Jaap Blonk / Damon Smith / Ra Kalam Bob Moses - Rune Kitchen (bpa, 2023)

By Jury Kobayashi

Thwack! And thus begins the magnificent album Rune Kitchen, from Jaap Blonk, Damon Smith, and Ra Kalam Bob Moses. Rune Kitchen is the latest release on double bassist Damon Smith’s label, Balance Point Acoustics, featuring long-time collaborators vocalist and sound poet Jaap Blonk and drummer/percussionist Ra Kalam Bob Moses.

This album is mesmerizing. It froths, it spits, and bubbles up. I often cannot tell who is making what sounds. Smith uses every part of the bass, brushing the bow across the strings creating a fan like sound, to rubbing the top of bass and playing the literal varnish on the instrument. At other times Smith employs a full rich bowed sound, singing out melodic material. Moses creatively plays a wide variety of percussion instruments-he rattles and shakes and yet also finds time to groove. Moses’s playing at the end of the last track might be some of my favourite moments in the entire album. Blonk’s voice is iconic and his contributions to this album are incredibly satisfying. Blonk sings and swoops and purrs. His sounds range from full voiced singing, to mumbling, and all the way down to the scatological. Blonk’s use of electronics is a particularly subtle feature and texture in the album; buzzes and blips underscore the music and are sprinkled in on what is a mostly acoustic album. The electronics are a beautiful touch, and they blend incredibly well with the instruments and often provide a crucial element to the textures.

One notable fact of this album is that, to my ear, each of the musicians lends their voice to the album. Smith uses throat singing in one track harkening back to Peter Kowald’s use of the same technique. In “Art Should Ty to Hover Above our Humanity a Bit and Not Wallow in It: An interview with Damon Smith” (which was published on this blog back in March of 22) Smith acknowledged Kowald’s influence on his sound. Moses sings and chants, invoking a ritualistic feeling to end the final track of the album.

I cannot recommend this album enough to fans of this style of music. Ultimately, my descriptions fall short of getting at the music because words often fail with such unique sounds. It is mixed brilliantly, and the listening experience is visceral and compelling. Something has been cooked in the Rune Kitchen, and it goes down stimulating multiple senses, creating indescribable textures and leaves the listener craving more.

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Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky - Luten at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz (Jazzwerkstatt, 2023)

By Martin Schray

Together with Conny Bauer and Günter “Baby“ Sommer, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky was probably the proverbial personification of jazz in the German Democratic Republic. Between official disdain and cultural-political recognition, he upheld this music in East Germany and developed a very unique style of his own. In this ideological rollercoaster between the government’s renunciation for jazz as a capitalist incitement of youth and cultural-political approval as a musical genre to be promoted in the ensemble of the arts of the GDR, he unflinchingly developed this robustly independent alto saxophone and clarinet style that can be placed somewhere between Charlie Parker, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman. Petrowsky’s sound could purr, nestle, caress and warm you. But it could also crash, rattle, squeal and smack you right in the face. It could be angry and accusatory. And it could - as the late German writer and journalist Wiglaf Droste said - “blow your head off like a bullet from a .45 Magnum, which (had) the inestimable advantage that the head was still on and whole afterwards“. Nevertheless, one’s perception of music is different after listening to Luten Petrowsky’s music. You are sensitized to other sounds. You are literally freer to engage with them. And all this can be wonderfully verified by this new release with Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano and Christian Lillinger on drums, released shortly before Petrowsky’s death in July.

In May 2011, after a break of almost three decades, free Jazz was back in the film theater in Peitz, where the Jazzwerkstatt Peitz festivals were launched in the early 1970s. And who could build this bridge better than these three musicians: Petrowsky and Schlippenbach (aged 77 and 73, respectively, in 2011) had known each other for a long time, as Petrowsky had been part of the Globe Unity Orchestra for many years, and Christian Lillinger (then 27) was the rising star of the German free jazz scene; he and Petrowsky had previously played together in the New Old Luten Trio. So it was a clash of generations - and what a superb one it was.

Luten at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz consists of two pieces, the 32-minute “Auf ein Neues“ and “Freie Improvisation“. You get to hear the firebreather Petrowsky in the first seventeen minutes of the first piece, where he lets his alto saxophone howl, fueled by Schlippenbach’s mighty clusters and Lillinger’s scurrying drums (interrupted only by a brief, thoughtful piano/drums duet). He then switches to the clarinet and plays incredibly tender passages that Schlippenbach punctuates with very somber chords in the lower registers. However, the second part of the piece accelerates almost imperceptibly, the two old warhorses slowly increasing tempo and intensity. Lillinger uses brushes, he seems almost impatient and inspires the clarinet and piano to hurry up. The last four minutes are pure fireworks, a hail of bullets, a flash flood. The music literally rolls over.

In summary, this is a great recording, wonderful music not only for lovers of European free jazz of the 1970s (but also for them, of course).

Luten at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz is available as a CD.

Listen to “Auf ein Neues“ here:

 

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Dirar Kalash – At the Chapel of the Divine Child, Bethlehem University (al-bayan, 2023)

By Nick Ostrum

Dirar Kalash is a young Berlin-based Palestinian musician who has quickly racked up collaborations with the likes of notables such as John Tilbury and Jaspar Stadhouser , among others. He has also released a spate of solo performances, most frequently on oud, piano and saxophone. At the Chapel of the Divine Child-Bethlehem Universitycaptures him performing on the latter in April 2021.

Kalash clearly has chops as an improviser. A quick examination of his solo work on his primary instruments and forays into the violin, guitar and unspecified electronics are evidence enough. What he may lack in preternatural universal virtuosity or decades of experience he makes up for in creativity, or an “un-metaphorical touching, sounding, and sensing” that transcends the physicality or mode of sound creation of a given instrument. He has interesting ideas and finds interesting ways to express them. At the Chapel exemplifies this in two ways: the alternately spacious and spirited delivery on the saxophone and the way those melodies resound in the chapel. He plays the building, ricocheting sounds to evoke two or three saxophones playing at once. Tone, echo, overlay, echo. It is all Kalash, however, and Kalash alone.

More than just a live recording, At the Chapel seems a statement, though one that is difficult to unpack. Given the location and his clear, sometimes doleful articulation, it is hard not to read something confessional or spiritual into this performance. Given Kalash's status as a Ramallah-born musician active in the German-Arab diaspora and performing back in the West Bank, it might even be tempting to read some political message or people's story into this. Although there may be something to that, however, I would not push that point too far. This sounds far too personal. The message, whatever it may be, is too embedded in the emotive for such speculation. The music simply moves, and with an underlying intensity, or maybe earnest urgency, and a proficiency and vision that distinguish it as a performance and recording.

At the Temple of the Divine Child is available as a pay-what-you-will download on Bandcamp: https://albayan.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-chapel-of-the-divine-child-behtlehem-university .

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Don Cherry - Archives, Tributes and Re-issues

By Stef Gijssels

As mentioned before, Don Cherry played a huge role in my appreciation of music, from the early days when I switched from rock to fusion to jazz. Cherry appeared to be a great bridge for me to move across genres and to appreciate what is best in many genres, including his openness to world music. He played with so many people, and welcomed any stylistic background for the communal celebration of music. That's why I also like to keep track of any additions to his catalogue, both in terms of own work or as tributes by others. 

Don Cherry – Inside / Outside (Delta Music, 2023)

This is a remastered recording from a bootleg that was already circulating of a live concert in Amsterdam on August 14, 1987. I am not sure how legit the production is, but you can find it in full on Youtube. It was also released in Japan last year by the Necromancer label, and listed on streaming services. The musicians are Don Cherry on trumpet, Carlos Ward on alto saxophone, David Murray on tenor saxophone, and bass clarinet, Mark Helias on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums. The concert consisted of four long tracks: "Mother Of The Veil", "Pitch-Field Blues", "Last of the Hitmen", and "Pettiford Bridge", which except for the last don't mean anything to me in terms of earlier knowledge. The playing is good, and so is the sound quality, and the audience is very appreciative and present. 

All five musicians contribute evenly and with equal enthusiasm. 

Don Cherry & Jean Schwarz – Roundtrip (1977) (Live at Théâtre Récamier, Paris) (Transversales Disques, 2023) 

To me this is mind-boggling: you have performed a live concert with Don Cherry in 1977, in the presence of other top jazz musicians of that time: Michel Portal on reeds and bandoneon, Jean-François Jenny Clark on bass, and Nanà Vasconcelos on percussion. Imagine that you did this, and recorded it, and then you completely forgot about it until some forty-five years later, when you remember that you may have some tapes of this somewhere lying around in your archives.

This is what happened to Jean Schwarz, French composer, ethnomusicologist, synth player and member of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM).

That being said, the music is a little bit of an outlier in Cherry's output, although many albums were new try-outs for him, as he liked to explore many musical forms. The music on this album is driven by percussion, including dous n'gouni, berimbau, very repetitively, very warm and trance-inducing, with the occasional solo instrument adding to the hypnotic and spiritual celebration. Like with the collaboration with Jon Appleton, the synth is at times more an irritating factor than contributing to the sound, but its impact is relatively limited and benign. 

There are some nice moments on the album, but I would say that especially 'completists' will be interested in this album, whereas readers less familiar with Cherry's work could find more pleasure in his more official work. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp.

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Spirit Gatherer • Tribute to Don Cherry (Self-Released, 2023)

Over the years, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has been one of the bands led by drummer Kahil El'Zabar, with varying musicians, but true to its overall sound: rhythmic, deliberately simple, yet with great appeal, audience interaction and musicianship. The ensemble now consists of Kahil El’Zabar on multi-percussion, balafon, kalimba and voice, Corey Wilkes on trumpet, spirit bowls and percussion, Alex Harding on baritone sax, Dwight Trible on voice, and the late David Ornette Cherry on piano, melodica, douss’n gouni. The latter is Don Cherry's son, who passed away in November last year, when he had a severe astma attack after a concert with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Strangely enough this is not mentioned in the liner notes despite the CD being released six months later. 

Interestingly enough, there is only one Don Cherry composition on the album, "Degi Degi". Most tracks are composed by Kahil El'Zabar, with additionally renditions of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman", John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", Thelonious Monk's "Well You Needn't" and Pharoah Sanders' "Harvest Time". 

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's sound is infectious as ever. Standing still when you hear them is impossible. Dwight Trible's singing is something of an acquired taste, and definitely on their version of "Lonely Woman" it does not work for me, but that's a personal thing that I have with singing in jazz. It's different when El'Zabar sings and shouts during his improvisations, maybe because it comes more naturally, with deeper authenticity. 

But let's be positive: the whole band is in great shape, and I saw El'Zabar perform with Corey Wilkes and Alex Harding (and Justin Dillard on keyboards) earlier this year: they are something else, whether in the slow and meditative pieces as in the long rhythmic tracks. 

A great tribute to Don Cherry, whose artistic visionary approach seeps through even if the music of the band is fully made with El'Zabar's signature sound. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Jamie Breiwick - Awake Volume 2 - The Music of Don Cherry (Shifting Paradigm, 2023)

Four years ago, trumpeter Jamie Breiwick released his "Awake - The Music Of Don Cherry". I decided not to write anything about it for the simple reason that some of Cherry's best known compositions ("Art Deco", "Awake Nu", "Brown Rice", "The Thing") were brought in such a contemporary mainstream voice devoid of all levels of soul and adventure, that I left it for what it was. 

 

This album is a little bit better, possibly because the quintet with Jamie Breiwick on trumpet and percussion, Lenard Simpson on alto and percussion, Chris Weller on tenor and percussion, Tim Ipsen on bass and koto, Devin Drobka on drums, takes a little bit more distance from the source material and give it their own voice. They also focus now on later compositions by Cherry, penned in a less compact way. 

They bring six compositions: "Benoego" (from "Home Boy - Sister Out" (1985)), "Birdboy" (from "Multikulti" (1990)), "Ganesh" and "Interlude With Puppets" (from "Organic Music Theatre (Festival De Jazz De Chateauvallon 1972) (2021)), "March Of The Hobbits" (from "Relativity Suite" (1973)), "Monsieur Allard" by Ornette Coleman, and which was actually never released with Don Cherry (but maybe performed?)

Their approach works on this album, which I really liked, even if it is not ground-breaking, and very much on the safe side. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Don Cherry – Where Is Brooklyn? & Eternal Rhythm Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2022) & Complete Communion & Symphony For Improvisers (ezz-thetics, 2021)

Just for information that the Swiss label Hat-Hut re-issues a lot of free jazz iconic albums under the "ezz-thetics" label that they relaunched in tribute to George Russell. In the last years they re-issued two of Don Cherry's earlier and equally iconic work. 

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Silke Eberhard - Sunday Interview

(Photo - Dovile Sermokas)

1. What is your greatest joy in creating improvised music?

My greatest joy in improvised music lies in its spontaneity and the fact that each performance is a unique, unrepeatable moment. Good improvisations give good energy and inspiration to the musicians and the audience, to me this is pure joy.

2. What qualities do you most admire in the musicians you collaborate with?

I greatly value a smooth communication and interaction when collaborating with musicians. It's crucial to have a shared sense of form, and sometimes, a touch of humor can really enhance the experience.

3. Which historical musician or composer do you admire the most? If you could resurrect one musician to perform with, who would it be?

If I had to choose just one - which is very difficult - this would undoubtedly be Eric Dolphy.

4. What musical aspirations do you still hope to fulfill in your lifetime?

In my musical journey, I aim to reach the highest level of proficiency on my instrument, enabling me to convey the stories I want to tell through my music and compositions.

5. Are you interested in popular music, and if so, which artists or genres do you particularly enjoy?

While my primary focus is on improvised music, I do appreciate popular music, particularly artists like Erykah Badu, who I find intriguing and enjoyable.

6. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about myself, I would work on cultivating more patience and decisiveness, as my Gemini nature sometimes leads me to be impatient and indecisive.

7. Which of your albums do you hold in the highest regard or are particularly proud of?

Selecting a single album is challenging because each one has been a significant and meaningful part of my musical journey.

8. Do you continue to listen to your own albums once they are released? If so, how often?

After an album is freshly released, I'll listen to it for the initial excitement. However, I might not revisit it for a while afterward, as I'm constantly exploring new musical horizons.

9. Can you share which album, by any musician, has had the most profound impact on your life and why?

I haven’t counted, but among the most influential albums for me would be surely Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch" and Ornette Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz to Come“ and Cecil Taylor´s „Conquistador“. Their innovative approaches to music have left a lasting impression on my artistic perspective.

10. What are you currently listening to?

Currently, I'm enjoying the sounds of Henry Threadgill's ensemble Zooid.

11. Beyond the realm of music, which artists or figures from other fields inspire you?

Kurt Schwitters, with his dadaistic innovations, has been a significant source of inspiration for me.

 

Photo by Cristina Marx/Photomusix

 

Recently reviewed albums with Silke Eberhard

Céline Voccia & Silke Eberhard - Wild Knots (Relative Pitch, 2023) *****

Silke Eberhard Trio – Being the Up and Down (Intakt Records, 2021) ****½

Silke Eberhard – Portrait (Jazzwerkstatt, 2017) ****½

Potsa Lotsa Plus – Plays Love Suite by Eric Dolphy (Jazzwerkstatt, 2015) ****½

Silke Eberhard & Alex Huber - Singen Sollst Du ... (Not Two, 2012) ****½

Potsa Lotsa - The Complete Works Of Eric Dolphy (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)

Silke Ebherhard Trio - Being (Jazzwerkstatt, 2008)

Aki Takase & Silke Eberhard - Ornette Coleman Anthology (Intakt, 2007) 

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6,000 articles published ... a Milestone achievement

... is the number of articles that we published so far. A real milestone for us! We started calculating readers visits only since 2010 and we are close to 17.6 million individual views for our blog today. 

We want to thank all our reviewers who contributed to this achievement, and all the labels and musicians who sent us their material to listen to and to - hopefully - also review. 

We want to thank our current review team (in no particular order) for their great work and commitment: Sammy Stein, Martin Schray, Eyal Hareuveni, Gary Chapin, Stuart Broomer, Kenneth Blanchard, Tom Burris, Matthew Banash, Troy Dostert, Lee Rice Epstein, Fotis Nikolakopoulos, Gregg Miller, Guido Montegrandi, Irena Stevanovska, Keith Prosk, Matty Bannond, Nick Ostrum, Nick Metzger,  Ron Coulter, William Rossi, Sean McCarthy, Jury Kobayashi, and David Cristol.

We also want thank all reviewers of the last decade who contributed to the success of our Free Jazz Collective, including (again in no particular order): Colin Green, Daniel Sorrells, Ed Pettersen, Antonio Poscic, Chris Haines, Paolo Casertano, Joe Higham, Stefan Wood,  Derek Stone, Stephen Griffith, David Menestres, Nicola Negri, Daniel Boeker, Rick Joines, Eric McDowell, Joel Barela, Phil Coombs, Ed Pettersen, Antonio Poscic, Gustav Lindqvist, Taylor McDowell, Jim Marks, Anthony Simon, Flavio Zanuttini, Olle Lawson, Jack McKeon, Stanley Jason Zappa, and Guy Peters.

And the occasional yet equally valued contributors: Denti Alligator, Ananth Krishnan, Josh Campell, Matthew Grigg, Hugo Truyens, Julian Eidenberger, Peter Gough, Wendy Eisenberg, Connor Kurtz, Martin Selkelsky, Alexander Dubovoy, Kian Banihashemi, Spencer Friedman, William Kautz, Eric Stern, Phil Stringer, Matt Gagnon, Marinella Barigazzi, Paige Johnson-Brown, Katherine Whatley, Ian Lovdahl, Filip Bukrshliev, Landon Kuhlmann, Brian Kiwanuka, James Fleming, Brian Questa, Alfonso, Lex Phil Stringer, Monique Avakian, Steve Mossberg, Andreas Wildenhain, JA Besch, Cam Scott, Alfie Cooke, Joris De Roy, Tony Medici, Hinrich Julius, and Bryan McAllister. 

Writing good reviews requires time, not only to listen to the album several times, but also to digest it, to think about it, to let it sink in, and then to go back to it, to listen again, until you feel familiarity increasing, previously unheard things suddenly come to the foreground, or generally appreciate it differently. It also requires to select from the start. We receive - and buy - many more albums than we can ever review. Last year we had 1803 albums in our spreadsheet of already selected music that broadly matches our blog's profile. Today we are at 1472 albums for this year already. As a result we tend to review music that we appreciate at first listening, and discard the music that is not to our initial subjective liking (which does not mean it's bad ... it's just that it, at the moment, is not exceptional enough, not pallatable enough, not ferocious enough, or too ferocious, not surprising enough, not visionary enough ... or whatever suits the reviewer's first impressions). We also tend to go back to the musicians that we know or saw perform. Which is also logical and normal, but we also force ourselves to listen to new and upcoming talent, and maybe we should do this more often. On the other hand we know from experience that we helped many young musicians to get international exposure. 

Then comes the writing. We have no 'editorial policy' apart from being constructive and informative, but otherwise reviewers write what they want, without constraints in content or form or style. Freedom is our core attitude, in line with the music we review. But we have discussions about it: should it be longer, shorter, with more background or just a sketchy appreciation of what the music sounds like. 

We are not (with some exceptions) professionals, but most of us also have some musical background, but it's the passion for music that makes us listen and write. Is there anything more beautiful and fun than to be on the forefront, on the vanguard of where music is going? With all its boundary-breaking creativity, its new perspectives on aesthetics and emotional sonic power? We listen, we listen a lot, we listen intently. We enjoy what we hear. We like what we do. We love it. Keep the music coming. We'll do our best to review it. 

We also thank the readers for their ongoing interest, and we encourage you also to come with suggestions, comments and your perspectives on things. And ... if any of you feel the urge to write about what you listen to, and you have a good set of ears, an open mind and a good pen, feel free to join us as a reviewer.

Thanks!

Paul and Stef

 

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SKEIN - Spectra & Affrays (Klanggalerie, 2022)

By Eyal Hareuveni

The ensemble SKEIN is an extension of the free-improvising trio of German pianist Achim Kaufmann and reeds player Frank Gratkowski with Dutch double bass player Wilbert De Joode, which since 2002 has been working, touring and constantly developing, deepening and enriching its musical rapport, now documented on five albums. In 2013 the trio invited three of its favorite musicians - electronics player Richard Barrett, cellist Okkyung Lee and drummer Tony Buck, to form the electro-acoustic sextet: SKEIN, which released its self-titled album that was recorded live at Alte Feuerwache Mannheim in May 2013 (Lep, 2014).

The second incarnation of SKEIN, with new members - trumpeter Liz Albee, guitarist and daxophone player Kazuhisa Uchihashi and master drummer Gerry Hemingway, using the poetry and vocals of Gabriele DR Guenther (Kaufmann’s spouse), performed for the first time at the 2016 Berlin jazz festival and continued to perform in 2019, and these later concerts were documented in Trokaan Project (Trokaan, 2020).

The third incarnation of SKEIN, now a septet with Albee, Uchihashi, Barrett and Buck, performed at the Austrian Konfrontationen Festival Nickelsdorf in 2018 and Klangspuren Festival Schwaz in 2021. Spectra & Affrays documents the live performance in Nickelsdorf. Guenther gave the titles to the three extended improvisations. SKEIN, true to its name, weaves and entangles the highly personal and often eccentric vocabularies of its experienced improvisers while letting the bold and uncompromising, totally free dynamics lead the direction of the music in completely democratic dynamics. SKEIN never slides into virtuosic articulations or into familiar conventions or structures while exploring resonating, timbral details and always keeps a stimulating tension and energy and poetic pathos. The ensemble acts like a strong-minded ensemble that mastered beautifully the art of the moment, or, as the first piece is titled, “in which they are at home”. The three pieces sound like a long suite that continuously enriches its rich palette of sounds with more imaginative details, or as Guenther titled the third and last piece, “Suggesting a thousand stones”.

Fantastic performance. Great album.

Liz Allbee (trumpet, extensions); Frank Gratkowski (alto saxophone, bass clarinets, flute); Kazuhisa Uchihashi (guitar, daxophone); Achim Kaufmann (piano); Wilbert de Joode (double bass); Richard Barrett (electronics); Tony Buck (drums).

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Charles Gayle (1939 - 2023)

Charles Gayle (Photo by Peter Gannushkin)

By Martin Schray

One of the most uncompromising and mysterious figures in free jazz, saxophonist, bass-clarinetist and pianist Charles Gayle, has passed away. He gave us a visionary music forged by spiritual exploration and sonic discovery, but what has made him a legend was the fact that his life was the story of a modern Don Quixote.

Gayle was born in Buffalo and learned to play the piano as a child. Later he taught himself the saxophone. In the New York of the late 60s and early 70s, Gayle wanted to catch up with the free jazz scene and so he was jamming with Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. Yet, his aggressive saxophone style dominated the groups he played in so often that he got the reputation of being too focused on himself. In times when collectives were the order of the day, this was fatal. Sometime in the early 70s he disappeared and became homeless for almost 15 years, playing for change and living wherever he could. In the late 1980s he was rediscovered (by Peter Kowald, among others, who heard him on a corner in 1984 and arranged his first regular gig after a very long time at the Sound Unity Festival) and eventually Gayle managed to return as a performer and an educator, releasing outstanding albums from then on.

However, his years on the streets left scars. When Gayle returned on the scene he was a born-again Christian and made no secret about it, some titles on his albums reveal this, e.g. “Jesus Christ and Scripture“, “O Father“ and “The Lord’s Prayer“ (and these are just some of many). Sometimes he delivered monologues to the audience about religion, morality and abortion, which left most people puzzled. “His reclusive street existence and the born-again Christian preaching (which he has thankfully stopped) threatened to overshadow his identity as a player“, as The Rough Guide to Jazz put it. However, if one could get past the politics and disagreements that one might have with his attitude, one could never deny that Gayle was an astonishing musician.

I came across his name for the first time in Ebba Jahn’s film Rising Tones Cross, which I saw at beginning of the 1990s. The film starts with Gayle playing in the streets and then in a trio with Peter Kowald. Afterwards he and Kowald sit in an apartment discussing about music. These few minutes showing Gayle play and the passion he talks about music really got me and I immediately bought Touchin’ On Trane. I still remember the impact the music had on me, I was touched and agitated at the same time. His saxophone style was the perfect hybrid of Ayler and Ornette, the sound was strong and compelling. On Touchin’ On Trane he wraps his typical contours and textures, his characteristic shrieking overtones, which are often at the verge of breaking, in fully ripe notes and elegant runs.

Charles Gayle has released a lot of marvelous albums, it’s difficult to pick out highlights from his outstanding oeuvre. Especially in a trio with bass and drums he was often at his best. That’s why one certainly has to mention Homeless (Silkheart, 1989) with Sirone and Dave Pleasant; Repent (Knitting Factory, 1992) with Hilliard Greene respectively F. Vattel Cherry and David Pleasant; Clowns (Northern Spy, 2012) with Larry Roland and Michael TA Thompson; and Seasons Changing (Otoroku, 2019) with John Edwards and Mark Sanders. His albums on FMP deserve to be highlighted separately, most of all the above-mentioned Touchin’ On Trane (1993) with William Parker and Rashied Ali, one of my favorite free jazz albums of all time, Berlin Movement From Future Years with F. Vattel Cherry and Michael Wimberly (1997) and Precious Soul (2001) with Gerald Benson and Gerald Cleaver, on which you can also hear what a great piano player he was. Finally, Unto I am (Les Disques Victo, 1995), his solo album, on which he also shines on the bass clarinet, shouldn’t be missing here.

Now Charles Gayle, the true impassioned, volatile master of improvisation, one of the greatest free jazz saxophonists of the last 40 years, has gone for good. May he rest in peace.

Watch Charles Gayle with Dave Burrell (piano), William Parker (bass) and Michael Wimberly (drums) at the Vision Festival 2014:

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Sax & Drums

 By Stef Gijssels

This year, we already reviewed two sax & drums duos: "Sounds, Songs & Other Noises" by Günter Baby Sommer and Raymond MacDonald, Žepi/Pockets by Zlatko Kaučič and Boštjan Simon, so it's time for an update. In the meantime, also Ken Vandermark and Paul Lytton were reviewed for their "Distant Cousins" (it may take a long time between the start of a review such as this one, and its actual publication). 

Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey - Counterfeit Mars (Relative Pitch Records, 2022)

This album has been lying here for far too long to be reviewed. Laubrock and Rainey are life partners, and have performed possibly zillions of times together in a whole variety of ensembles and contexts. As a consequence, it does not surprise that they feel each other naturally, organically, moving as one through these thirteen improvisations. Their other duo albums are "And Other Desert Towns" (2014) "Buoyancy" (2016), "Utter" (2018), "Stir Crazy" (2020), all reviewed by us, and all welcomed for their high quality performance. 

The same can be said of this album. Laubrock is a musician with great ideas, and a wide array of techniques and skills that she uses to go deep into the soul of music, and with high sensitivity. Rainey's skills are comparable, and also with high sensitivity. All pieces are little miniatures and have their own distinct character and mood, varying from the more energetic "Andy's Eyes" to the beautiful and calm "Swathed In Darkness". 

Laubrock's sax sings, weeps, howls, jubilates and dances, and Rainey's drums sings, weeps, howls, jubilates and dances. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Colin Webster & Andrew Lisle - Spontaneous Live Series D04 (Spontaneous Music Tribune, 2023)

It is raw, ferocious, brutal, without being violent or aggressive. It has the kind of authentic unpolished depth, deeply emotional and abrasive tone, combined with a relentless drive and energy. 

Colin Webster is on alto, Andrew Lisle on drums. There is no place for rational descriptions, or further comment. This is straight from the heart and straight to the heart. 

It is short - only thirty minutes long on three tracks - but every second is enjoyable. 

Go for it!

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Rob Brown & Juan Pablo Carletti - Fertile Garden (NoBusiness, 2022)

Both altoist Rob Brown as drummer Juan Pablo Carletti are mainstays of the New York jazz scene, performing in many ensembles, with artists such as Matthew Shipp, Cooper-Moore, William Parker. 

Brown is also a natural lyricist, a creative and inventive improviser. The first track lasts over half an hour, and the second over twenty-three minutes, indeed very lengthy pieces, but luckily both musicians manage to keep our attention throughout. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Tomek Sowiński & Maciej Sikała - Amalgamation (Alpaka, 2023)

The duo consists of Tomek Sowiński on drums and percussion, and Maciej Sikała on tenor & soprano saxophones. The music is gentle, welcoming, and warm. No fireworks as on some of the other albums reviewed here, and neither advanced explorations, but the technical quality of both musicians is excellent. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Calle Neumann & Paal Nilssen-Love - Live At Kafé Hærverk (Catalytic, 2023)

Recorded live at Kafe Hærverk in Oslo, Norway in July 2021, this album brings us Calle Neumann on alto, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. The music is fully improvised, not recorded with the best sound quality, but the energy and authenticity of the interaction is such that this does not really matter. In between bouts of heavy and raw power duets, Neumann also gives us many moments of gentle, safe and warm lyricism. 

Colin Fisher & Mike Gennaro - Tactile Stories (Cacophonous Revival Recordings, 2022)

Canadians Colin Fisher and Mike Gennaro first started playing as a duo in 2014, in which year they also released their first album "Sine Qua Non". This is their second duo album, with Fisher on sax on three tracks, and on guitar on the last piece. Gennaro plays drums throughout the four lengthy improvisations. The recording quality is excellent, as is the playing by both musicians: fierce, strong dynamics, raw energy. The kind of sound we like!

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Mark Hanslip & Andrew Cheetham - String And Grid (Discus, 2022)

Recorded in 2017, this duo between British tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip and drummer Andrew Cheetham is also worth mentioning. We reviewed some earlier work of Hanslip, with Olie Bryce, Paul Dunmall or with "Outhouse", and Cheetham for his duo recording with Alan Wilkinson. 

Hanslip has the incredible skill of maintaining a very warm tone while at the same time with lots of intensity, whether in fast staccato bouts or more lyrical passages. Cheetham also has the same versatility of combining gentleness with high speed, resulting in an album that is both very energetic and welcoming at the same time. Neither Hanslip or Cheetham have a very extensive discography, so it's great that this performance saw the light of day. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Christian Bucher & Rick Countryman - The Force Of Gravity  (FMR, 2023)

"The Force Of Gravity" is a collaboration between Swiss drummer Christian Bucher and American altoist Rick Countryman. They have an extensive track record of collaborating, and I even think they perform together on the majority of both artists' albums. The recent list, sometimes in the company of bassist Simon Tan, is "Acceptance - Resistance" (2016), "Estuary" (2018), "Tributary" (2018), "Extremely Live In Manila" (2018), "Empathy" (2019), "Blue Spontaneity" (2020), "Once" (2022), "The Malaysa Live Fact Session" (2022), "Sacred Fire Of The Free", "Old Drains, New Stains" (2023). 

They bring us thirteen relatively short improvisations, stylistically closer to free improv than free jazz, with quite intense interactions, and even if it's not always clear to hear the distinction between the tracks in terms of approach or musical vision, it is fun listening to. As the art work suggests, they take us along on a long journey through outer space. Fasten your seatbelts!

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Ilia Belorukov & Gabriel Ferrandini - Sculptor (Tripticks Tapes, 2023)

This is the second duo album by Ilia Belorukov on alto sax and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums, after their "Disquiet" from 2019. Belorukov is not a powerplayer, but a timbral explorer, very much in the free improv mode, playing in the moment, and Ferrandini is a good match for him here. The music is angular, frenetic, intense, with a strong emphasis on what's happening 'now', with some unexpected twists and turns, but not really with a purpose of developing. It's more about the journey itself than about having an idea of where to end. 

The album is not long - it's actually a cassette tape - and clocks a little over thirty minutes. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Greg Sher & Dylan Van Der Schyff - You Sing The Song (Self-Released, 2023)

Saxophonist Greg Sher was not familiar to me, possibly because he resides and performs in Australia. He performs two long duets with Canadian percussionist Dylan van der Schyff. The latter has a long state of play, including collaborations with Wayne Horvitz, Joëlle Léandre, John Butcher, Paul Rutherford. 

The two tracks were released as they were performed, without alteration. The interaction between both musicians works well. The result is intimate, melodious, lyrical, gentle and elegant. A more than welcome change in this harsh world. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Luis Erades & Avelino Saavedra - La Inmunda Vida De San Gulik (Discordian, 2023)

Both Luis Erades on alto and Avelino Saavedra on drums, objects and megaphone have been long time artists and performers but with a relatively limited output as far as albums go. 

I am not sure about the link between the Discordian label and the Discordian 'religion/philosophy', but it's on the website of the latter that I found who San Gulik in the title refers to: "This is Saint Gulik. He is the Messenger of the Goddess. A different age from ours called him ``Hermes.'' Many people called him by many names. He is a roach. Actually, the amazing thing about Saint Gulik is that he's really all roaches". Needless to say they don't take themselves too seriously, and we've had great fun listening to the label's albums, and to this one of two musicians we did not know. 

Erades and Saavedra treat us to raw and powerful free jazz interactions (as in the title track), interlaced with slower pieces (for instance "Falso Cadáver") in which they explore the sounds of their instruments, testing their timbral possibilities as well as the ears of the listeners. In general it's fun and interesting, and worth listening to, but not boundary-breaking. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Mars Williams & Vasco Trilla - Critical Mass (Not Two Records, 2023)

Recorded in Barcelona, "Critical Mass" brings us five duets between Mars Williams on reeds and toy instruments, and Vasco Trilla on drums and percussion. This is their second duo album, after "Spiracle" from 2020. 

The first track is another rendition of a composition that already figured on Trilla's solo album from earlier this year, "A Constellation of Anomaly" (LINK), called "The Shaking Hand That Leaves A Mark", yet here it gradually moves from a meditative, subdued piece to a more extrovert and energetic mood. 

The second track Williams plays an undefined reed instrument, high-pitched with a squeezed tone like a Moroccan Rhaita or something similar, before switching to sax. Trilla's percussion is also more tribal, a kind of rumble in support of the increasing frenzy of Williams's playing. After this high energy exuberance, we get two more subdued tracks, with a more defining role of the percussion on "Thin Air". The last track has the opposite structure of the first track, starting with ferocious playing yet gradually diminishing volume, speed and power, closing the circle into the meditative atmosphere of the beginning. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Paul Lytton & Ken Vandermark - Distant Cousins (Audiographic Records, 2023)

"Distant Cousins" brings us one long 35 minute improvisation between British free improv giant Paul Lytton and Chicago sax luminary Ken Vandermark, here on tenor & baritone saxophone, and Bb clarinet. The music moves through different energy levels and moods, from wild ferocious moments, to subdued dialogues full of tentative outreaches, yet always intense, as you could expect. Lytton keeps his free improv style drumming, while at times the rhythmic elements come from Vandermark in his usual style. Despite their differences they find common ground throughout the piece. 

Die-hard fans will seek the limited vinyl edition, but the music is also available digitally. 

In the meantime also reviewed here by Paul Acquaro. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

Trombe - Cheval Rodéo (STNT, 2022) & Déluge (STNT, 2023)

"Trombe" is the duo of Thomas Beaudelin on sax and Erwan Cornic on drums. On their sophomore album "Cheval Rodéo" they give all the titles of their energetic and raw interaction topics related to rodeo: "Bareback and saddle bronco", "Tie-down roping ", "Bull-riding", "Rescue Race" and "Barrel race". They demonstrate their skills in evocating the taming of wildness, and the high risk ferocity of the 'game', even if some tracks, such as "Terrassement du Bouvillon" are surprisingly intimate and gentle. Both musicians take their art seriously, but clearly not themselves. 

Thomas Beaudelin is classically trained (and a builder of wind instruments), but his playing here is everything except classical. Erwan Cornic has been a drummer for several decades, and even if his number of albums is limited, his drumming is excellent, both rhythmically and in timbral explorations. 

Their third album, "Déluge" takes their art a step further in the same vein: high power play, but smart, with  both musicians delivering ear candy technically while at the same time offering a lot of improvisational variation within each track, offering excellent ciaroscuros between dark and violent moments alternated with more intimate sensitive passages. 

I did not know both artists, but they're more than worth to be discovered. Both albums also have print copies: the former on 200 copies, the latter on 100, but they're luckily also available digitally. 

Listen and download from Bandcamp. 

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Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2023 - Part III

By Paul Acquaro

See also Part I and Part II

Lorenz Widauer (t) & Yvonne Moriel (s) (Photo by Michael Geißler)

Sunday morning I woke to sounds of horns - the hills, it seems, were alive with the sound of music. Indeed, out on the Ritzensee, in a small row boat, saxophonist Yvonne Moriel and trumpeter Lorenz Widauer were welcoming the new day. Along the lake shore, in the rapidly warming morning air, listeners gathered, as well as a few people who were getting in their morning swim, while others were already sun bathing on the shore. A mix of classical and jazz pieces, was played slowly and their harmonies filled the valley morning.

Högberg, Sartorius, Håker Flaten (Photo by Michael Geißler)

The action then moved just up the walking path to a copse of evergreens on the far side of the lake. There, just an easy walk into the Kollingwald, saxophonist Anna Högberg had put together a group with percussionist Julian Sartorius and bassist Ingebrit Håker Flaten to improvise in the natural setting. The music, wonderful and free in the fresh mountain air, perhaps was also a bit too easy to get to - an impressive sized audience had filled the woods, many trampling through the undergrowth in search of yet undiscovered vantage points. My empathy for the ferns aside, I fully enjoyed the trio's improvised forestial soundtrack. Håcker Flaten's bowed bass lines and Högberg's melodies were met with shafts of sunlight through the trees as they directed their energies towards the first fierce, layered climatic moment. A second improvisation found the trio wandering off the stage, each one following their own path through the woods around the stage. Högberg blew a long, single note as Satorius played a tree. Håker Flaten was not in my sight line, but I assumed he was up to something natural as well. Then, there was a pluck of the bass and a slow tempo ballad emerged. The reverent melody was uplifting, and surrounded by the earth and trees, now that felt like a spiritual moment.

Ralph Mothwurf Orchestra (Photo by Matthias Heschl)

Then somehow it was mid-afternoon and I was back in the Congress Hall for the final set of concerts of the festival as the Ralph Mothwurf Orchestra filled the stage with 18 musicians. Conducted by the namesake Austrian guitarist, the highly arranged pieces avoided big-band cliches and sounded both contemporary and timeless. The tunes, individually shaped by the timbres of the leading instruments, were enjoyably diverse. One song featured the vibraphone prominently, and as it mixed with the strings, they formed a glistening, tense surface. Another song was dedicated to the late Ronald Deppe, a composer of graphical scores and founder of Porgy and Bess, the famous jazz club in Vienna. The piece was dynamic and textural with divergent streams of motion. A nice way to ease into the afternoon, for sure.

Michiyo Yagi and Hamid Drake (Photo by Matthias Heschl)

Artist in residence, koto player Michiyo Yagi, performed her final set of the festival in the large hall in duo with the masterful percussionist Hamid Drake. We had already heard Yagi perform two very different sets with her group Dojo and guests, guitarist Eivind Aarset and bassist Ingebrit Håker Flaten respectively, and with Drake, she embarked on yet a third unique set of improvisations. Yogi began at the 21-string koto, with mallets in hand, beating out an abstract, uptempo array of notes. Drake, picking up on the energy, helped quickly co-create a churning and explosive musical upheaval. That Drake is a percussion orchestra of one is hardly news, but the absolutely fiery, effects enhanced wave of sound that Yagi can make on the ancient traditional stringed instrument is startling. Elements of this first epic reminded me of Nels Cline in noise rock mode. From the crush of sound, melodic snippets and themes wended their way though the dense, flaming underbrush. In an announcement, Drake remarked on the kindness and humanity that he was feeling at the festival and contrasted it with the general current discord and disharmony of humanity, saying we could use more of the former. Switching then to the hand drum, Yagi and he engaged in a fluent closing musical dialog.

Zoh Amba "Bhakti" (Photo by Matthias Heschl)

This weekend, saxophonist Zoh Amba had already played the main stage with a new group assembled by Kranzelbinder and was now presenting music from her well received 2022 recording Bhakti. Listening to the sets that she has played in over the weekend, it seems that the setting is an important aspect for her music. As previously noted, she often plays with an aggressive, full-bodied tone, delivering short, explosive statements. With a drummer like Chris Corsano, who seems to revel in such musical situations (like for example his extensive work with saxophonist Paul Flaherty) and a sensitive pianist like Micah Thomas, with his sharp musical reflexes, Amba was in excellent company. Aside from the gale force passages, some of the most illuminating moments came when the drums and piano reshuffled the musical space, giving Amba a chance to show a more nuanced side of her playing.

Dave Douglas New Quintet (Photo by Matthias Heschl)

The headliner of the night was American trumpeter Dave Douglas. His new quintet features a stand out selection of players: saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, bassist Nick Dunston, drummer Joey Baron, and pianist Marta Warelis. Douglas kicked off the first few notes before a ready to spar James Brandon Lewis (writing just 'Lewis' feels incorrect, but I'll try next) jumped in. As Baron began to solidify the tempo, the two front men played interweaving lines that finally connected in an animated melody. Lewis took the first solo over fierce rhythmic support from Baron and Duston. The forms of the tunes -- the melodies, the structures -- were not obvious, though the songs were obviously structured as Douglas provided real-time direction to the musicians as they soloed or new passages came into play. Thus, melodic and counter-melodic lines and grooves sometimes emerged from nowhere and their interlocking complexities were elegantly tight. While Lewis' and Douglas' solos built in layers, their lines quick and darting, Warelis opted for a more linear, minimalist approach. Both Dunston and Baron had solo features, the bassist starting out with some intense plucking and leading into a much more tender group passage, and Baron, well, is simply an unstoppable, but absolutely appropriate, force of nature. The players' contrasts made for a group tension that gave the music a see-sawing and gripping tension. The set featured quite a wide style of musical approaches, some in the jazz tradition, and some featuring an edgier side. A perfect encapsulation of the music heard today and throughout the festival path that I had taken.

 

***

City park (Photo by Michael Geißler)

As I has learned, there was a redesign of the festival around 2019. Festival artistic director Mario Steidl explained, he realized already a few years prior that the festival needed to change, it shouldn't be "a UFO that lands on the town once a year" but rather a vital part of the community. Thus, we see now both artistic development as well as audience development, through the artist in residence programs, the free and city park concerts, and the incorporation of local attractions - like the hikes and the restaurants in the hills - into the sprawling festival. Such a rich and varied program is a real treat to experience, as is seeing a young and vibrant crowd finding their way to jazz and improvised music. 

 

With an operating budget this year of 830,000 euros (and the hope to up it a bit next year), the festival, already a meeting point high up in the Alps for musicians, music professionals and an estimated 20,000 dedicated listeners, seems to have a finger on the pulse of music now and a solid vision for its future.

**

Sunday night's after party jam had packed the Nexus' bar and restaurant and the attendees flowed out over the outdoor deck and into the street alongside the venue. "Spiritual Unity" hosted by Kranzelbinder featured a host of musicians, including Billy Martin whose groove oriented drum work was heard in the first of many jams. Celebrating the success of the festival and obviously not quite willing to let it end, the music and the party extended long into the night.

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