The Art of Perelman-Shipp (Leo Records, 2017) – Part Two

By Tom Burris

Volume 5: Reah (Parts 1-7)  ****

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
Michael Bisio – bass
Whit Dickey – drums

Reah finds us back with the Pandora Ware group, minus Parker, plus Bisio.  Perelman gets an early melodic find and begins to explore his discovery above the band, which is cooking.  The dynamic changes fairly often from this point, however, with an early Perelman-Shipp lockdown and a Shipp break a couple of minutes later.  The band continues to support Perelman as a single engine, pushing him onto even greater heights than before.

The blueprint was laid out early, as Perelman continues to set up the band with a melodic structure early in a piece, then let's them start chiseling away at it – or lifting it.  On Part 3, Perelman enters after a sharp Shipp solo with such strong lines the band rallies behind him with extra verve.  Perelman likes to blur his lines at times, which comes off particular well when he quotes Wayne Shorter on Part 2.  During this section, the band is tentative – except Shipp, who drops a fist on the lowest octave of the keyboard a few times.  Is he goading Perelman on or kicking his ass?  Hard to say, but it works.

I love the sequencing of the tracks on this disc.  There are also some pretty visual moments here as well – such as Part 6, which sounds like an intense Hitchcock murder scene.  A melodramatic intensity follows, conjuring up silent film imagery.  This is followed by Part 7, in which the band compose a convincing ballad in real time.  It wouldn't have surprised me to hear a raspy “How's that, Teo?” at the end.

Volume 6: Saturn (Parts 1-10)  *****

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano

The sound of these two masters weaving around each other in a duo setting, as many of you already know, is stunning.  I can't imagine having to fill the shoes of Parker, Bisio or Dickey when the bond between Shipp and Perelman is so tight.  You definitely gain a new appreciation for those guys almost as soon as you fire this disc up.  There are tons of examples of their duo magic on this set of improvisations, but the first one that I had to play back again was near the end of Part 3 where Shipp moves from major to minor chords and back again to match exactly what Perelman is feeling.

So much of what happens on this disc feels already composed that it's difficult not to be dazzled by the rapport between them.  There is a weaving that takes place, sometimes with them staying near the same register, sometimes with one moving the notation upward as the other one moves down.  Both men have a naturally angular approach to melody, which I think is key to understanding their telepathic methods – but beyond this it's fairly mystifying.  Another example:  At the end of Part 6, Perelman makes a sudden move toward balladry.  Shipp meets the last note with the perfect chord, then adding a couple more which he repeats.  Perelman seems to have assumed this would happen, so perfectly is his melodic accompaniment.

My notes for this album are ridiculous enough to quote.  “Perelman found an injured animal.  Where does Shipp find these chords?!?  Wow!”  Then for Part 8 they finally say “More intuitive genius.  Yawn.”  So yeah, I know you get tired of reading about it.  But truth is truth.  This thing is damn near Perfect.  Yeah, capital P.

Volume 7: Dione (Parts 1-8)  ****1/2

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
Andrew Cyrille – drums

Free Jazz legend Cyrille opens this disc solo for the first minute and 20 seconds.  When Perelman and Shipp enter, Cyrille makes the music larger – not necessarily louder, but more amplified and balanced.  It's an interesting approach that is also his main contribution to this session.  Strap in.

Part 2 finds Cyrille in an extremely subtle mode, pushing gently against Perelman and Shipp.  Again, the nuances of Perelman-Shipp are amplified by Cyrille's participation.  He pushes against the duo in a way that isn't the least bit intrusive, steering them gently as they move.  The more I listen to Dione, the more I believe it's Cyrille's ability to hear Perelman-Shipp properly, rather than what he plays with them, that is the secret to his approach.

There are failed experiments along the way, of course.  On Part 6, Shipp & Cyrille join forces briefly in an attempt to guide Perelman in another direction.  They are met with resistance and the maneuver comes to an abrupt halt.  Perelman then swoops down on Shipp and Cyrille slides back in the driver's seat.  This is the pattern for those rare moments in general.

Shipp gets inside the piano for a few plucks on Part 7.  A gentle storm brews slowly until a little rain appears.  Not even a storm – but one of those peaceful summer rains where you can hear every drop and rumble.  Subtle, but amplified.  Andrew Cyrille is a poet of percussion.

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The Art of Perelman-Shipp (Leo Records, 2017) – Part One

By Tom Burris

Several months ago I read an interview with Matthew Shipp, during which he stated his intention to cease recording. The reasoning behind his decision was primarily that live performance is where improvisation lives (true enough) and that recording in the studio no longer felt like a necessity – so he planned to simply stop doing studio sessions. He has made this kind of claim before; so I’m not sure how long the sabbatical will last – but one thing we do know is this: This set of seven recordings with longtime sparring partner, the great Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman, may be the last studio discs to appear with Shipp’s name on them for quite a while.

It seems fitting that this collection of recordings is scheduled to be his last, as it is a monumental exploration of Perelman and Shipp as a duo – and the sounds that transpire when other musicians join their extremely unique and personal dialogues. So why not a box set? Box sets tend to signify either something epochal or stand as a summary of artistic achievement after a particular era of events has passed. These individual sets of improvisations are simply new dialogues in new settings taking place in the here and the now. They stand as individual documents. Having said that, fans of either man and/or the duo will want them all regardless of packaging.

Thematically, the discs and their titles are centered around an astronomical phenomenon known as the Saturn Return, which both men feel is an active force in their lives and in their musical relationship to one another.

Volume 1: Titan (Parts 1-6)   ****1/2

 

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
William Parker - bass


It’s interesting that Volume 1 begins with Shipp’s old bandmate from David S. Ware’s quartet, bassist William Parker – because (I’m jumping ahead here) most of these groups center around Perelman & Shipp as a duo. In this trio, Shipp often splits alliances between Perelman & Parker. On Part 2, for example, Shipp & Parker hang stars in the sky while Perelman shoots at them from the moon. (Hey, I saw it.) Soon after, the core duo of Perelman-Shipp locks down, leaving Parker to play against them as a solidified unit.


When all three players take equal part in the exploration it’s especially thrilling. On Part 4, they successfully attempt to compose a Brecht-by-way-of-Lester-Young ballad on the fly. Naturally, it ends as something else entirely – but as something unique and complete as a whole. Part 5 also begins with all three musicians functioning as a creative trio, playing in a style I’d call more “conventionally free” as opposed to the more painterly pieces that precede it. Shipp & Parker get an extended spot together, before Perelman joins in again and switches the dynamic back to Perelman-Shipp with solid support from Parker.

Part 6 is all over the map. It opens with Perelman playing mournful vibrato notes almost to the point of parody, with Parker’s arco bowing adding to the pathos. Shipp’s support, naturally, is melodic and sedate. By the five-minute mark, the trio has joined together as one playing a free jazz rembetika of immediate origin. Shortly after this, Parker is leading with a bop-era bass line, sparking Shipp to respond with an angular avant riff, over which Perelman invokes the spirit of '70s Arista-era Braxton. There are also hints of the blues, marches (Braxton again), and Perelman sounding positively soulful during some amazing runs. I’m not sure how it holds together as a single piece, but it’s a wild ride.

Volume 2: Tarvos (Parts 1-7)   ****

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
Bobby Kapp – drums


Bobby Kapp’s lightness of touch is a perfect complement to the approach of the Perelman-Shipp duo. Even when things get dark or heavy, somehow Kapp remains light – and that doesn’t mean soft. It’s more of an air of optimism – an openness and natural positivity. It is his general demeanor that allows for magic moments to happen – like the one in Part 3 where the trio comes together in a way that sounds entirely composed. And FYI – Kapp and Perelman never played together before this date!

Typically, the dynamic throughout most of this session is Perelman-Shipp allowing itself to be driven by Kapp. Part 6 is the standout piece, opening with gorgeous balladry from Shipp which picks up in intensity after Perelman and Kapp add their contributions. A time-signature is established for a short while, but quickly dissipates as Perelman’s melodic sense becomes one with Shipp’s arpeggios and chord voicings. Kapp holds his own as Perelman and Shipp kick the music up into a Trane/Tyner intensity. Beautiful.

Volume 3: Pandora (Parts 1-6)   ****

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
William Parker – bass
Whit Dickey – drums


Now we have Ware’s entire rhythm section w/ Perelman in the sax chair. This is the one I was most curious about, so I started with this one. It did not disappoint. It gets intense with three guys kicking up the saxophonist's ass – and Perelman’s not tough in the same way that Ware was, so how is this gonna pan out? Shipp again does double duty, playing as part of the Ware unit & moving in and out of the Perelman-Shipp model. As Ware-Perelman, the entire rhythm section rumbles as it creates storm clouds on which Perelman rides. Part 2 opens this way, but is disrupted a couple of times as Perelman-Shipp comes out. Shipp has a lot of pressure on him to perform this delicate balancing act, but it’s the man’s job & he is not one to underperform.

Midway through the disc, Perelman has become comfortable enough to relish the energy of the band & interacts enthusiastically with the players individually. He is investigating the machinery, kicking the tires, swooping down on the musicians to get their reactions. Perelman is trying to find his way of dealing with the Ware group’s collective power. He finds it eventually – and it’s where you think the group would’ve started from anyway (but they didn’t). Dickey and Parker hold Shipp up. Shipp holds Perelman up. That’s it! It takes them half the disc to get there – but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on all of the experimentation that happened previously either. So it’s win/win, really.

Volume 4: Hyperion (Parts 1-10)   ****

Ivo Perelman – tenor saxophone
Matthew Shipp – piano
Michael Bisio – bass

The trio begins tentatively, in a curious and patient mood. Snippets of songs peek through the cracks only to vanish quickly from view. The musicians begin to play angular runs that do not seem to fit together at all – until the ears adjust. Naturally, it gels into another beast entirely. Bisio plays busily while Shipp alternates between runs and block chords. Perelman, as always, is searching for the melody within. Bisio suits the duo as well as Parker did, but Bisio is not as aggressive.

Shipp fans, you get short but complete solos on Part 5 and Part 9. They are both bits of automatic composition that my notes say “could be 30 minutes longer.” I stand by that!

Part 6 barely contains its own energy, with restless rooting from all three players until they become one six-armed, six-legged cyber-insect digging its way through silent corners and infecting them with gigantic SOUND. Perelman is still trying to locate melodies – even at this pace – which is, of course, futile.

Part 7 finds Shipp dropping surprise chords like they’re just spilling out of his pocket – and Perelman and Bisio adapt quickly and easily like the total pros they are. In fact, Perelman delights in this shit – singing like a magnificent bird of prey. He stays in this mode on Part 8, flying around the other two continuously. By Part 10 things have run a little amok, with Perelman-Shipp moving at top speed and Bisio struggling to keep up. It’s the only track where Bisio appears to be a third wheel – and for this reason, I kinda wish they wouldn’t have closed with it.

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Meet the Danes #4 (part 2 of 2)

Day 2 of "Meet the Danes #4". See all installments of the ongoing series here.

By Eval Hareuveni

Morten Pedersen 5tet: Sammensurium (Barefoot Records, 2017) ****

Pianist Morten Pedersen new 5tet represents a Nordic-European idea of free jazz and improvised music. The 5tet features Copenhagen-based Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski, Italian reeds player Francesco Bigoni, Swedish, Malmö-based double bass player Johannes Nästesjö and drummer Håkon Berre (who plays with Pedersen in the trio The Mighty Mouse).

Pedersen wrote for the Sammensurium's ('conglomeration' in Danish) complex compositions. Their entangled architecture incorporates strong melodic motifs but never surrender to clear structures or fixed pulses, and always demand individual, intuitive improvisations. Parallel, sometimes dissonant and conflictual lines and ideas, construct the ballad “Jubas”, the more abstract “Aja” and the Monk-ish, chamber-like “Kitchen”, suggesting fragile and ethereal architecture. Pedersen delivers his own commanding concept of free playing with his solo piano on “Odacinummocni”, triggering imaginative solos of Dąbrowski and Bigoni. The last piece, the playful “Itzi” is the only piece that is rooted in the American free jazz of the late sixties.

More on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mortenpeder-1/sets/morten-pedersen-5tet

The Firebirds - Aladdin's Dream: The Firebirds play Carl Nielsen (Ilk Music, 2017) ****

The Firebirds trio - reeds player Anders Banke, keyboards player Anders Filipsen and drummer Stefan Pasborg, all are active in many other groups as Ibrahim Electric, Travelling Tribes and New Jungle Orchestra - interpret the works of iconic composers. On its self-titled, debut album (Ilk Music, 2015) the trio created brilliant interpretations of Igor Stravinsky compositions, whose infamous ballet inspired the trio name. Aladdin’s Dream is a tribute to Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), known to many Danish as his face appeared on the local one-hundred kroner note. Nielsen was considered as an outsider during his lifetime and his works gained local and international recognition only from the sixties through conductors as Leonard Bernstein. Apparently, Nielsen was suspicious about the relevance of jazz to the Danish culture and asserted that it has “no roots” in Denmark.

The Firebirds challenges Nielsen assertion with great imagination, passion and a healthy sense of humor. The five-part “Alladin Suite” references Oriental and Indian cycles and is interpreted with complex and clever rhythmic shifts, alternating organically between atmospheric funky to blues shuffle, and colored with a refined sense of drama. “Helios Overture”, one of the most famous orchestral works of Nielsen, inspired by his stay in Athens, Greece, sound as if it was written for a group that can encompass prog-like, orchestral sensibilities with a free jazz intense rhythmic attack. The last, most beautiful “Little Suite for Strings”, one of Nielsen earliest works, ends with a majestic, exciting dance, a triumphant conclusion to this impressive tribute.

Ellipsis - Bulawayo (Creative Sources, 2017) ****

The Ellipsis trio - Australian pianist Andy Butler and double bass player Jon Heilbron and Danish drummer Christian Windfeld - was formed in 2013 while the three musicians resided in Berlin. Bulawayo is Ellipsis third album, after two self-produced, only-digital albums. It was recorded in Aarhus in autumn 2015.

Ellipsis music is free-improvised but has a distinct reserved-melancholic aesthetics of a chamber trio. The trio has developed its own syntax - the pieces unfold slowly, resonate gently in space despite their fragile, fractured structures. At first Butler, Heilbron and Windfeld sound as operating in parallel sonic universes that occasionally unite and solidify a melodic motif but immediately afterwards opt to investigate their own sonic universes. But in repeated listening you understand how deep is their interaction. Butler offers the core ideas while both Heilbron and Windfeld contrast his melodic motifs with dissonant, abstract colors and shades, transforming fragile improvisations as “(Another) Von Trier Dream” to dreamy-kaleidoscopic textures.

Marcela Lucatelli / Erik Kimestad Pedersen / Henrik Olsson (Self Produced, 2017) ***½

Copenhagen-based Swedish guitarist Henrik Olsson and Norwegian trumpeter Erik Kimestad Pedersen have worked as a duo for years, keeping up an anti-routine by inviting other musician that may enhance their language beyond its established idioms. This limited-edition orange colored 10’’ vinyl documents the duo first ever meeting with Brazilian vocalist Marcela Lucatelli on February 2017. Lucatelli studied music in Copenhagen and now based in Denmark and Italy.

The four free-improvised pieces focus on intense and brutal sonic collisions that demand all three musicians to exploit all their inventive powers and extended techniques. Lucatelli, Pedersen and Olsson mutate their voices, breathes and the guitar strings into extreme, chaotic soundscapes that still has some twisted sensual quality. Like noisy godzillas that enjoy the Danish hygge in a compact, sweaty space.

Henrik Pultz Melbye - Frogs // Toads (Insula Jazz, 2017) ***

Sax player Henrik Pultz Melbye always opted for the emore xperimental sonic terrains, whether he was working with his own trio, his duo Motherfucker (with drummer Thomas Eiler) or the avant-rock group SVIN. Frogs // Toads is Melbye solo project, featuring him free-improvising with the tenor sax in various rooms with different sizes and acoustics. Melbye sees this recording as part of “an ongoing personal exploration of non-idiomatic saxophone sounds and techniques and how you can use them to make music”.

The concise improvisations are highly intense, disciplined and cerebral, reflecting Melbye restless, searching spirit. All together these improvisations solidify Melbye complex and rich language and his commanding usage of extended breathing techniques, including circular breathing, creating feedback effects and drone soundscapes.

Tigers Mind - Paradiso Pudding Mix (Jvtlandt, 2017) ***

Tigers Mind trio's - Norwegian sax player Danielle Dahl, electronics player-guitarist Oslo-based Niklas Adam and drummer Thomas Eiler (from SVIN) - debut album (after a self-released EP) juggles with a kaleidoscopic mashup of electronic minimalism, punk rock, noise and free jazz. The trio began working in 2010, playing improvised music that moves in primitive, ritualistic waves between static object, sparse melodic progression and sudden, primal sonic assaults.

The opening “Magma Holtz” is actually a chilly, minimalist electronic soundscapes with subtle bursts of outworldly noises, the only pieces that do not surrender to Tigers Mind brutal assaults. Dahl leads “Uncertainty Matrix” with a tortured, high-pitched cacaphonic interplay, interrupted by Adam’s atmospheric noises and distorted guitar sounds and the massive, pulse-free drumming of Eiler. The 15-minutes “Mid Haste” brings the trio unpredictable roller coaster interplay to perfection. The split overtones of Dahl clash with the metallic hammering of Eiler and are distracted by the nervous attacks of Adam. Then all three musicians realign to other fierce assaults, some more impressionist and industrial, others more dense and wild, all are highly intense.

Blind Man’s Band (Insula Jazz, 2017) ***

The trio Blind Man’s Band - keyboards player Christian Rønn, bass player Claus Poulsen with French drummer Kevin Angboly - comes from the bubbling experimental-underground scene of Copenhagen. This improvising trio is influenced by the punkish spirit of Dutch group The Ex and Japanese drummer Tatsuya Yoshida's prog-rock outfits. Blind Man’s Band self-titled debut cassette was recorded in Copenhagen on June 2016. The seven short pieces offer colorful, extreme sonic clashes. The three fearless musicians sound as enjoying chaotic interplay that is always on the verge of a noisy meltdown, skyrocketing as fast as possible, head-on to the most intense, psychedelic mode possible.

Check them out on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/flincmusic/sets/blind-mans-band

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Meet The Danes #4 (part 1 of 2)

By Eyal Hareuveni

Part 1 of 2, in the fourth installment of the occasional "Meet the Danes" series.

Danish musicians, Danish labels, Danish productions and plenty of collaborations with musicians who reside in Denmark, all emphasizing how vibrant and varied is the Danish experimental-free-alternative.

Mark Solborg & Christian Skjødt - Omdrejninger (Ilk Music, 2017) *****

Omdrejninger (rounds, as in r.p.m., turns or revolutions in Danish) is a site-specific work for an ensemble, space and loudspeakers - conceived by sound-installation artist Christian Skjødt and guitarist Mark Solborg. This project investigates and challenges the listening experience for both the musicians and audience. The ensemble features a few of the most innovative European improvisers such as German trumpeter Axel Dörner who also adds electronics, Norwegian percussionist Ingar Zach and Danish classical cellist Jakob Kullberg, vocal artist Michael Rexen, Mark Solborg on guitar and devices, and Skjødt who does the sound processing and plays shortwave-radio and RC oscillator.

The music consists of composed and improvised pieces, processed through a system developed and designed specifically for the project, broadcasted through a multi-speaker system and using elements of delay, enlarge, distort, sample, and geographical displace in different patterns and tempi. It was recorded at the 2015 edition of The Copenhagen Jazz Festival and is offered in a special limited edition of two vinyl albums, plus two visual renditions by director Laurits Flensted-Jensen on a USB stick and a photo-montage with pictures by Peter Ganushkin, Hanne Budtz-Jørgensen and Raphael Frisenvænge. Even the reduced digital only version of this project presents a fascinating, even illuminating, listening experience. Each listening session deepens the intense, captivating power of this work, revealing more and more nuances, colors, shapes and textures. You feel that you can drawn into the meditative, sometimes turbulent breaths of Dörner, stroked by the wise, minimalist touches of Solborg and Zach or charmed by the eccentric-ecstatic vocals of Rexen. Or you can surrender fully to this totally weird and abstract sonic journey. A highly stimulating, almost hallucinogenic experience is guaranteed.

Kasper Tom / Alexander von Schlippenbach / Rudi Mahall - Abstract Window (WhyPlayJazz, 2017) ****½

Legendary German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, 79 years old, is one of the European musicians who have defined what is free and free-improvised music is since the mid-sixties, with his Schlippenbach Trio (with Evan Parker and Paul Lovens) and the Globe Unity Orchestra. Fellow German, clarinetist Rudi Mahall, is another innovative improviser who has collaborated with von Schlippenbach in the Globe Unity Orchestra and on his brilliant interpretations of Thelonious Monk's songbook (Monk's Casino, Intakt, 2005). Mahall is also a close collaborator of drummer Kasper Tom Christiansen and has played with him in his quartet Fusk, as a duo (Their debut One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure was released by Barefoot Records, 2016) and in other outfits.

Abstract Window is the trio's debut album, recorded during October 2016 in Berlin. It is tempting to see this trio as a variation of the Schlippenbach Trio due to the similar instrumentation and the close affinity between the three musicians. This trio may not have the organic telepathic of the Schlippenbach Trio that has been working now for over four decades, but its interplay is still fresh, inventive and often even poetic. All three musicians are credited to the 11 pieces that blur the lines between spontaneous improvisations and concise, focused compositions. All the pieces have a playful sense of melody and drama and structure despite their constant flirts with quirky structures and fast and sharp interplay. The three musicians openly embrace new ideas, dynamics and risks, applying the philosophy that led to title one of the pieces "Change is the Only Constant".

Kira Skov / Maria Faust - In The Beginning (Stunt, 2017) ****½

The project of vocalist Kira Skov and Estonian and Copenhagen-based sax player-composer Maria Faust does not come close to the free jazz territory, but features musicians from that field. Faust's last album, Sacrum Facere (Barefoot Records, 2014) presented a song cycle inspired by Estonian folk music. Now, with Skov, the two explore a cultural universe of Estonia that sounds as if was frozen in time, long-buried songs and stories of loss, surrender, submission, faith, doubt, and forgiveness. The new song cycle was recorded in an abandoned, freezing Russian Orthodox Church originally constructed in 1873.

The hypnotic music, beautiful songs, stories and chants - flirting with sacred orthodox hymn as well as chamber, modern jazz arrangements - transform and re-imagines memories from the dark times of the Catholic Church and local folk traditions annihilated by various oppressive regimes into modern elegies. The emotional, fragile delivery of Skov and the wise, passionate arrangements of Faust tell us how such stories and songs tell us much how we remember who we are. They are accompanied by an excellent cast of musicians - American sax player and Faust partner Ned Ferm, Swedish trumpeter Tobias Wiklund, double bass player-cellist and Skov partner Nicolai Munch-Hansen who tragically deceased recently, Estonian bass clarinet player Meelis Vind and Scottish drummer Sebastian Rochford, leader of the Polar Bear group, plus an Estonian choir.

Aram Shelton & Håkon Berre - Bygning G (Self Produced, 2017) ***½

In fall of 2016, American reeds player Aram Shelton relocated to Copenhagen from California. One of the first musicians he collaborated with is the Norwegian, Copenhagen-based drummer Håkon Berre, a prolific actor in the local scene and co-founder of the label-musicians collective Barefoot Records. Bygning G, the duo debut recording, offers four free-improvised duets, with no edits, featuring Shelton on the alto sax and Berre on drums and percussion.

The first duet establishes the duo's dynamics. It is a fast shifting and free associative one, focused on sonic searches, without any attempt to commit to a pulse or a coherent narrative. The second duet changes course and suggests an abstract soundscape, based on extended breathes and blows and rudimental touches and scratches of skins and objects. The third duet alternates suddenly between a fiery and muscular free jazz duet and an equally intense searching one, where the abstract breathing and percussive sounds brings to mind other electro-acoustic projects of Shelton. The last and longest one is the most playful one. Shelton and Berre ideas flow organically, both developing nuanced and eccentric sonic collages comprised of Shelton restless breathes and blows and Berre poetic, percussive colors, patiently gravitating towards an ecstatic catharsis.

Liudas Mockūnas / Arnas Mikalkėnas / Håkon Berre - Plunged (Barefoot Records, 2017) ***½

Lithuanian reeds player Liudas Mockūnas initiated this trio in 2013 with fellow Lithuanian pianist-accordion player Arnas Mikalkėnas and drummer Berre, with whom he collaborated before in the noise trio Angel and another free jazz trio, led by bass player Peter Friis Nielsen. This trio focuses on original compositions written by the three musicians, encompassing elements from chamber jazz, free jazz and contemporary music, still, leaving enough room for open improvisations. The album was recorded live during its first European tour at the 2014 edition of the Vilnius Jazz Festival.

All seven compositions has clear, transparent structures. Five of the pieces are titled as "studies" and focused on disciplined strategies of the chamber format, where the trio cleverly explores melodic motives and builds and releases the dramatic tension, but also suggest detours from the closed format. "Study 2" highlights Mockūnas surprising, impressive circular breathing solo while "Study 3" alternates between an emotional theme and a wild, loose improvisation. On "Study 4" the captivating theme is almost lost in the chaotic, abstract improvisation and on "Study 5" the theme is harnessed into a tough, rhythmic pattern. The exceptional, "Stress", is a free jazz piece, based on a ritualistic pulse of Berre, abstracted and charged with tons of energies by Mockūnas and Mikalkėnas. The last "Pels" is a playful, rhythmic free jazz piece, where the trio collective interplay suggest different angles to the rhythmic spirit of this piece.

Jeppe Zeeberg - The Four Seasons (Barefoot Records, 2017) ****½

Pianist Jeppe Zeeberg, known from The Horse Orchestra, continues to improve his eclectic compositional ideas that incorporate strict notation, free jazz, free improvisation and field recordings. The Four Seasons is his best realized project so far, a conceptual eight-part suite that has nothing to do Antonio Vivaldi composition, but, naturally, beginning and ending in the winter season, as can expected be expected from a Danish composer.

Zeeberg's ensemble - featuring reeds player Lars Greve, Swedish guitarist Henrik Olsson and trombonist Petter Hängsel, and Norwegian trumpeter Erik Kimestad Pedersen - abstracts his intricately-arranged, cinematic suite with joyful passion, great sense of invention and healthy doses of humor and irony that calls for comparisons with established outfits as the Dutch Instant Composers Pool (ICP) orchestra and even some of Frank Zappa works. The opening and closing winter pieces mirror the fast changes in the Danish weather with complex, sometimes violent shifts of pulse and intense dynamics. The spring pieces sound are more playful, moving from a sparse search for a common sonic ground to swinging melodic themes and eccentric-dissonant fusion acrobatics. The summer pieces reflect the melancholic loneliness of the ones who stayed behind on the vacation season, struggling with the chaos of tourist season, while the autumn ones are more emotional, featuring beautiful piano solo of Zeeberg on "Fall: Sky Piece".

Rawfishboys - Fengling + The White Starline (DeWerf Records, 2017) ****

Rawfishboys is the duo of French, Aarhus-based double bass player Brice Soniano and Belgian reeds player Joachim Badenhorst, both known from their group Carate Urio Orchestra. Rawfishboys bagan working together in 2004, at times practicing on a daily basis, experimenting with melody, timbre, composition, phrasing, timing, interpretation and poetry. The new disc Fengling and the vinyl The White Starline are the third and fourth releases of this duo. Both albums were recorded in four days on July 2016 at the 16th century Sint-Godelieve Abbey and Onze Lieve Vrouw van Blindekens Chapel in Brugge and its spirited environment shaped Rawfishboys compositions and ideas. Soniano adds organ, harmonium and his voice to his double bass while Badenhorst plays clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax, organ and sings.

Fengling offers a set of contemplative and lyrical, hymn-like chamber compositions and an inspired cover of Cuban folk songwriter Silvio Rodriguez' "Vida Y Otras Questiones". These compositions bring to mind the solo works of John Surman for ECM with their dreamy, dance-like melodies. This album stresses the profound and intimate connection between Soniano and Badenhorst and their subtle, poetic interplay. The White Starline, apparently also the name of company that built the Titanic, relies on loose, intuitive improvisations. It tells the story of the fly Flydix from Jutland, the swampy northern part of Denmark, and his love to the one-winged lady-fly Wing, tragically ended on their wedding day. The vivid, often theatrical pieces, spiced with urban field recordings, including a beautiful cover of a traditional Armenian song, follow the many twists of the sad story, with an exceptional charm, elegance and compassion.

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Zack Clarke — Random Acts of Order (Clean Feed, 2017) ****1/2

By Rick Joines

The first five minutes of Zack Clarke’s Random Acts of Order is bubbling layers of noise accompanied by the occasional sawing arco of an upright bass. Static, warbles, the rumbling of boiler room pistons, bad weather blowing in, fog horns, sparky digital artefacts unhinged in the matrix, blaring waves of jets shredding the sky, swooping sci-fi soundtrack warps—the ear wants to find meaning in the stacked chaos of sound—and before all this turns, almost, into white noise, one gets a sense of vast, ceilinged, space, perhaps like a large airport—intercom voices and indistinct, probably vital, announcements sounding somewhere beyond one’s discernment, or maybe beneath one’s level of attention. This is a thoroughly synthetic, manufactured modern din. Then around the 5-minute mark, there is a click of drum sticks, some brushed cymbals, the arco of the bass settles down, and a slightly altered piano dissonantly tinkles into the mix. Sustained and descending chords fall into one another yet fail to resolve.

This first track is titled “Before the Cause,” as in quantum physics, when an effect appears to precede its cause. If the effect is random noise, its precedent cause is what: order? What is the causal relation between the soft, sparse, somnolent improvisation of the last seven minutes to the noise of the first five? What’s the difference, finally, between the accidental and the intentional, between the random and the rational, between the accumulation of industrial noise and the intention to compose beautiful noise? Nothing, perhaps. Maybe everything.

After hearing only the first track, one is bound to ask: What sort of record is this? I’m not sure, in the end, if the genre is important—noise, electronica, free jazz, post-bop, avant-garde. What is important is that it’s good, so good I find myself, at times, shuddering in a sort of awe, as if I should get unshod and avert my mortal eyes. Part of this effect comes from the album’s production. It is recorded and mixed beautifully: drums, piano, and bass float together in perfect balance, each distinctly—marvelously—engaging one’s undivided attention. If I were a musician, I’d find my way to Systems Two Recording Studios in Brooklyn, call in Billy Drewes from NYU to produce, and nomad engineer Rich Lamb to record. Then I’d send it all over to Bass Hit Studios, hoping David Darlington would mix and master. Part of the greatness of this record surely belongs to their efforts. Of course, they have the playing of some incredible young talent. As Joe Morris writes in the liner notes, these twenty-somethings (each one his former student) have incredibly mature hands, minds, and ears. “This music,” Morris writes, unfolds as a landscape with many points of view, or as a series of narratives, and as a set of tableaus.” It demands and rewards careful listening and reflection. It is easy, he says, to get “lost in the sound of each instrument.”

The interplay between the trio is euphoric, aggressive. This group respects tradition but they’re not afraid to burn it down. They can play sweet as a gang of harpists, then buzz, furious as bees. Henry Fraser, on bass, rips it up and utterly tears it down. He walks a growling beast of a bass line on a tight tether that threatens to snap on any beat; his arco can slice then soothe in rapid succession, breaking your heart, then ferociously strafing your ears. Dré Hočevar, on drums, is a dervish of crashing, splashing, and hard-ridden cymbals. He can snap a snare with military precision or brush it with tender affection. And then there’s bandleader and composer Zack Clarke. He plays piano like he’s come unstuck in jazz time. Even when his playing—song-to-song, and sometimes measure-to measure—can conjure great moments in the history of jazz, he always sounds unique, decisive, playful, and intense. He shows you, old man, he can play and can teach you a thing or two.

There are a couple of tracks that reprise the gurgling, water droplet noises of “Before the Cause”: “Elements” and “Celebrate Unity.” These may serve an intellectual function that relates to the album’s title—other moments where order appears at random, and though I’m not sure I can make sense of them, or enjoy them as much as the rest, they work well in the tapestry these three weave. If the tracks “Act 1” and “Up on the High” lavishly display the virtuosic strengths and playful inventiveness of the trio, “Act 2” is the show stopper: perfectly mixed; perfectly played—it reminds you of everything you’ve ever loved about jazz and free jazz, yet reveals that, buddy, that you don’t know Zack.

Available from Clean Feed Records (album preview on the Spotify player)

Zack Clarke: http://zackclarke.com
Henry Fraser: http://henry-fraser.com
Dré Hočevar: http://drehocevar.com

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Joshua Abrams Natural Information Society - Simultonality (glitterbeat/tak:til, 2017) ****½

By Eric McDowell

If Joshua Abrams’s Natural Information Society is in the business of creating “sonic environments,” then 2015’s Magnetoception was a place for wandering. Gently paced, its considerable variety distributed deliberately across four LP sides, the music guided with a light hand. This meant that before exploring every corner, there was a chance you might get lost—in thought, perhaps, or in the task of getting up again to flip the record over. NIS’s latest, by contrast, is a tighter, denser space. Lasting only 42 minutes, Simultonality has an energy that would be hard to sustain for much longer and a momentum that ushers the listener along with no chance for straying.

Given the niche that Abrams has dug out for NIS in the avant-jazz scene, it’s not surprising that at the root of Simultonality’s propulsive character lies rhythm, in particular the hypnotizing ostinati that ground Abrams’s simple, sturdy compositions. Though these looping patterns tend to be anchored by Abrams himself—mostly on guimbri, but also on harp and acoustic bass—it doesn’t hurt that pretty much everyone in the band plays some kind of rhythm instrument—some of them doubled: Emmett Kelly on electric guitar, Lisa Alvarado and Ben Boye on a variety of keyboards (plus Boye’s autoharp), and Michael Avery and Frank Rosaly on drums and percussion.

As the album’s title suggests, it’s the band’s collective focus that accounts for the full unstoppable force of the music. Opener “Maroon Dune” sets off on a bounding 5/4 two-step. Over Abrams’s punchy guimbri line, the rest of the band weave variations on the ostinato—all except Alvarado and Boye, whose broad chordal overlays sigh like exhalations in strange but compelling contrast to the perpetually unresolved odd meter. In other places all voices align, as in the Reich-like pulsating introduction of follow-up “Ophiuchus,” which eventually opens out into an affectingly wistful 6/8 groove. At the center of the album sits—or rather, dances—“Sideways Fall,” an epic twelve-minute jam whose quarter note percussive backbone has already earned numerous comparisons to Can’s “Vitamin C.” Here the band’s voices double and echo each other—not only Avery and Rosaly, but also Kelly, Boye, and Alvarado, who pass around complementary phrases with the circularity of a snake eating its own tail.

Whereas the first three tracks are all about groove, the final two move into new territory. With its web-like harp ostinato and dewdrop embellishments, “St. Cloud” lets in a bit of fresh air, welcome after the close, sweaty dance marathon that precedes it. But the real departure is “2128 ½,” named after the address (on Chicago’s South Indiana Avenue) that once hosted Fred Anderson’s beloved Velvet Lounge. Being a tribute, the tune is weighted with smoky, forlorn nostalgia, from the classic (and uncharacteristic, for NIS) free jazz introduction to the walking bass line (equally uncharacteristic) Abrams descends into at about the three-minute mark. Though the band works with what feels like a single consciousness throughout the album, the closer guest-stars veteran Chicago saxophonist Ari Brown. His playing is exactly what’s needed—broad and musical, dynamic and yet somehow static at the same time, evoking a lost past. It’s an unexpected but brilliant ending to one of NIS’s best albums yet.
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The Selva - The Selva (Clean Feed) 2017 ****

By Philip Coombs

There is something instantly appealing to The Selva. I also find a pure joy in listening to a trio of musicians that I’ve never heard of before. This, obviously, stifles any perceptions that I may bring with history. To add to the mystery, it’s a self-titled album, The Selva, that’s it. And to go even one step further, no song titles, just roman numerals from 1 to 9.

Track I and II, gave me little taste of what was to come, a prologue if you will. These 2 tracks blend the familiar with the unknown, a theme that occurs several times over the course of the record. It is track III, where Ricardo Jacinto (cello) Gonçalo Almeida (double bass) and Nuno Morão (drums) take a nugget and expand on it to its fullest. It's like Track 1 is Red and Track 2 is Blue but Track 3 is the Purple. By the time it is over, III is pounding and swirling and headed for a heart pumping conclusion that doesn’t disappoint.

The Selva go straight back to three short tracks again giving us some more structured music to ponder before heading into dark free jazz territory on Track VII.

As much as the cello and double bass can alternately be called melancholy and sadness, The Selva, does stray away from such obvious emotions giving us both extended technique and power at the same time without falling into any lower register traps. The drumming of Morão help in this endeavour and it won’t happen on his watch. He really gets the spotlight on track VII as he rumbles his way in and around the cello and bass entanglement.

I do like the structure of the record. There is just enough free vs. composition to store these three Portuguese musicians in my head and see where they go with this.

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Philipp Gropper’s Philm - Sun Ship (Whyplayjazz, 2017) ****

By Daniel Böker

The instruments lurch in. The movements wallow a little like they are on a ship. The most striking is probably the drums, however the bass, the piano, and the saxophone all come along most enjoyably in the same lurching fashion. The journey on the sun ship starts.

Maybe it is all wrong to try to listen the titles of the album into the music but Philip Gopper’s Phim’s third and latest album does have a real agreeable lurching outset that dissolves into a plain groove for a short moment after about 4 minutes before it starts fishtailing again.

In all of this there is plenty of room. The four instrumentalists, Philip Gropper (tenor sax), Elias Stemeseder (piano, synthesizer), Andreas Lang (bass) and Oliver Steidle (drums) leave a lot of space and time. The three pieces (each is divided into two or three sections) embrace the spaces in-between, making them as important as what is played. In the middle of the second piece, the first impulsive sequence appears, with the band coming to the fore for some (at least for a little while!) smooth sailing.

Maybe 'lurching' sounds negative but I enjoyed the journey with Philip Gropper’s Phlim. The whole album sounds as if the musicians have nothing to prove. No one overtakes the other. The musicians are obviously on a common journey. The second big piece 'J' starts with the saxophone and the bass. Most of the music, or even all of it, ascends from the waiting for each other. The whole interplay of the musicians grows more intense, especially when the drums no longer lurch but lead the way. In fact, Oliver Steidle is a great discovery for me. Additionally, the music of 'J' is carried by a rather melodious saxophone, that maneuvers safely through the accords and strains of the piano.

The last piece 'Who owns the world?' is started by the piano like an open question mark, and raises to the intense overall sound of all four instruments without losing sight of each other. At the end of the first piece the question of who owns the world still remains unanswered. I suppose I'm trying to interpret the titles of the pieces too much into the music itself (it’s my first review), but maybe the amiable reader agrees with me. All in all, the band never forgets to increase their musical journey with every piece by playing with each other and growing louder.

This album is a fine master piece, that allows the audience a lot of room to breathe and to discover; with and without the names of the individual pieces.

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Minus Zero: Putting the Music to Work

By Paul Acquaro

Something that has always fascinated me is the many ways instrumental music - without the help of lyrics - can be used to carry a message, to protest, or  to advance a cause. A group of musicians out of the Bay Area in California have found their way by creating a record label which donates all proceeds to Planned Parenthood. Founders Vijay Anderson, Dina Maccabee, and Ben Goldberg launched Minus Zero on Bandcamp this spring and agreed to a Q&A about their effort.

Following the Q&A are reviews of a small sample of the now 19 available albums.

Free Jazz Blog: Just for some background, could you tell us a little bit about how the three of you met?

Dina Maccabee: I first met Ben when I was in high school, lurking around Bay Area live music I was introduced to by my older brother's friends who were into local creative and improvised music. One time they snuck me into a dive bar in Oakland to see a jazz show, which is hilarious because when I was 16 I looked like I was 12, but somehow I remember that happening. When I was around 18 guitarist/composer John Schott asked me to play in a large ensemble playing his arrangement's of Ben's music, along side a lot of well known players, which was a big deal for me at the time!

Vijay Anderson: We met nearly 20 years ago while each of us were performing in Bay Area bands. The three of us first played together a handful of years ago in Graham Connah's various large ensembles.

Ben Goldberg: You meet a lot of people playing music. How I met these two lovely musicians is probably not unusual -- there was a rehearsal, or a concert, and "hey, nice to meet you."


FJB: Your new label “Minus Zero” is dedicated to raising money for Planned Parenthood. Can you tell us when and how the idea came about and why Planned Parenthood?

DM: This was an idea Vijay presented to me, but I had definitely already been thinking about ways to contribute to worthy causes, as a way of responding positively to a fear that a lot of important services and institutions could be compromised after the election. I remember that Bandcamp had a day of donating their profits to the ACLU, which was a great idea, and I also contributed personally to a few organizations whose work I support.

VA: Like the majority of Americans, I was devastated with the recent presidential election results. The new administration has so many destructive policy ideas, including defunding Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is an organization that really helps people around the world, primarily woman, by providing basic health care, reproductive health care and general sex education. More information on that could be found here https://www.istandwithpp.org.

I think many of us are frustrated about our contentious politics and wish we could do something to improve things. I was performing a benefit/protest concert with Ben Goldberg and Marshall Tramell the night of the inauguration. The huge women's march was going to take place the following day. I asked Ben what he thought of the idea of starting a label which gave all the money to Planned Parenthood. He was very supportive of the idea and suggested we get as many people involved as we can.

BG: Vijay had the idea about Planned Parenthood specifically. It was shortly after the election and a lot of people were wondering how to shape the resistance. Planned Parenthood was under attack. The idea made sense.


FJB:  Do you see the label as a political statement? Why / Why not?

DM: I wish it weren't politicized, to expect that an organization providing essential health services to people who may not have any other access to them would continue to receive public funding to do their work, which fills in a gap that public services, let alone private health care, have left open. Unfortunately, it is, because there are wildly opposing visions of what equality and equity mean among different groups of people in the U.S. That being said, I don't see the label is a "statement." I see it as an activity, that is more constructive than declaring a stance or writing a manifesto.

VA: Yes it’s a political statement, but it’s also an effort to help fund Planned Parenthood, an organization that is unfortunately politicized. If a musician's work is on Minus Zero it means they support a woman's right to choose, basic healthcare for women, equal pay/opportunities for women, as well as sending a message that we are going to do everything we can to do make that a reality. All the proceeds from this label, (besides a small percentage for Bandcamp and Paypall) go to Planned Parenthood.

BG: Culture is bigger than politics. Right now our culture is under attack. What is being called the right is attacking basic common sense, like listening to each other, respecting opinions, and understanding the difference between truth and lies. It's being called "politics," as if one side will win, but when these values are eroded everyone loses. We sometimes use the word "culture" to mean "high culture" -- activities or events that are defined as luxuries. But culture is not a luxury. Cultural activities -- poetry, music, art, scholarship -- are exactly what makes us human. That's why Trump and his people have no culture -- it's not just that they read different books or appreciate different art -- there is actually no overlap. We are faced with a "political" movement that is trying to undermine our cultural values, and that brings into focus the fact that any kind of cultural activity or motion -- talking to your friends, reading books, gathering for music -- is an act of resistance.


FJB:  You are starting with 19 albums, that's quite a catalog! Was is difficult to persuade the musicians to participate? How long did it take from concept to launch?

DM: Everyone I approached was eager to contribute! There's always a bit of cat herding that goes on with something like this, but the only misses were either folks who didn't have something available to contribute on short notice, or artists who were already involved in another charitable project whose impact they didn't want to dilute, not because they weren't enthusiastic about the idea.

VA: It was easy to persuade the musicians to participate. Everyone represented here was very enthusiastic and more than willing to be a part of this. It took 3-4 months to put this together. We are fortunate to know a lot of great musicians who are willing to participate in this worthy cause.


FJB: What would you like to see the label accomplish?

DM: I would measure the success not in an amount of money raised, but in presenting a broad number of artists in different genres, and achieving some longevity. I could even imagine a festival or something like that, it would be amazing if all the contributors who don't necessarily know each other IRL were able to meet, there would probably even be more ideas generated about how to turn our musical energy toward benefitting people who have fewer advantages than we do, or who are in need. On the other hand, the online platform is kind of magical in bridging space and time, so I'm glad we were able to work with the bandcamp platform to create something widely accessible to people everywhere. If Minus Zero simply continues to add artists from different regions and musical zones, and generates a steady stream of contributions to Planned Parenthood at any level, that will be great. More generally, I think it's significant to have laid out a simple way for artists, who often don't feel like they have a surplus of either time or money, to be able to contribute to something concrete THROUGH making and releasing new music. Minus Zero has already accomplished that, and I would love to see the importance of that accomplishment spread by word of mouth among other musicians who I think will be interested in taking advantage of the opportunity.

VA: I would like to see this label raise some substantial money for Planned Parenthood as well create some more awareness of these issues. I also would love to see more people discover interesting thought provoking music through this label. The site could be a great way to check out some unusual artists who are doing interesting work.


FJB: The three of you have albums available here, For My Mother features Vijay Anderson; 1(800)729-3700 is with Ben Goldberg, and Tethered Music features Dina Maccabee, just to pick a few. All of these albums reflect different styles, ranging from free improvisation to jazz compositions to folk. Would you say that there is something for everyone here? Any favorites? Were any of these albums recorded specifically for the label?

DM: I hadn't planned to release Tethered at all. I had written and recorded it last year for a dance performance, but I was glad to have a place to present it when this project came up. What's nice is no money was spent on that recording, a friend donated his time for mixing it, and I wrote the piece without being paid as well, so it really feels like a contribution that stands outside the horrible contortions we all go through of trying to monetize our time and our work. When you have something you did without any money changing hands, it's both valueless and priceless, which is a great feeling, so I was happy to let it generate some value for this project, monetarily for planned parenthood, and in enjoyment units for whoever buys it via this platform.

I didn't know Sarah Bernstein's music at all, so that was great to be introduced to... I've always been a big Duo B fan... Prasant Radhakrishnan's saxophone ragas are transcendent...

.. It's all really really good!

VA: We have a great start, with a good representation of what we want to do. I think diversity is going to be key in making this an appealing label. So far we have musicians from jazz, free improvisation, classical, Indian carnatic music, noise, folk, pop, and rock influences. I would love to see some more recordings added from different styles or genres, and more music from various cultures around the world.

None of these recordings so far, were recorded specifically for this label. I do think that this label is an ideal place for re-issues, live shows, short ep length recordings, extra tracks or unissued studio recordings, as well as new releases.

BG: I hope that people will find this label to be a rich source of songs and records where you might find something you like, that will bring something pleasing or interesting into your life.


FJB: You’ve just started the label so it may be a bit premature to ask, but are there future plans? If so, what?

VA: We will continue to seek interesting music. We have plans to release music from Vinny Golia, Steve Adams and Tim Perkins, Joelle Leandre, Beth Custer, Joe Baiza, Mara Rosenbloom and hopefully a lot more. Thanks to bandcamp.com these recordings will be available here permanently and we hope this will have a positive impact on Planned Parenthood.

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Michael Coleman, Ben Goldberg, Mat Nelson, Ches Smith - 1-800-729-3700 (Minus Zero, 2017) ****

1-800-729-3700 by keyboardist Michael Coleman, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, Saxophonist Matt Nelson and percussionist Ches Smith is a crackling and splintery outing. Eschewing outright melodies and rhythms, the opening track 'Supplement' combines electronic burbling with quirky lines from the woodwinds to generate its spikey themes. The following 'Parlez Vous' features a more traditional approach to song through Goldberg's melodies, and at the same time favors non-linear electronic and percussive accompaniment. 'Rock and a Hard Place' embraces a more driving pulse and a distorted analog synthesizer sound pushing the group into a more avant jazz-rock direction. Other tracks like the miniature 'New Memory' engages the listener with evocative textures and 'Winner' gets the heart pumping with a straight ahead rock beat before erupting into a cascade of counter melodies.

The quartet here is quite resourceful developing a varied and exciting set of improvisations, it may take a couple spins before it sinks in, but it's a recommended use of time!

Dina Maccabee - Tethered Music EP (Minus Zero, 2017) ****

This little gem by violinist Dina Maccabee may be only 12 minutes long, but through its four tracks a full musical vision is presented. Maccabee is a Bay Area violinist, whose classical training influences 3/4 of these folk-tinged pieces that evokes pastoral scenery as well as a chamber recital. The anomaly is 'Tethered Duet' which uses a simple clap to establish a pulse, and then over triads from an acoustic guitar, Maccabee overdubs singing. Along with Maccabee's violin, viola, and vocals, is Jessica Ivry on cello. The work was originally developed to accompany choreography by Teresa Heiland but stands quite well on its own.

Diane Moser, Mark Dresser, Vijay Anderson, Hafez Modirzadeh - For My Mother (Minus Zero, 2017) ****

It's a pleasure to find modern jazz that has the ability to excite ears that have been rewired by experimental music. Easily fitting that description, For My Mother, is the work of a group of musicians comfortable in both worlds, who met for the to play a festival in California. While the music skews to more modern jazz with a strong sense of swing and melody, it is not without exceptional moments of nontraditional and fiery playing.

The opener 'If You Call Me, Then I'll Call You' is exemplary - Moser's piano is work is at once accessible and full of unusual phrases and exepected twists. Her comping behind saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh is excellent, swirling in complexity until the two begin exchanging rapid atonal phrases over bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Vijay Andrson's infectious rhythm. Next up, 'Unfoldings' is another track that feels quite straightforward, yet has a subtle unsettling undertow. Throughout there are surprises, like the dense climax that the seemingly light-weight 'Dancing with the Sparrows' reaches or the rich harmonics from the base on the abstract opening of 'I Can Smell You Listening'.

An excellent album that leans more towards 'jazz' than what we typically cover, but well worth a listen.

Sarah Bernstein, Alexis Marcelo, Stuart Popejoy, Nick Podgurski - Prepolis (Minus Zero, 2017) ****

If it's experimental that you're going for, check out this electronics ripe recording. Heavy with abrasive textures in an alluring darkness, the opener 'Get Me the Medicine' begins with static and proceeds with a heavily processed violin and keyboard over a lurching rhythm. The half hour long improvisation goes through myriad changes, at times the mood lightens, but it's not long before say a disturbing vocal section materializes. Half way through, the whole piece has broken into short snippets - shards of sound - that fly past the ears. The shorter follow up, 'Not Your Corpus', begins deep in the place where nightmares are forged, replete with boiling cauldrons of acoustic/electric skronks. An acoustic piano is placed next to the ripping sheet metal of processed violin and bass, while the drums providing just the outlines of a discernible pattern.

The ever changing sonic landscape is mesmerizing in its evolution, and say a deep listen. It almost doesn't matter which instrument is which in this mesmerizing fear inducing dream factory, however, here is the staff who is hard at work:

Sarah Bernstein – violin/voice/effects
Alexis Marcelo – piano/keyboard/effects
Stuart Popejoy – electric bass/effects
Nick Podgurski – drums

Devin Hoff - Baile as Baile (Minus Zero, 2017) ****

Bassist Devin Hoff creates a sonic world all his own on this short solo recording. Starting off with a gently plucked melody, the simple sweet melody of 'Plain Songs 1 (the wind)', is overdubbed with a bowed melody that see-saws between the diatonic and the dissonant. After a part 2 and 3, a new theme emerges with far Eastern overtones ('Wey Lo') and then is followed by the Celtic -inged 'Witches Reel', which ending in an explosion of deep resonant tones. The song that wraps the album is possible the most effective, 'An Buachail Caol Dubh'. Hoff's delicate, but insistent, song is imbued with classical and folk sensibilities and the personal and powerful track is the crowning achievement of the EP.

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