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

By Stef   

Both German alto saxophonist Silke Eberhard and Swiss drummer Alex Huber belong to the young generation of highly trained and skilled musicians who are willing to create their own sound, while keeping the legacy of the past.

Eberhard made previous albums in tribute to Ornette Coleman (with Aki Takase), to Dolphy (with Potsa Lotsa), and she even transcribed several of the latter's solos. Her great strength is the combination of this tradition - you can hear it in every track : the pulse, the attention to form - with her own natural sense of lyricism and an adventurous playful spirit.

She is one of those musicians who seem to thoroughly enjoy what she is doing, without pretence, without the need to make strong musical statements, yet the end result is better than some of the guys "with a mission to be the world's greatest innovator".

And Huber is the same. If you can ascribe lyricism to a drummer - Jack DeJohnette, Hamid Drake, Paul Motian - well, Huber has it too, but with his own character, style and approach.

Even if this is free jazz, the music "dances". It is quite physical, an emanation of happiness, and definitely a joy to listen to.

And for those who want to know what the title means, the answer is unsurprisingly "You Shall Sing ..."

Singing and playing and dancing .... only to be enjoyed!

Available from Instantjazz

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Dans Les Arbres - Canopée (ECM, 2012) ****½

By Stef   

In April 2008, I guess I was the first reviewer to hail the unique musical vision of "Dans Les Arbres", the debut album of the French-Norwegian minimalist band with Xavier Charles on clarinet and harmonica, Ivar Grydeland on acoustic guitar, banjo and scruti box, Christian Wallumrød on prepared piano and harmonium, and Ingar Zach on gran cassa and percussion.

I gave the album a five-star rating and rightly so. The band manages to create a sonic universe built of pure sound, carefully improvised as one minutely paced coherent and minimalist vision. Every single note requires attention and respect as it adds something tiny to complete the slowly evolving dynamics of timbre and lightly woven texture.

So it is on this album. Bringing again this strange magic of purity and beauty, pristine and mesmerising and free and fragile like insect wings, transparent as mist, yet the result of incredible concentration, self-constraint, control of the various instruments, masterly interplay, and strangely enough driven by an uncanny intensity.

Like lots of great music, it is this paradox of lightness and intensity, of freedom and control that leads to again a magnificent result.

It is hard to believe that it took four years to release their sophomore album.

Again highly recommended.


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Foxes Fox – Live at the Vortex (Psi, 2012) *****

By Troy Dostert

This is the latest release from what has become something of a free-jazz supergroup, with Evan Parker (tenor saxophone) joined by John Edwards (bass), Steve Beresford (piano), and Louis Moholo-Moholo (drums), as well as a guest appearance by the great Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn.  With such a stellar lineup, could anything whatsoever go wrong?  Well, no.  In fact: this is close to as good as it gets in free improvisation.  All fans of the genre should have this recording.  Period.

The first four musicians have worked together in a quartet formation on two previous releases: Foxes Fox and Naan Tso (the former released on Emanem in 1999, and the latter on Psi in 2004).  The kind of mutual understanding and empathy these prior encounters have brought about are definitely evident here, as the players respond attentively and adroitly to each other’s contributions.  This is truly a collective undertaking, even if these guys lack nothing by way of well-established individual identities.

Parker is his usual brilliant self, whether offering fluttering cascades of notes or more pensive statements.  Beresford is simply outstanding, with an abundance of ideas: using Taylor-esque flurries or huge percussive attacks, his playing here is a continual marvel.  Edwards’ contributions on bass are no less superb, employing a great range of textures and techniques (enhanced by his use of amplification, which lends a palpable physicality to the sound of his bass that is really compelling).  And finally, Louis Moholo-Moholo is a terrific anchor to this group, as his steady rhythmic pulse and subtle touch support the others and fuel their incessant explorations.

But this is undeniably an instance where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, as all four musicians build on each other’s ideas consistently and brilliantly throughout the recording.  The 39-minute opening track is a sensational model of group interplay at its finest, with no one individual dominating the proceedings; each is able to generate ideas that are then utilized by the others.  The group does a particularly noteworthy job of developing the ebb and flow of the music, as more intense passages are built up and sustained, then gradually de-pressurized as new ideas are allowed to percolate and simmer, only to then be brought back up to a frenzied roar.

And after the first track is over, and the listener is catching his or her breath, we get to hear the addition of Kenny Wheeler on the last two tracks.  Wheeler’s presence here is wonderful in bringing a lyrical dimension to the performance, as one would expect.  Which is not to say that Wheeler is unable to bring the goods when it comes to energy and power: particularly on the second track, Wheeler is able to match Parker’s intense barrages of notes quite convincingly, as the two spar with each other during some remarkably energetic dialogue.  But there’s no question that Wheeler helps Parker explore the subtler, more melodic side of his playing, and there are a number of moments of sublime beauty on the last two tracks as a result.

It’s also worth noting that the music here is very well-recorded; it’s a live recording (from 2007), but the crowd at the Vortex has been taken out of the mix, making it feel almost like a studio album.  This is pivotal in allowing us to appreciate fully the distinctive contributions of each musician to the work as a whole.

In sum: a masterpiece of free-improvisation.  Don’t hesitate to get your copy!

Available from Instantjazz

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

Posted by Joe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Joe Moffett - Ad Faunum (Not Two, 2012) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

Trumpeter Joe Moffett's group is described as a "microtonal free jazz quintet" which after listening to Ad Faunum seems pretty apt. However, what that tag doesn't convey is how they smolder with such intensity, releasing wisps of melodic smoke that hints at the powerful combustion within.

The group features a somewhat unusual line up, joining Moffett is Noah Kaplan on tenor sax, Giacomo Merega on electric bass, Jacob William on double-bass, and Luther Gray on drums. Moffett uses the various combinations of the basses and horns quite intriguingly, interweaving lines, and playing off the contrasting textures to create a very dynamic sound.

The first tune, 'Herdsmen', is episodic, starting with the group delivering a bunch of rhythmic hits and a somewhat askew melody. While seemingly a straightforward delivery, unexpected harmonies belie the subtle microtonal use within the melodic passages. The drums and bass join in with a subdued energy that adds intensity and depth but never overpowers.

The follow up, 'The Other Species', kicks off with the sax playing an unaccompanied introduction, but soon hands off lead to Moffett. The ending of the song features both Moffett and Kaplan playing intertwining melodies while William adds low bowed bass lines. Again, it is a smart and somewhat subdued exploration of tonality and restrained power. Passages throughout the tunes show off the leader's unique understanding of how to shape the sounds and scales from the trumpet. For the most part, Moffett usually sticks within the horns more common tonality, and judiciously uses extended technique to shade and color.

The tune 'Matador' shows off a different side of the group, featuring a pulsating electric bass and the two horns playing uptempo lines over the drums abstract swing. Some element of it, maybe it is the bass way down in the mix and the drums vibrancy, makes me think just a little bit of Miles Davis' Filles de Kilimanjaro. By the time the last song, 'Where Buzzards Fly', rolls around, the potential energy has turned kinetic and the group is (actually, has been) firing on all cylinders .

Ad Faunum is an expressive album featuring abstractly constructed songs and compelling free improvisation. It engages the listener with a strong core of energy and delights with intelligent phrasings and interactions.

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Hilary Hahn & Hauschka: Silfra (Deutsche Grammophon, 2012) ****

By Martin Schray

Yes, you are on the right website. No, we are not going mainstream now. But why then a review of a record on Deutsche Grammophon, the keeper of the Grail when it comes to classical music? And why an album by Hilary Hahn, the American Grammy Award winning violinist, who has hardly ever crossed the boundaries of classical music? Well, the answer is quite simple: The music on this album is completely improvised and Hahn, who improvises here for the very first time in her career, has teamed up with Volker Bertelmann, the German innovator of prepared-piano also known as Hauschka.

Inspired by Eric Satie and John Cage but also jazz musicians like Sun Ra, Hauschka is a prolific improviser who thinks that “it’s enormously important to get out of your individual bubble, and also to work with someone opens a lot of doors in your creativity.” So improvisation is the foundation of his work with Hilary Hahn and in order to make this possible they have worked together for two years exchanging files over the internet or ideas in rehearsal studios, where they regularly met “to create a kind of natural understanding”, Hauschka said in an interview.

Finally they developed certain goals where their project aesthetically should lead to but they had nothing written down when they met in Iceland to work with Valgeir Sigurðsson, who has worked with artists as different Björk and Bonnie Prince Billy. “The location and that particular studio,” Hahn said in an interview, “really helped us to get out of our own heads and away from our individual contexts.”

For Hauschka, who usually unsettles a conservative classical audience by putting small pieces of metal, clips, table tennis balls or different kinds of foils into his piano’s strings, sound exploration, randomness and spontaneity are crucial elements of music. Hahn is contributing to this spontaneous way of composing by adding sparse but concentrated (sometimes overdubbed) parts to the songs. Many songs work with clusters, that’s why there is a strong repetitive element which puts the music close to electronics.

However, “Silfra” is an album about nature and the central piece of the album, the 12-minute “Godot”, captures some of this spirit Hahn and Hauschka felt on Iceland while recording. The prepared piano sounds like metallic drizzle – very percussive, the violin is reserved, almost floating like an echo over the track and therefore creating a somber and nostalgic atmosphere. It is music for a personal soundtrack in your heads, I listened to it while watching the clouds and the wind in the treetops before a storm came up and I could literally feel the intensity of the playing.

“North Atlantic” refers to Iceland’s natural wonders – the piano sounding metallic again bringing up images of the breaking of the waves or geysers shooting water, Hahn adding minimal phrases as if she was playing while watching northern lights. The whole track is an improvised conversation of melodies and rhythms, music that would dissolve if you repeated it.

Silfra is a geographic feature near Reykjavik, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, a metaphor for the working process of the musicians. There is a great natural elegance, a calmness (“Stillness” is the name of the first track), and simplicity tangible on the album, it is just plain beautiful. Give it a try.

You can watch and listen to some music here: http://hahnandhauschka.com/pictures-and-media/videos/



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Eri Yamamoto Trio – The Next Page (AUM Fidelity, 2012) ***½

By Tom Burris

Okay, I have to be honest.  Initially, I had some real problems with this album – the first two tracks, actually.  I’d put it on, hear a gentle folk melody that sounded like it was being reinterpreted by the early Keith Jarrett trio, which is pleasant, & then it would turn a corner into Bruce Hornsby-land and I would grit my teeth and try to endure…  Well, after a few attempts I finally wised up and began listening at the beginning of the third track.  Yamamoto’s solo in this song, “Just Walking,” is where it really starts to take off; the rhythm section glides with a pulsating groove that accurately corresponds with her every phrase.

Yamamoto is a real songwriter, not simply a riff-collector, and the trio, with bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi, often walks a very thin line between tightly-controlled melodicism and abstraction.  It’s an intricate design that shows the beauty in the details throughout the listening experience, from the controlled improvisation of the musicians to the way the recording is sequenced.  The overall sense is that this is a real band, pulling together in an effort to highlight the fact that this is a unified collection of real songs.  The only drawback is that this occasionally makes the music feel a little too polite.

The album’s tracks are also divided into two distinct sections, split by one minute of silence.  This is the “break” between sets, as the record has also been sequenced to reflect the feel of a live performance.  Right before the break we hear a bluesy, film noir-ish track that contains a loose solo from Ambrosio and a track with great group-swing that features Yamamoto’s unwavering sense of melody during her solo.  The track that ends the first “set” is the title track, which is a bit more abstract in its melodic approach than heard previously, without losing any of the conventional beauty of the earlier songs.  It’s a perfect set closer; and serves as almost a summary of everything that is good about this trio.

“Up & Down” opens the album’s second half with an aptly titled composition by Takeuchi.  It begins with a bang, then slows to a crawl, then speeds toward an up-tempo groove.  Melody here is abstract to the point of being skeletal, but the themes are as catchy as a hip-hop chorus.  No small feat!  “Dark Blue Sky” is dark and brooding, in the way that reminds me of the Dolphy-era Chico Hamilton group, mallets and all.  The bridge on this track is absolutely stunning – and I’d like to point out that Yamamoto has a gift for writing bridges.  The one in “Catch the Clouds” is another gorgeous break away from the routine before gently dropping the listener off back home.  The last cut, “Swimming Song,” clips along in 6/8 time with Takeuchi playing perfectly placed accents that propel the group forward.  Here Yamamoto reminds me of Andrew Hill, in the way she simultaneously pushes against and pulls from the harmonic structure of the music to arrive at impossibly original melodic statements.  The track is also perfectly suited for a drum break by Takeuchi, who makes the most of it.

The interplay between these musicians sounds telepathic.  And I have to admit that those first 2 tracks have grown on me.  I now hear the beauty of the folk melody of “Sparkle Song” and the lyrical elements of “Whiskey River” without (much of) a thought of Bruce Hornsby.  Sometimes you have to put your prejudices aside and open your ears a little.  That’s just the way it is.

Buy from www.instantjazz.com 

Musician links:
http://www.eriyamamoto.com/
http://www.arthurstavernnyc.com/thursday/index.html


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Various Artists - 13 Miniatures For Albert Ayler (RogueArt, 2012) ****

(***** for Joe McPhee's closing track)

By Paolo Casertano

Reviewing a compilation can be a hard work.  Even when the compilation is a large excerpt of a well-matched tribute to such a seminal and groundbreaking free jazz figure as Albert Ayler. RogueArt gives us the chance to have a documentation of the influences and legacies of the great saxophonist. 

Looking at the names of the artists performing in this concert, held in Paris on December 2^nd 2010, is retracing the last thirty years of free jazz and improvisation history. From the saxophones of Urs Leimgruber and John Tchicai to the drums of Ramon Lopez and Simon Goubert, through the pressing poetry contribution of Steve Dalachinsky, the trumpet of Jean-Luc Capozzo and the many voices of Lucia Recio. With giant and superb musicians as Barre Philips, Joëlle Léandre, Evan Parker and Joe McPhee (I’d die to see such a quartet in a jam session) towering for the joy of our ears on their respective instruments.

Listening to the album is indeed enjoyable. And there are, in my opinion, three gems. First is the beguiling dialogue between Joe Mcphee’s sax and Jean-Luc Capozzo’s trumpet. Second is the next piece, a solo by Evan Parker, which takes my breath away with his circular breathing (yes, I know… I’m sorry). The third, and my favourite, is Joe McPhee, the closing act. The author of what I consider as one of the recent best releases, the Ithaca duo with Eli Keszler, offers us here an intimate and touching solo made of silent whispers and feeble moans. Shivers. If one day we will decide to set a new category on this blog for “the best track of the month”, my vote will go to this piece.

I believe Albert Ayler (or Elbert Héileur - as you can appreciate from the French introduction) would have been happy of such a party in his honour.

Listen to excerpts here and buy if you like in the same place. Buy from www.instantjazz.com 

Please take a look at a picture that I particularly like.

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Katharina Weber, Barry Guy, and Balts Nill – Games and Improvisations – Hommage a György Kurtág (Intakt, 2012) ****

By Steve Mossberg

The great Hungarian composer György Kurtág intends his many short Játékok (games) as naïve art. Each short piano piece is made to sound as if written by a child experimenting at the piano keyboard for the first time.  The air of pure, unfettered curiosity and experimentation in these works mirrors an atmosphere that also surrounds some of the finest free improvisation, which is why Katharina Weber’s new spontaneous spin on the Játékok is so successful.

On “Games and Improvisations,” the German avant-classical pianist performs eleven of Kurtág’s iconic miniatures. Two of them stand alone at the album’s mid-point and ending, but the other nine are used as short prompts upon which she expounds in nine untitled improvisations. For these, Weber is joined by the veteran British bass virtuoso Barry Guy, and genre-crossing percussionist Balts Nill, who spends the entire recording sitting on the floor playing pots, pans and other found objects.

Improvisation is often referred to as “composition sped up” and indeed, the group finds ways to capture the essence of each Kurtág piece and take it beyond its original confines with great success. While explicit themes from a Játékok may be difficult to pin down while listening to its new companion piece, repeated listening reveals fantastic conceptual echoes such as Weber’s key-pounding fists after “Palm Stroke” and Guy’s expert counterpoint after “Dialog for the 70th Birthday of András Mihály.” At other times, the trio adds vivid new narrative Kurtág’s stories, such as the fever-dream of an improvisation following “Falling Asleep.”

The sound of the group and overall approach on the recording is one of classicism and delicacy. Indeed, Weber’s treatments of the Játékok themselves compare very favorably with the definitive recordings by Kurtág and his wife Marta on the ECM Label. All three musicians execute the improvisations with complete precision and control. Guy’s muscular playing allows him to produce extremely accurate and piercing treble tones on his very low instrument. His pizzicato playing mingles seamlessly with the timbre of Nill’s toys. Likewise, Nill uses his spread of percussive objects more as an orchestral player than a kit drummer. The result is color and texture, laid out across the music without cliché.

“Games and Improvisations” is a recording the rewards deep and repeated listening but manages to sustain a certain immediacy throughout. Just as one isn’t going to find much easy or pleasing about Kurtág’s rough diamonds, there isn’t much to enjoy in the improvisations from a melodic or rhythmic standpoint. That said, for one who’s willing to drop jazz and classical prejudices and listen like a a child again, there’s a great deal of beauty to hear on the album. Weber, Guy and Nill manage to achieve the primal with great intelligence.

Highly Recommended

Buy from www.instantjazz.com 

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Glas - Live at Brötz Gothenburg Sweden 2012 04 12 (Bandcamp,2012) ****

By Paul Acquaro

There was just a cryptic email and a link to Bandcamp for this short (35 minutes), inexpensive (free) and exciting album called Glas Live at Brotz. 

The group, Glas, from Norway is Lars Larsson on saxophone, Gunnar Backman on guitar and live loops,  Peeter Uuskyla on drums, Niclas Rydh on trombone and Anders Berg on bass, and they are pretty dynamic collective. The first song 'Comb Jelly', starts with  a sprawling free jazz blow out atop a feed back drenched drone. The sax style invokes the sound of Mats Gustafsson's FIRE! From there, it only gets better. A heavily effected  guitar  provides a whirling solo that segues into a vibrant swinging free section. The second song, 'Tiktaalik', starts ethereally, single notes plucked from the air, but over the course of its 20 minutes, it builds in density and richness, contracting and expanding. The heavily effected guitar contrasts with the dual horns, as they play elongated lines behind the more strident plucking. The drums carry a strong pulse, not settling into a groove so much as propelling everything forward. 

Sometimes you get lucky, and good things appear from nowhere. 

Check it out at (and download for free): http://simlas.bandcamp.com/album/glas-at-br-tz

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