuBand, the quartet around the legendary 83-year-old saxophonist Mark Whitecage, with Joe Fonda (bass), Lou Grassi (drums), and Thomas Heberer (trumpet).

Trevor Watts quartet

The festival properly began on April 5th with Trevor Watts' quartet with Veryan Westan (piano) and the rhythm twins John Edwards (bass) and Mark Sanders (drums). And to anticipate it: the first concert was already one of the highlights of the festival. In addition, a leitmotif of the presented music became clear, namely the eventful playing with intensities. Watts' quartet intensified their improvisation just to let it go again, something which happened almost imperceptibly. Above all, Mark Sanders was the driving force here, he almost playfully shifted up a gear and then back again. Watts, on the other hand, was leading the improvisation towards small highlights that worked like cliffhangers - the audience was always curious to see where the whole thing would go. Even quiet passages were extremely intense because the rhythm section literally disassembled the melodic and harmonic material. Especially Edwards’s springy double pizzicati (he plays them on the upper and lower part of the bass neck simultaneously) harmonized excellently with Westan's tonal clusters and Watts' squeezed runs. The whole set resembled an accumulation of mass, which was then taken apart again. Here, European Free Jazz tradition became transparent, capturing a state of the art moment of music situated between new classical musical influences and traditional free jazz.

Luis Lopez (g) and Sabir Mateen (s) 

Next on the agenda were Sabir Mateen and Luis Lopez. Before the concert started it was almost sad to see that Mateen is almost completely blind and depends on help with orientation. However, while playing there’s hardly anything to be noticed, he still has an impressive power. At the beginning of their set Lopez reflected Mateen's blues- and gospel-soaked runs with isolated chords. The juxtaposition of elegance and monotony worked well, only towards the end, when Lopez switched to Thurston-Moore-like sounds including the use of extended techniques, the tension eased.

Michel Pilz (b cl),  Stefan Scheib (b), Frank Paul Schubert (s),and Klaus Kugel (d)

The day ended with a newly arranged quartet with the aforementioned Michel Pilz (bass clarinet), Frank Paul Schubert (saxophone), local bassist Stefan Scheib, and Klaus Kugel (drums). Pilz and Kugel already had a trio with Christian Ramond on bass (there is a CD from 2003), but haven't played together for a long time. Nevertheless, the chemistry between the musicians worked surprisingly well. Pilz's lyrical playing connected very well with Kugel's meditative rhythms. The music had some outstanding moments, e.g. when Schubert's overblown lines met Pilz's relaxed drone. The different playing attitudes of the two wind players collided directly with each other and here again it was striking how structural contrasts were used to force intensity. Schubert's solo in the first, long piece of the set was a highlight of the festival.

Kay Lübke (d), Jan Roder (b), Christoph Thewes (tb), and Anna Kaluza (s)

As in previous years, the festival has always been an opportunity to present local musicians. In the saxophonist Anna Kaluza's quartet this was trombonist Christoph Thewes, supplemented by the Berlin musicians Jan Roder (bass) and Kay Lübke (drums), the latter two also the rhythm section in Silke Eberhard's trio. Kaluza founded the Berlin Improvisers Orchestra and regularly plays with international guest musicians. Compared to the partly harsh free jazz outbursts of the previous day, the quartet's music was almost tender, especially at the beginning of the set. Nevertheless, they could be found here as well, mainly pushed by Thewes. Kaluza endured this almost calmly, she contrasted them in a very controlled way and remained focused on her improvisations. A decent start to the day, no more, but no less either.

Klaus Kugel (d), Joe McPhee (s), and John Edwards (b)

The expectations for Joe McPhee, John Edwards, and Klaus Kugel were high, and McPhee immediately issued a call to arms on his pocket trumpet. From the first minute the music was also a statement: 1960's soul power, accusation, blues, melancholy, anger, devotion, attitude - all in one! McPhee made the audience freak out with spiritual blues riffs on the tenor saxophone, mercilessly driven by Kugel and Edwards. This band also represented intensity - namely through contrastivity. At a moment when this intensity was almost impossible to increase, McPhee let his emotions out, he sang, he screamed, he howled, and answered himself with little melody lines - typical, classic call-and-response, a proverbial rollercoaster ride. Moreover, McPhee, the last great man of pain in free jazz, was congenially supported by John Edwards, who scattered several incredible solos, in which he attacked the bass more than actually playing it, and Klaus Kugel, the wonderful mystic behind the drums (in contrast to the day before with his whole arsenal of cymbals and gongs). As if that wasn't enough, McPhee addressed the audience at the end of the regular set and reminded them of Albert Ayler, who said that “music was the healing force of the universe“. He then wanted to send this healing force out to Charles Gayle, so that he could get well again. In the last part of the set he let the audience chant Gayle's name again and again. That was close to kitsch, but McPhee never let the whole thing fall over, on the contrary, it was a moment of goose bumps. The set was a single triumph.

Dominik Blum (o), Marino Pliakas (b), and Lucas Niggli (d)

Actually, nothing could come after this concert, but nevertheless it was a wise decision of the festival management to let Steamboat Switzerland play after McPhee (originally the were scheduled before him), because the band represented a complete contrast to all the other formations. Dominik Blum (Hammond organ), Marino Pliakas (bass), and Lucas Niggli (drums) are something like a heavy metal/improv version of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, their music is characterized by an uncompromising spirit. As usual, the trio made no compromises. Out of this clear attitude their specific sound developed: a mix of prog-rock, new classical music, noise and metal, energetically charged and virtuosically interpreted. For their set the band had a strict form and dramaturgy: pulling it through without interruption and without breathing. Several pieces were woven into this sound bath, composed works alternated with improvisations. As you might imagine, the reactions in the audience were very mixed. The hall emptied itself constantly.

The organisers are making plans for another festival next year, even though the financing is not yet certain. Names mentioned in the game are Ken Vandermark and Akira Sakata. Two suggestions for improvement could be considered: the festival definitely presents too few women, this year just one with Anna Kaluza and younger musicians could also be interesting. There were also some sound problems this year, especially on the first day. Despite the precarious financial situation one should work on it. But all in all the festival was excellent. It remains to be wished that it can take place again next year.

*Gayle collapsed on the way to the plane to Europe but he has been released from hospital in the meantime. He's on the way to recovery.

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Federico Ughi - Transoceanico (577 Records, 2019) ****

By Sammy Stein

Federico Ughi, New York drummer, improviser and producer releases a new studio recording to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of his first release, 'The Space Within', recorded in London, UK. The theme of the album is Ughi’s experience of home, and how it has evolved, living between Brooklyn, New York, his native Rome, Italy and all the places in the world he has passed through while touring. It’s Ughi’s personal meditation on travelling to so many places, intertwined with the melancholy of never being able to feel like he entirely belongs.

The album reunites Ughi with British saxophonist Rachel Musson, who was on the first recording. Musson is one of the most prominent voices in improvised music in the UK and Europe. She and Ughi have collaborated, played and recorded together during the intervening years in spite of living in separate continents. Rachel Musson performed at the Forward Festival 2018 in New York and will be releasing two albums on 577 Records; the first with legendary British musicians Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders, the second with the “Monster trio” of Daniel Carter, William Parker, and Federico Ughi.

Federico Ughi says, " Back in the mid-90s in England, Rachel and I would play music together all the time, sometimes every day for stretches of weeks. We would daydream of playing in New York. In 1996 we even travelled to the city to check out opportunities, clubs, music schools, music connections. We were green jazz musicians just starting to approach the improv world. These days, Rachel is one of the leading voices in the European scene, and I am really proud of all she has accomplished. I never imagined we would find ourselves in New York recording albums, playing music together. This album means a lot to me. It is the manifestation of a dream, two decades in the making."

The CD opens with ' So Far So Good' which is a brilliant piece of creative improvised music. Opening with bass chords over which the sax enters and proceeds to work around the short melodic riff Musson sets up. Every which way you can, she finds the ways in, out and around the patterns , building, exploring, repeating rarely but ever more adventurous until by the end of the track the sax dominates with stut notes aplenty amongst, short, sharp, fierce - so fierce - deliveries - it is absolutely wonderful and the drums support, following, carefully side stepping the rhythmic traps set by the sax and the bass provides the reference points so vital in this music. A complete delight - 9 minutes or so of your life flies past. The quietude of the ending is very effective contrast. 'Segnale Di Via Libera' is a track which builds; from the depths it comes, ascending, rising, growing and developing into a driven, structured soundscape, where each rhythmic change and pattern sets up for a new section, all short, all different and all eye-closing and wondrous. This is feel good, feel it, feel the spirit music and it is gorgeous. The drum interlude is heart-felt and, with the bass, creates a menacing, spiritual sense of control being in the hands of the musicians. The listener is led through several tempo changes, yet underlying it right through is one driving thundering beat delivered with technique which Federico Ughi has well honed. The sax enters for the final section and the ending is short and sweet. ' Blues Apart' is gentler , still working out a pictorial musical soundscape for the listener and still adding several musical tricks to scales to engage the ears. The tracks become heavier, deliberately laboured with the drums and bass working their rhythm out under the sax which sails away on its own discoveries.

'Emergency Exit' sets off with a drum solo - which includes in just under 40 seconds, 4 rhythm changes before the bass joins and there follows a bass led section before the sax wolfs in across both, delivering screaming top notes counterbalanced with delicate lower register riffs. The three musicians then contrive to create a network of music, each filling any gap in the musical mesh which is left - and there are few. This is instinctive improvisation and is a joy to listen to. I didn't want this to end but it did. 'Transoceanico' serves up a different mood, feel and working between the musicians. Melodic phrases tuned into hard tongued knife edges of sound push their way into a relatively stable bass and drum line. Good music. 'Sky Ramblin'' is spacial, atmospheric and works its way through several different sensory developments whilst 'Quando Andiamo' (bonus track) opens with bass , beautiful, solo and deeply resonant. Sax and percussion add their voices but every so often the rounded tones of the bass emerge from the deep. It gets louder, faster and intense but this track has behind it a melancholia and the ferocity of the sax is amazing.

Throughout this recording there is such energy and intensity which the listener feels and remains undiminished after several listens. The media I listened to this on played it in a loop - which was a blessing. Musson on sax is superb and steals the listening lines in many places but there is a sense that is fine and when the Adam Lane on bass and Federico Ughi on drums do their thing, that too is fine and they too add to the wonder of this recording. Beautiful improvised music.

Personnel

Adam Lane (bass)
Rachel Musson (saxophone)
Federico Ughi (drums)

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Ken Vandermark and Nate Wooley - Deeply Discounted/Sequences of Snow (Audiographic/Pleasures of the Text, 2018) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

As I began writing this, I took a quick look back at my post from 2015 about the Ken Vandermark (woodwinds) and Nate Wooley (trumpet) duo's first recording, East by Northwest. At the time of writing, I was still thinking about the show I had just seen of theirs. Before that experience, I had been a little skeptical about what two wind instruments could manage, but the show opened my ears. Subsequently, I was turned on the work of John Carter and Bobby Bradford - an inspiration for this pairing - and have eagerly enjoyed each new installment of the the Wooley/Vandermark journey, including their follow up All Direction's Home, and now Deeply Discounted/Sequences of Snow.

This latest recording consists of two long form compositions that were conceived of for the medium - the LP - on which I'm spinning it. It is also available as a download for those who have left the physical world behind (doesn't that sound morbid?). The pieces, true to form for the artist, carry their inspirations in their titles. "Deeply Discounted II", a piece by Wooley, was inspired by John Cage's "Cheap Imitation" (which was itself inspired by Erik Satie), and Ken Vandermark's "Sequence of Snow" is dedicated to the artist Michael Snow and inspired by some of his films. I am not sure if it's necessary to even get into the inspirations for as such, except as a doorway down another rabbit hole of art and intrigue (which I encourage you to follow, of course), as the pieces stand firmly on their own.

"Deeply Discounted" begins with a slow melody delivered in counterpoint between the clarinet and the trumpet. A snippet of a melody, acting as an anchor in the piece appears again and again, it sounds rather like a brass fanfare, classical in nature, trilling and exuberant. The two duck and weave with it, building around it, and then knocking it down. Suite-like in concept, the piece follows ideas until reaching a pause, which then serves as the start of a new idea. There are moments when I think of the Zentral Quartett as the two touch on a style that feels a bit like how that classic quartet interpolated Germanic folk themes. From the regal to the squeaky, this is an ambitious piece that showcases the duo's deep listening and clever contrapuntal choices.

"Sequences of Snow" begins with a soundwave. The trumpet and clarinet deliver long passages comprised of pulses and inspired flights. For a moment, Wooley may be holding down a repetitive sequence, while Vandermark weaves a melodic statement around it, then suddenly the roles switch. Long moments of dissonant intervals sometimes precede a tonal event on the trumpet, or are punctuated by a sharp vocalization. Polyphonic trumpet tones and violent buzzing are pierced by high pitched legato notes from the clarinet (or do they do the piercing?), underscoring the fact that the duo's concept is comprised of strong understanding and adventurous ideas. At times, simple ear pleasing melodies emerge and change the energy and direction of the piece and about 2/3 of the way through the piece we're treated to one of those Vandermark riffs that you could hear delivered with power and a deep groove, but here is handled deftly in tandem by the duo.

This third offering from Wooley and Vandermark is easy to recommend, especially to the already initiated, but there is something- from the gentler melodies to the fierce runs- to engage all eager ears.

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Gino Robair, Davide Merlino, Alberto Ricca - BROOL (Floating Forest, 2019) ***½

By Keith Prosk

I’m mostly familiar with Gino Robair through Duets 1987 with Anthony Braxton, the solo Singular Pleasures, the assorted duos and trios of Buddy Systems, the spellbinding trio of Illuminations, and the first Splatter Trio record. Despite returning to each of these remarkable recordings with some frequency and nearly always thinking of Robair when I think of percussionists I enjoy, I realized I haven’t listened to anything he’s recorded in the past decade and a half. So I jumped on BROOL to remedy that. Robair (energized surfaces, voltage made audible) is joined by Davide Merlino (prepared vibraphone, percussion, megaphone) and Alberto Ricca (prepared CDs, sampler, no-input mixer, saxophone) for two tracks lasting a bit over an hour. Merlino and Ricca are part of a new(ish) improvising collective, the Floating Forest Collective, from the Piemonte region of Italy that contains a variety of instrumentation but seems to emphasize percussion, rhythm, beat. Merlino and Ricca have recorded together on Floating Forest and Sanna Salis Merlino Ricca Cocco Ferraro Broggini, both featuring the collective, but I believe this is the first time Robair has recorded with either of them.

It feels like a fast friendship though. The musicians don’t necessarily seem to communicate or react to each other but rather contribute pieces to the collage of a colorful, meandering, dreamy soundscape that’s percussive but not necessarily rhythmic. This percussive psychedelia is created with: bowed prepared drumheads, rims, and cymbals; distorted stutters and purrs; scratched, disintegrated, glitched-out CDs with spoken word leaking through the cracks; analog alarm clocks; electric raspberries; high-tension wires; and a stable of other sounds that would make the Star Wars sound editing team writhe with jealousy and wiggle with joy. Merlino is particularly fantastic here, preparing the vibraphone in such a way on “Energized Surfaces” to sound like a giant mbira with bottlecaps on the soundboard and playing a bright, lighthearted section in “Voltage Made Audible” that doesn’t quite sound like “Gassenhauer” but evokes similar feelings. Intriguing enough to encourage me to dig into the last fifteen years of Robair’s recordings and the rest of Floating Forest Collective’s efforts. `

BROOL is a digital-only release (Merlino and Ricca may have CD-Rs if you catch them live).

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Friends and Neighbors w/Brandon Lopez @ Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn on April 2, 2019

Friends and Neighbors

By Eric Stern

Friends and Neighbors have been around since 2011. They have issued four records, the last three of which were on the Clean Feed label. Each of these players is involved in other groups, including Albatrosh, The Way Ahead, All Included, Cortex, Universal Indians, and Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit. As such, they are at the center of a wide group of projects that have helped to showcase Norway's dynamic jazz scene.

As musicians this five piece group has chops to spare. You have to look carefully or you might miss some pretty magical playing, such as pianist Oscar Grönberg's demonstrating his cross-hands technique without making any obvious show of it.

For me, one of the joys of listening to this group is when saxophonist André Roligheten and trumpeter Thomas Johannson play a hard bop style line in unison. It reminds me of Kenny Dorham and Ernie Henry's work on Two Horns, Two Rhythm. This evening's performance was a mixture of the cutting edge with a strong knowledge of jazz history. Should you so choose, you could even ignore the modern touches and extended techniques and view this as a more traditional group. At one point the band quoted the song 'Autumn in New York' as if to underline this point.

This is a group that plays tunes which have heads and melodies which you could hum. Watching them you realize that these are players so adept at their craft that the results seem effortless. I am very glad I went and strongly suggest you keep your eyes peeled for any of the projects which feature these players. We are fortunate that they travel worldwide so that many audiences can enjoy their craftsmanship.

Brandon Lopez

The opener, Brandon Lopez, gave a really interesting performance where he displayed several modes of playing bass that seemed unique and innovative. At one point he used the handle of his bow to agitate the strings in such a way as to create sounds more akin to those generated by a computer. Having seen him a number of times, it was a pleasant surprise to discover new sides to his playing. Performances like this one clearly demonstrate the musician's great facility on his instrument. It will be fun to watch future performances and see where he takes his impressive gifts.

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Elliot Galvin - Modern Times (Edition, 2019) ****

By Sammy Stein

Modern Times is a live mixed and recorded direct to vinyl LP released on Edition April by Elliot Galvin, with Tom Mcredie on bass and Corrie Dick on drums. It was recorded in continuous take and is a stripped-back, honest recording by one of jazz's most established yet young musicians. A quiet protest against the over produced, changing world we live in and for that, Elliot Galvin has my admiration. His past music has been produced and, whilst offering a keen sense of the prodigious talent which this musician is showing more with each recording, there was a danger of him becoming yet another musician who could use the studio well. Here, there is a sense that Galvin is best when captured playing in the moment. Yet it is a brave musician who records straight to release. Redolent of 1940s recordings, and using a technique not used since pre-tape days, the vinyl version of this album ( there will also be CD available) has the hall marks of a classic.

Elliot explains about the recordings. "I had been making music with a lot of electronic instruments and becoming a bit disengaged with making acoustic music. Then I saw a solo piano concert by Jason Moran when I was in Montreux and I was so inspired. It reminded me why I loved making jazz and acoustic music. It was so immediate and human. I wanted to make a record like this. I remember a chat I had a while back with a friend of mine, Jorg, who mentioned he was putting together this studio where you could record direct to vinyl and it seemed like the perfect way to capture a totally acoustic record”.

Recorded in a purpose built studio in Haarlem, Netherlands on top of the largest vinyl pressing plant in Europe, the process used pre-dates even traditional recording techniques onto tape - there are no fixes, no mixing, nor mastering. What you hear is what was played. It’s deeply honest and the most accurate representation of how these three musicians sound as a group. For a musician as innovative, creative and spirited as Elliot Galvin, it is refreshing and liberating. A reminder that music making, in a digital age, does not have to succumb to modern ways of warping and manipulating sound. To approach this album though, with music of such inventiveness and modernism makes the whole experience even more powerful. As Elliot continues:

"I think it captures our musical soul. It kind of reminded me of how some native Americans used to believe having their pictures taken would steal their soul, and in a way I think we did this to our own shared musical soul by recording in this way. There are things you learn making an album like this, about yourself and each other. You are presenting ‘you’, there’s nowhere to hide, making music with people you trust deeply is very important and it’s even more important when making music like this. Me, Tom and Corrie have built up a really deep musical relationship over the years of playing together, and I think this is very present on this record....We live in the time of recorded music, and in a time when it is sometimes overproduced and treated as a disposable commodity it felt like an act of rebellion to go back to a very traditional way of making music. Not making a series of single tracks, but a whole album to sit down and listen to. Reminding ourselves that it’s magic, capturing a sound, a moment forever. Finally it’s a slight nod to the Charlie Chaplin film of the same name. That film was a reaction to a changing, industrialised, modern world, and in a way this album is a reaction to the changing computerised, digital world we live in today. Making something analogue as a quiet form of protest”.

'Ghosts' is wonderful from the count-in to the final chord. It starts with a bass rhythm set up by Tom McCredie over which the piano comes in loud then soft, whilst the drums, hitherto almost invisible because they have matched the bass beat perfectly, come across loud and clear. The sound fades in and out slightly, like a breathing thing, which adds to the sense of something waking. It is a remarkably lovely track which brings a smile to the mouth and it has a driving beat, never relinquished. It delivers something else too. Elliot Galvin has long had 'something' an inexplicable essence which you cannot put your finger on but I think here, in the honesty of a straight to vinyl recording you hear the originality, the variations in emphasis and the working through of a piece which is what makes it special and different. 'Mr Monk' opens with gentle piano chords, percussion adding sweet noise and the track builds slowly but relentlessly, the musicians adding layers of texture and rhythms. The bass of Corrie Dick carries one section whilst the piano and drums support and there is a lovely switch to a piano-led part whilst the others play supporting role. 'Cat and Mouse' is a delicious to and fro with bass leading initially but piano and drums taking their turns, structuring a swing section and even hand claps echoing the rhythm of the piano at one point. 'Shadows' is experimental and improvised around a building menace, which works really well, whilst 'Fountainhead' is an ode to piano - led jazz music of a sweet nature, with bass resonating along the lower lines, arching bowed rainbows of beautiful sound forming the reference point and then 'Change' which has many references to jazz-rooted style with an improvised touch and changes throughout the different sections which together create the piece. What is striking about this number is the percussive essence of Corrie Dick which underlies the rhythmic altercations.

'Jackfruit' is atmospheric with some very interesting twists and turns, whilst 'Gold Shovel' is aptly named as little musical treasures are unearthed, including some crashing piano over quirky percussion and bowed bass.

'Into The Dark' is sweet, atmospheric and involves a lot of chops and changes over a simple chord set. The piano melody line at times is gorgeous. The final track 'To The Moon' is set to a quirky little rhythm, into which the contrapuntal rhythm of the piano chords are inserted in the breaks before the track builds to its finale and the rhythm becomes harsher, deeper. A good choice as the closing track, it leaves you wanting to go back to the start.

Modern Times is led by Elliot Galvin and demonstrates a maturing and confidence which has not been apparent in such depth on previous recordings. There has hitherto been a sense that he had something special but it was not quite shared yet but here we get to share in the mind of a developing jazz spirit. His earlier recordings showed a developing musician seeking his place but this recording, live and honest is perhaps most profoundly revelatory. He comes back to particular rhythmic concepts frequently, and uses chordal progressions with an adventurousness which is also brave and a unique branch of his personality. More proof of his development as leader is his intrinsic knowing of when to allow another musician to lead, solo and add their voice to the recording too. Another There is a predictability - you think - then he does the unpredictable, which is exciting and interesting. His style could fit with any live event because there is enough reference to classic jazz whilst also enough improvisational additions, quirks and individuality to interest those with a freer taste. The unusual blend of classic jazz precepts with modern inceptions works wonderfully well and this is really, really good music.

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