Ronald Shannon Jackson (1940 – 2013)

We have just read the sad news that Ronald Shannon Jackson, one of the greatest jazz/rock/funk drummers, died of leukemia in his hometown Fort Worth/Texas two days ago.

Among others Jackson played on seminal albums with Cecil Taylor (3 Phasis, Cecil Taylor Unit, One Too Many Salty Swift And Not Goodbye), Ornette Coleman (Body Meta, Dancing in your Heads), and Albert Ayler (At Slug’s Saloon 1966), in fact he was the only drummer who played and recorded with all these three free jazz giants.

He will be remembered as an incredibly versatile musician who was able to combine free jazz, funk and rock with his band Decoding Society and as a member of the free rock super group Last Exit (with Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell and Sonny Sharrock).

Below is a clip with Last Exit at the German Jazz Festival Frankfurt in 1986 which shows a marvelous, energetic, brilliant Jackson in top form. Just watch his drum solo at around 20 minutes – that’s how we will always remember him.

His death is a sad loss.

Thank you very much for all the great music, Mr Jackson.

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Bojan Vuletic – Atemwende (Nate Wooley and Mivos Quartet) (Ignoring Gravity Music, 2012) ***½

By Martin Schray

The German-Jewish writer Paul Celan (1920 – 1970) is one of the most famous post-war poets (like Rose Ausländer he belonged to the German minority in Czernowitz/Bukowina, which lies in today’s south-western Ukraine), his work picking out the Shoah as a central theme (especially his own experience in the concentration camps and the trauma of the deportation and death of his parents there) and how post-war German society dealt with this guilt. He is mainly known for his poem “Death Fugue” with its famous line “Death is a Master from Germany”, which is an encrypted processing of the holocaust, strictly structured like a Bach fugue (as the title suggests).

“Atemwende” (“Breathturn”) is the title of a collection of his poems which was published in 1967 but only two of the titles of the compositions on this album belong to this poetic cycle (“Du darfst” and “Fadensonnen), most of them were released in various other works (“Death Fugue” in “Poppy and Memory”, for example).

For the Serbian composer Bojan Vuletic Celan has been a main non-musical influence (as well as Gerhard Richter, Pablo Picasso or Paul Strand) which is the reason why he decided to set some of his poems to music – in a very subjective way he calls “re-composing art”. But Vuletic didn’t want to write one-to-one transfers of Celan’s texts and neither did he want to create background music for them, instead he wanted to compose hermetic pieces of art which could be definitely assigned to the original poems. In general, for Vuletic it was important to show what he feels when he reads Celan.

In an interview he also said that he perceives a wedge in Celan’s personality, something he tried to implement in his compositions for “Atemwende”, where Nate Wooley’s trumpet functions as this wedge in the string quartet. And Celan really was a tormented soul, he suffered from delusions and was admitted to mental institutions several times before he committed suicide. As a consequence, the music on this album has to be quite gloomy and dark with some hopeful, brighter specks.

Especially “Fadensonnen” (“Thread Suns”) is a prime example here: Although it looks like a typical Celan-like description of a wasteland, the poem deals with the desire to forget about the past and the hope for better days.  The piece itself is extremely somber, the strings seem to feel their way into it while Wooley adds hardly more than his breath, he rather aspirates the notes instead of really playing it – it is the eeriest but also most fascinating track, it reminds of the soundtrack of the 1970s surrealist cult classic “El Topo”. Vuletic depicts a gloomy past with this music, one which is hard to manage.

While “Todesfuge” is a rather conventional new classical music piece with the trumpet as an unspectacular additional color dot, a track like “Zähle die Mandeln” (“Count the Almonds”) with its percussive and explorative approach is more promising. Wooley’s trumpet sounds like an electronic instrument, supported by the strings (Olivia De Prato and Joshua Modney on violin, Victor Lowrie on viola, and Mariel Roberts on cello) adding sharp and concise lines. The music of these compositions is not far away from Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Band.

Although Bojan Vuletic says that the compositions consist of elements of new classical music and free improvisation, the new classical ones prevail, which can be very beautiful as in “Du Darfst” (“You are allowed to”) or less challenging as in “Die Fleissigen” (“The Hard-Working Ones”). Nevertheless an interesting listening experience.

Listen to an excerpt here.

Bojan Vuletic – Atemwende (Nate Wooley and Mivos Quartet) (Ignoring Gravity Music, 2012) 

By Stef

My knowledge of modern classical music is as strong as a camel's knowledge of scuba-diving, so far from me to generate any interesting insights on it, let alone rate this album. I just contacted the composer himself to get a copy of the album because it is not the kind of music that typically ends up in my mailbox.

But because we all know that Nate Wooley is one of this blog's favorite musicians, the initiative to follow him  and trace his performance also in a modern classical environment was a good one.

What I can say is that I like the album. I like the string quartet's harmonious - even if at times dissonant - contrast to Wooley's more free-spirited horn. I like the way the trumpet adds some fun, some emotion, some iconoclasm to the process, some sounds which I guess are totally foreign to classical music, while equally fully at home in joining the strings in the composed lines. I like Vuletic' sense of dramatic lyricism, the light gravitas of the compositions.

Vuletic has had some previous collaborations as a producer with Wooley, once on the impossible to find duo with Paul Lytton on the Brokenresearch label, which was produced in only 200 vinyl copies, and also with Lytton on "Creak Above 33", on Psi, which is easier to find.

I like the contrast, and even the conflict of instruments and genres, the contradiction which acts as attraction and rejection. I like the purity of the Mivos Quartet's strings and Wooley's uncompromising tones. I like Vuletic' well-paced chamber composition and the openness to raw interaction.


Even if not my kind of music, it is a great listening experience, and that says a lot.

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Sons of Kemet – Burn (Naimlabel, 2013) ****

By Ananth Krishan

Often times while penning down a review, I get down to thinking what yardsticks and traits constitute an ideal piece of critique. And more often that not I end up boiling down to the struggle between objectivity and subjectivity. To write a piece as an emotional reaction to a piece of music devoid of all prejudices and bias and prior knowledge about the band, their influences, the genre they fall into, in my opinion, results in a piece of writing that is mostly objective. But subjectivity brings its own school of merits - by providing a counter point to all the facets of objectivity that I have cited above, it brings home a certain authenticity that a reader can instinctively connect to. A subjective piece (expertly written) can lead a reader to make  conclusions and judgments without even listening to the music it attempts to describe. In summary achieving a credible middle ground balancing both schools of thought would be the IDEAL review but I would assume that that is no easy act to pull off.  However for the record in question I had no option but to resort to the former school of practice for I had never heard of Sons of Kemet, who the band consisted of and not even what instruments I was going to get to listen to. And I kept it that way keeping in check every impulse to call upon Google's services. What ensues is the amazing ride I experienced when I hit that play button.

The first track, All Will Surely Burn (an apt title in hindsight!) started with a pounding assault  with what I was sure was a dual drum set; ten seconds in a brass sets the stability to the tune; another ten seconds, enter reeds stating a melody with the drums unrelenting all the while - all this happens in first 30 seconds - enough to get me hooked (I recounted later that what began as a sitting and relaxed posture while starting out to listen automatically turned into a semi-frantic pacing, the dispelling of energy I suppose!). The track continued in the same vein with the drums and brass not letting down the pulse while the reeds was free to explore with multiple melodic lines. Calling this a wonderful start would probably be a huge understatement. Seeing how already I have spent quite an amount of space for just the first track, I would think it wise to refrain from a track wise description. I will stick to some highlights that should describe what the album has to offer.

The ordering of the tracks was pretty much perfect - the high energy tracks are seemingly punctuated by the slower brooding ones almost letting the listener and the record breathe. The fourth track, The Book of Disquiet, is the first of this - it is an almost meditative piece with every instrument developing motifs and ideas around one another. This track serves as the perfect piece to spotlight the superlative drumming that one gets to listen to - the drummers who can create blistering and quivering rhythms (often of multiple varieties - African, reggae, dub and what not) also know when to resort of tasteful restrain happy to provide a foundation on which their colleagues get to stretch and turn. Also the album is filled with memorable hooks  that refuses to stop swimming in your head (I would challenge anyone to stop humming the riff of Inner Babylon) - I guess this is song writing and arranging that is so well thought out that it is amply evident in its execution. Another facet that I found exciting to listen to is how every instrument is ready to be the base on which the others can improvise - an example being The Godfather, the track that follows up the blistering opener, has a brilliant melodic hook around which everything seems to build and fall. I found it a brilliant counterpoint with the brass exploring sounds around this melody. Beware (which I later learned is a staple live track) is where the brass almost single handedly propels the song forward with a fierce drive around which the drums and reeds walkabout - a mesmerizing track.  Almost every song exemplifies the tightness of the band portraying the level of comfort they have with one another and they are at their shining best when each of the instruments build up to end in an aggressive flourish blending together so well while offering a manic crescendo.
The last track Rivers of Babylon was a pleasant surprise to me and I do not intend spoiling it for you!

After the listen I did eventually succumb to the internet - the leader on reeds (clarinets and saxophone) is Shabaka Hutchings; the tuba is the instrument that I keep referring to as the brass played by Oren Marshall; Seb Rochford and Tom Skinner on the amazing dual drums (and Dave Okumu with guitar on tracks 5 and 6 lending a beautiful atmosphere). Apparently they have been around for 2 years very active in the live circuit before Burn came about as their debut. Reading a bit of their history and background it is no wonder that the music is an eclectic mix of Caribbean rhythms stepped in African roots (even the name Kemet and 'Shabaka' add to the African story!) infused with some modern jazz thoughts. Though never in your face, the influences manage to add a distinct colour to the music making it something that is going to stick in your head for some time. Given the vast amount of fun I had listening to this intensely rhythmic record I can only imagine how their live shows would be - it must be an electric, high energy affair full of riotous fun (if jazz had a mosh pit, Sons of Kemet certainly get one!). Shame that my geographical coordinates is never going to help me realize the dream of seeing them live. Now, if only I could find a way to get them down to India... hmmm.....

Buy from the label.

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Nor Cold - Nor Cold (Multikulti, 2013) ****½

By Stef  

"So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16) is the inspirational title coming from the bible, yet indirectly via the novel "Warm and Cold" (Pol. "Ciepło, zimno") by the Polish author Adam Zagajewski. The music itself is based on sephardic songs from the Balkans, and on folk songs.

The band are Olgierd Dokalski on trumpet, Wojciech Kwapisiński on guitar, Oori Shalev on drums, and my compatriot Zeger Vandenbussche on saxophones, clarinet and Jew's harp.

Sure, the four musicians tapped into some deep cultural roots to bring their music, but what they bring to the surface is innovative, moving and strong. In contrast to much of Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series, the music brought here is more eclectic, broader and rhythmically more subtle.

The result is melodious, free and beautiful, with an approach that's maintained throughout the album, and with tunes that you will go back to, just for the sweetness of their sounds, the beauty of the solos cutting loose from the themes, the mesmerising hypnotism of the guitar that acts like a bass at times, the great drumming and the perfect interplay between the horns. And this full of joy for the music itself, full of passion and empathy.

Some people believe that music is all about technical skills on the instrument. These four guys demonstrate that real artistry is somewhere else, in a place with deep emotion, sonic beauty and spiritual resonance.

A great album by an unknown band. Another discovery from Poland (and Belgium).

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John Tchicai, Charlie Kohlhase, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart - Tribal Ghost (NoBusiness, 2013) *****

By Stef  

The only reason why I did hesitate to give this album a five-star rating is because it is so short, and indeed, only thirty-five minutes long, but what you get is so good, so subtle, so beautiful and sensitive and jazzy and free that the listener cannot complain at all. Even with its short length, you get more than value for money.

Martin has already reviewed this album, so I will not repeat what he wrote. I justed wanted to emphasise the fact that the band is absolutely outstanding, with John Tchicai on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Charlie Kohlhase on alto, tenor and baritone sax, Garrison Fewell on guitar, Cecil McBee on bass and Billy Hart on drums.

"Queen of Ra" and "Llanto Del Indio" already appear on the amazing "Good Night Songs", a collaboration of Fewell, Tchicai and Kohlase, but then without a rhythm section, which makes the tunes more intimate and introspective. "Llanto Del Indio" has been released on the New York Art Quartet's "35th Reunion" CD (2000), with Rosewell Rudd on trombone, and on "Cadencia Nova Danica".

"Queen Of Ra", also featured on "Big Chief Dreaming", an album from 2005 on which Fewell and Tchicai are the lead voices, in a quintet similar to this one, and yet, the version on "Tribal Ghost" is so much more subtle and compelling, in a way that's hard to describe, yet it somehow gels better.

The beginning of the second side starts with the introduction of "Venus", which also features on "One Long Minute" (2009), and then expands into "Dark Matter", an equally riveting slow theme, full of grace and sadness.

So if all these tunes have been played before, what makes them so unique now?

First of all, the overall consistency of sound and quality throughout the album is amazing.

Second, the entire band is excellent at any give moment. Tchicai and Kohlhase are fabulous in their controlled passion, McBee and Hart are an incredible rhythm section, adding pulse and dynamics that few of the previous recordings had, but the real star of the album is Fewell. Yes, we already knew he is an excellent guitarist, but what he does here is stunning, playing as jazzy as it gets, yet adding little touches and notes, a chord here, an accent there, absolutely controlled and expressive and precise and ... just right. And so slow and accurate ... many guitarists could take a lesson here.

Third, the whole album adds a kind of intimacy to the John Coltrane legacy of expansive and epic post-bop and free jazz. It is a kind of down to earth, more human, more humanistic approach to Coltrane's exploration of the universe. It is tribal as the title suggests, yet then of the introspective rather than the exuberant kind.

This album is as cool as it is hot!

Highly recommended.


You can  purchase it at instantjazz.com. 

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John Tchicai, Charlie Kohlhase, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart - Tribal Ghost (NoBusiness, 2013) ****½

By Martin Schray

Only at the end of his career John Tchicai, a man who played with Albert Ayler and John Coltrane and who was one of the great voices in free jazz, was allowed to have his first and only weeklong residency at a New York Jazz club, the Birdland. For the concerts Tchicai (ts, b-cl) expanded his trio consisting of Charlie Kohlhase (as, ts, baritone-sax) and Garrison Fewell (g) with Cecil McBee (b) and Billy Hart (dr) because this was the only precondition the Birdland booker had. Tchicai chose these two legends because according to the liner notes he wanted someone who “could play time, could swing and play free”. And what an excellent decision that was!

“Tribal Ghost” is an outstanding album breathing the spirit of jazz history with every tone. You can hear the voices of John Coltrane (of course) and Pharoah Sanders, but also Lee Konitz and Jimmy Giuffre while Garrison Fewell’s sound, which is the secret sensation on this album, reminds of Wes Montgomery, Billy Bauer or even Grant Green. And all these influences are used to create the most beautiful music.

The first track, “Tribal Ghost”, starts with Tchicai, Kohlhase, and particularly Fewell in the focus building up a meditative atmosphere and immediately you can sense this feverish spirituality, this exuberant jubilation, this worshipping of the old masters, this deep rootage in the blues, this magnificent lyricism – something that pervades the whole album, as well as the fact that the tracks are full of surprises: in “Tribal Ghost” the musicians stop all of a sudden, just to reinvent the track as a funk/jazz stomper with Tchicai and McBee holding a hypnotic beat while Kohlhase, who is the actual tribal ghost here, conjures a higher power with Fewell throwing in sharp licks, riffs and thrills.

“The Queen of Ra”, a piece Fewell wrote for Tchicai, also begins in a dark and somber mood with a bowed bass, guitar arpeggios and glockenspiel before Tchicai and Kohlhase break up the atmosphere with a cool jazz theme. The whole piece reminds of a ritual service, especially when McBee leaves his function of maintaining the pulse just to battle with Kohlhase, pushing him to a marvelous solo full of melancholic, angry, expressive and energetic cries.

“Dark Matter”, a piece which was inspired by John Carter’s “Castles of Ghana”, swings almost harmlessly and elegantly but there is also a latent dangerous temptation. It also contains the most beautiful theme on this album.

Yet, the last piece, “Llanto Del Indio” (the only composition by John Tchicai, the others are written by Fewell), is the highlight of the album. After a brief introduction McBee takes on a soulful groove (according to Fewell it was not planned) and the saxes and the guitar seem to dance around each other like children in heavenly joyful ecstasy – innocent and tender, one of these musical moments you want to last forever.

It is all the more tragic that John Tchicai, a man like a tree, died last year recovering from a brain hemorrhage. His last words on this album are: “Have a good life and thanks for spending some time with us. We hope to meet you again sometime in the future.” Unfortunately, not in this world.
The album, which was recorded on February 9th and 10th in 2007, is available as a limited vinyl edition of 1000 copies.

You can listen to a snippet of “Dark Matter” on the label’s website (http://nobusinessrecords.com/) where you can also buy the record. You can also purchase it at instantjazz.com.
           

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Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Shadow Man (ECM, 2013) *****

By Paul Acquaro

Saxophonist Tim Berne's compositions are never what you expect -- or rather they are totally what you expect if you are hoping to be led to an unanticipated destination in a circuitous manner. Yet, no matter how unique each adventure is, you know that you'll arrive safely, if somewhat addled.

Snakeoil's first release was a highly lauded event, it topped many critics polls and certainly thrilled me too. Back when it came out, I wrote "right from the first tune there is an assuredness in the intertwining melodies and ever evolving musical ideas. Quiet passages are contrasted by intense ones, and the ebb and flow throughout is seamless",  which stands true, and then some, for this new offering, Shadow Man.

The recording starts out on the quiet side with "Son of Not So Sure." The track takes its time as Matt Mitchell's piano and Ches Smith's vibraphone create a dramatic and somewhat pensive atmosphere. The follow up track 'Static' picks up at a fast clip with melodies and counter-melody climbing and intertwining. Then, over a rather steady piano riff, Berne's sax becomes towering. As I listened, I somehow felt like I wandering around the base of rocky spires in a national park in southern Utah, layers of sound rising up like multihued formations reaching into the crystal skies above. It leaves you panting for air, wondering how something so delicate and beautiful is hewn from such basic elements. 'OC/DC' is a track you can get lost in. Surrounded by the wonderous peaks of saxophone and pathways blazed by the piano, the percussion provides obtuse but delightful trail markers. The dark tension that Oscar Noriega creates on his bass clarinet is captivating, and when the rest of the group picks up, the track 'Sockets' becomes yet another highlight.

Shadow Man is another excellent addition to Berne's discography. Check out a recent clip of Snakeoil's appearance at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC (courtesy of Kevin Reilly):

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John Stevens' Away – Away at Home (Loose Torque, 2013) ****

By Dan Sorrells

A funk and soul music binge undertaken by John Stevens when he was laid up after surgery was the impetus for the group Away. Though it remains dwarfed next to Stevens’ accomplishments with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Away was the drumming giant’s unique way of tapping into the jazz-rock craze of the mid and late 1970s. Away released several albums on the Vertigo label in that time period, and recordings have been sporadically released in the years and decades since, but for the most part, much of the group’s output has been largely unavailable, existing only as assorted notations in the mind-boggling John Stevens discography. Over the past few years, however, Away bassist Nick Stephens has taken to releasing some vintage recordings on his own Loose Torque label, and it’s a wonderful thing. You see, Away was a group that made most fusion bands sound like mere fission.

Away at Home was recorded in 1978 at the Plough Stockwell, a frequent haunt of the band. For this gig, Jon Corbett joined the group, creating a formable funk-jazz sextet of sax, trumpet, drums, bass, and dueling electric guitars. While there’s no question this ensemble was wading into the same waters as Miles Davis, Weather Report, and others across the pond, there’s an energy continually present on Away at Home that seems sorely lacking from a lot of American electric jazz. Away at Home presents an unsubtle, driving music that both embraces the intoxicating headspace of a tightly locked groove and captures the intensity of the classic free jazz free-for-all. Away feared no tempo or crescendo.

Away at Home features four long tracks (and a short fifth piece), most of which are extended mash-ups of tunes from Away’s Vertigo LPs. “Relative Space” makes its mark with an unbearably catchy descending horn line, the track rocketing along until it eventually segues into the  funky, cymbal-driven beat of “What’s That.” The beat is reprised much later at the end of the band’s set, sending the audience through the roof. It’s a perfect encapsulation of what made Away more remarkable than so many of their contemporaries: a small club exuberance that always trumps the bloated, arena-rock detachment that would become fusion’s downfall.

Away at Home is piece of jazz-rock history worth grabbing on to, especially when there’s currently so little from this group to go around. It’s also a side to John Stevens that some of his fans might not be aware of, and a great reminder of what a tireless, passionate force he was in all realms of this music.

The band : Robert Calvert - saxophones, Jon Corbett - trumpet, Nick Stephens - electric bass, Nigel Moyse - guitar, Martin Holder - guitar, John Stevens - drums.

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Power Of The Horns - Alaman (For Tune, 2013) ****½

By Stef  

Big band free jazz ... wow, what a feast. A group of young Polish jazz musicians revive the spirit of the early seventies jazz scene, think of Human Arts Ensemble or other jazz loft bands, or Bengt Berger's Bitter Funeral Beer, which are all rhythm and structure, yet entirely mad and chaotic at the same time, full of majestic power and instruments blending in for grand themes, then taking a lead voice until pushed back by other soloists adding ideas and power and volume only to be drawn back into some strong unison lines for a few bars until the mayhem kicks in again.

The band is Piotr Damasiewicz on trumpet and voice, Adam Pindur on soprano sax, Maciej Obara on alto sax, Marek Pospieszalski on tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute and growl, Pawel Niewiadomski on trombone, Dominik Wania on  piano, Max Mucha on double bass, Jakub Mielcarek on double bass, Wojciech Romanowski on drums, Gabriel Ferrandini on drums, and Tomas Sanchez on percussion.

The band is truly fantastic, blending really as one team, in front of a more than enthusiastic audience, with all soloists improvising strongly, with the horns playing strong counterpoint themes against the African polyrhythmic foundation.

This is nothing else but jubilating sounds, full of great musical joy, majestic and solemn at the same time, wild and ecstatic.

A record to play a zillion times and guaranteed to bring you in high spirits. Highly recommended!

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Mats Gustafsson Round Up

By Martin Schray

Really, Mats, I am starting to hate you. Who do you think you are? Don’t you have any pity with other musicians who want to sell their stuff as well? How many albums have you released this year? It feels as if there were 67 (or so). And the batch of duo albums with Thurston Moore, Joe McPhee, Christian Marclay and Eye, which were announced for early summer, have not even been released yet (you told me that it is going to happen in autumn). It would help if some of the new releases were of bad quality – but no, as if you were king Midas everything you touch turns to gold. The announcement that you are going to start your own label for The Thing actually terrifies me because you said that you wanted to re-release all albums by The Thing on vinyl. As if the new stuff wasn’t enough! Have I mentioned new albums by Fire! and the duo with Ken Vandermark? No?

Okay, enough irony. Of course I love your music, I could die for it. I don’t hate you, but my bank account definitely does.

Swedish Azz: Presents Erik Carlsson & All Stars Vol. 1 and 2 (Not Two, 2013) ****

When I saw Fire! lately Gustafsson referred to this music as “Swedish jazz classics from the future“ but with Swedish azz, which was founded by him and Per-Åke Holmlander in 2009, he actually wants to remember, appreciate, honor and update the Golden Age of Swedish jazz of the 1950s and 60s. People like Lars Gullin, Jan Johansson, Bernt Rosengren, Georg Riedel, Lars Werner, Berndt Egerbladh and Per Henrik Wallin were inspired by the American West Coast Jazz, by musicians like Charlie Parker, Chet Baker and Stan Getz, and included elements of traditional Swedish themes and rhythms into their compositions which was unique in the European jazz scene at that time. Swedish azz’s music uses these compositions and puts them in a contemporary context putting it through the mill of live electronics and free improvisation without forgetting to pay these tunes respect.

Swedish azz consists of Mats Gustafsson (saxes) and Per-Åke Holmlander (tuba), Eric Carlsson (drums), Dieb 13 (turntables and electronics), and Kjell Nordeson (vibraphone) and if you want to check what the notion of the band is, you have to listen to Lars Farnslöf’s “Över Stock Och Sten”, the first track of the album. After a tender intro (with an already spooky underlying vibes sound) the atmosphere changes with the increasing of the pulse and the quite aggressive presentation of the theme. Gustafsson tears the song almost apart, his sound is almost brutal, the breaks are really harsh, but it remains a jazz piece - until Dieb 13’s electronics put it over the edge. For a long moment the track is pure noise, they enjoy getting lost in pure chaos before they finish it with the tenderness of the beginning. This track alone is worth the whole album!

“Du Glädjerika Sköna” by Jan Johansson (the title quotes a line of the Swedish national anthem) cannot quite compete with this extraordinary beginning, it is a vehicle for Nordeson and Holmlander whose hectic solos take turns.

The influence of Swedish folk music is most obviously recognizable in Berndt Egerbladh’s “Umepolskan & Nybyggarland“ which starts with a theme based on a traditional melody before it gets lost (the melody actually vanishes) and crude horror soundscape noises take over. The theme comes up again and the tuba tries to hold it while the vibes and the sax fly like kites over it. As in the first track the band picks up the theme in the end to finish it.

The most unusual track is “Mäster“, a Borje Fredriksson composition. It is highly fragmented, almost a collage of many different elements, and especially the spoken word samples are difficult to adjust to. On the other hand there are beautiful sax/tuba passages as well - but in the end this track cannot quite compete with the others.

Swedish azz is neither a marginal Gustafsson project nor is it merely a pun playing with the derivations of the words jazz and ass. It is a beautiful reference to his and Holmlander’s roots.
Swedish Azz’s Presents Erik Carlsson & All Stars Vol. 1 and 2 is available as a double 10-inch.

You can buy it from  Instantjazz.com.

Although this is an older clip it gives you an impression of what the band sounds like:

 

Mats Gustafsson and Didi Kern: Eissalon (Live) (Rock Is Hell Records, 2013) ****

Eissalon is the German word for ice-cream parlor and the fact that the recording took place in Vienna in January 2013 when the streets are full of snow and the temperature is mostly below zero gives the location a completely different meaning. What is even more interesting is the fact that the parlor is tiny, which increased the intimacy for the audience to a maximum extent.

Mats Gustafsson and drummer Didi Kern used the location to celebrate the publication of the latest edition of Philipp Schmickl’s magazine “The Oral”. I was not familiar with Kern until I heard this record but he has been part of the Vienna improvisation scene for quite some time and he has already recorded with Weasel Walter and performed with Heaven And.

From the very beginning the two musicians are at top speed, Gustafsson plays feverish wild and chopped-off riffs, which are supported by barrage of crazy clicks and clacks, he is rather the howling saxophone dervish at work in this recording.

Kern is a drummer in the Paul Lovens and Günter “Baby” Sommer tradition, his drumming is both muscular and subtle, rumbling and delicate at the same time. He uses all kinds of stuff to extend the possibilities of his drumkit, live he is said to whistle and play various other simple instruments which makes me think of Han Bennink.

“Ein Eis” (an ice-cream), which is the name of the track, rocks formidably, especially the second part is duo free jazz and funk noise par excellence. If you like “I love it when you snore” by Gustafsson/Nilssen-Love you are definitely right here, it is music to empty cheesy rock bars with. For ice-cream parlors in winter it is the perfect music to bring the place to the boil.

Eissalon is only available in a single-sided vinyl edition, it is limited to 222 copies. Unfortunately, it is not the whole 35-minute-set they played but just a 20 minutes excerpt.

You can buy it from the label: http://rockishell.bigcartel.com


Paal Nilssen-Love & Mats Gustafsson: Con-Gas (Bocian, 2013) *** ½

Regular readers of this blog already know that Mats Gustafsson is a vinyl freak, if he could he would mostly release 7-inches. This duo with one of his favorite partners in crime is a double 7-inch and the new thing is that you can hear Paal Nilssen-Love on congas only (and Gustafsson on slide and bass saxophones).
The result is a very intimate session, both leave their mannish playing behind and concentrate on very subtle interaction.

The first A-side - “Satans Fogsmuts” - is a dark introduction with typical Gustafsson honks, while the flipside “Mutants Sass Fog” shows the duo in a tender dialogue in the tradition of Gustafsson’s Birds trio (with Raymond Strid and John Russell). “Evil Nelson” is an unruly ride, the two alpha dogs fight with each other before they come together at the end of the track, which is the most beautiful moment of this recording. The flipside “Enliven Loss” closes the recording with a lesson in sound exploration, very quietly and tentatively, it’s my favorite track here.

The music was recorded on February, 14th, 2013 (is it a mere coincidence that this was my 50th birthday or does this have a deeper meaning?), by Martin Siewert at Garnison7 in Vienna.

Con-Gas comes in white and black vinyl and is limited to 300 copies. 

It’s not a must-have but you get another, interesting perspective on Gustafsson’s and Nilssen-Love’s work.


Dieb 13/Mats Gustafsson/Martin Siewert: (Fake) the Facts (Substance, 2013) ****

This 7-inch was released for Record Store Day 2013 and presents a finger exercise of Mats Gustafsson on bass sax, Martin Siewert on guitar and Dieb 13 on turntables and cigar box.

“The Fake” is a rough track in the tradition of Gustafsson’s collaborations with Thurston Moore or Jim O’Rourke, brutal and harsh electronic shredder with an icing of guitar feedback and sax spittle.  The flipside track “The Fact” is a beautiful beast which presents Gustafsson and Siewert meditating over bubbling along electronic noise.

If you are interested in this kind of music I would recommend the trio’s excellent full album of the same name (Editions Mego, 2011), this 7-inch is also rather for collectors or Gustafsson maniacs.

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