Paul Dunmall & Tony Bianco - Thank You To John Coltrane (Slam,2012) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

Recorded in 1967 with drummer Rashied Ali, John Coltrane's posthumously released Interstellar Space was a template for the sax and drum duo. It is a beautiful and, at times, challenging recording and has been described around the blogosphere as:

"Noisy, abrasive, violent. But it's the tight playing and the remnants of melody that give Coltrane's only duo recording its unique character." (sputnikmusic.com)

"As one of Coltrane's final recordings this duet session with Ali is one of his most essential and unique. Not only is it the grandfather of all extended saxophone/drums duets in jazz, but it also set the standard for all that came after." (All About Jazz)

And it is an obvious comparison for the long term duo of saxophonist Paul Dunmall and percussionist Tony Bianco's Thank You to John Coltrane, which is a stunningly good tribute to the saxophonist, covering a five of his compositions, with just the title song credited to Dunmall.

After repeated listens, I feel I can say that Dunmall and Bianco have created a spare, yet rousing and mesmerizing, set of takes on Coltrane tunes spanning his later career, ending with 1967's Expression, but also incorporating some re-invented themes from the 1960 masterpiece Giant Steps. And here, like the description of Interstellar Space, it's the shreds of Coltrane's melodies, and new takes on the well known themes of 'Giant Steps' and 'Naima', that make this report from the sax-drum duo format a fitting homage and a strong album in its own right. 

Dunmall's playing is utterly fantastic. His precise tone is roughed up and emotive at times and clear and determined at others. His melodies and ideas are well formed and constantly in motion. Without repeating himself or playing out any one idea too long, he builds his lines with wily intensity. Bianco rounds out the sound space with vibrant fills and microscopic reactions to the saxophonist's twists, turns and torrential runs. The platform he creates for his partner's improvizations is empathetic, kinetic and driving. A great example of this is the 28 minute take on 'Expressions' that closes the album. Dunmall's playing is enthralling, Bianco's drum solo never once dips in intensity and together they capture a certain exploratory feel, untempered by reverence. 

I find this to be an exciting and captivating recording. While the comparison was impossible to not make, the album is a conversation between two masterful musicians and an electricfying tribute at the same time. 

Available from the label.

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Alexandra Grimal - Andromeda (Ayler, 2012) ****

By Stef 
  
French saxophonist Alexandra Grimal is hard to pigeon-hole. She continues to amaze. After her adventurous trio album "Shape", and two interesting singles with "You Had Me At Hello", she produced some more accessible albums last year, of which "Ghibli", the duo with pianist Giovanni di Domenico is my favorite. Now she astonishes again with the young New York-based trio of Todd Neufeld on acoustic and electric guitars, Thomas Morgan on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. 

The music is inspired by space, the sky at night, the stars. The image that comes to mind when listening is that of watercolor painting though. Primarily as a result of the absolute lightness of touch all four musicians use to create their art. The sounds are sparse, spacious, thin ... as if the notes coming from the different instruments are soluble and mix together for somewhat diffuse contours despite the obvious figurative style. There are melodies, there is lyricism, there are composed bits and pieces left and right, or some free and harsher moments with great density, but like the stars, they float in this attractive and strangely luminous openness.

And the composed pieces never become patterns, they fade away into space again, and when new themes emerge, they are entirely new, sometimes eery, often beautiful, yet as quick in passing as the other themes, so that repetitions never arise, and a kind of surprised sadness and wonder remains.

I have listened a lot to this album over the past weeks, because it is hard to come to grips with. At times I thought it lacked substance, as it is all too light and non-committal, but then again I appreciated the cautious exploration and inherent sensitivity.

What is also great about the album is that all four musicians are perfectly on the same page at all moments. It is quite an endeavour to play in this fashion, barely touching the instrument at times, barely producing notes at all. What distinguishes the album from other contemporary minimalist approaches, is the total absence of a menacing tension, offering a more a tranquil intensity instead.

This is music that makes you think and reflect and wonder and admire and enjoy. And in the uniqueness of musical vision, it is also very stubborn.

Can be purchased on Instantjazz.  

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Sisters -The Mono ( Multikulti Project) 2012 ****

By Philip Coombs

It must be quite a challenge walking into a recording session, looking directly across the room, and seeing nothing but a set of eyes and cables, lots and lots of cables linking and powering electronics of every possible conceivability. Compared to all the firepower that DJ Lemar (turntablist) brings to the sonic soup, Raphael Roginski (guitar) is relatively effect free mostly relying on a clean tone to cut through whatever he is faced with. It must have been similar to what Garry Kasparov saw when he sat down to face Deep Blue; seemingly unlimited moves to defend against by a machine with it's programmer looking on.

But it isn't as cut and dry as that. Like a well seasoned and experienced musician playing a traditional instrument, DJ Lemar's muscle control and speed in changing a mood as the song dictates is up there with anybody while never letting the machines control him. He is molding the arrangement with a confident hand the same as Roginski is doing with his guitar, and considering the nature of duos, this is a positive arrangement.

Despite Lenar's turntables, samplers, and loopers, there is a personalized sound coming from all the machines. He uses a vinyl scratch effect on multiple tracks very effectively, grounding the listener in the familiar. From here he adds his own flare. On the opening number, Wait Till The End, for example, he uses orchestral samples to give it a bright ending. On Windmill Love, his percussion manipulation is the track's excitement. Roginski keeps it all in the pocket as Lemar ramps the drum's tempo until it becomes a single sound.

Roginski very much has his own voice. Whether it be recreating a tone from a spaghetti  western soundtrack, Can I Die With You? or experimenting with some simple effects of his own like the very understated Death Left On Pavement.

They save the best for last as both musicians come together to stretch the blues as far as they can take it. It is on Between Zone Settler, that a thin twangy guitar meets a processed vocal full of pain and hurting mixed over a bed of rumbling beats. The voice gets shifted in both time and pitch squeezing everything out of it. Sometimes making it sound more human, sometimes less. The guitar keeps to a relative blues blueprint but emotionally keeps up with the vocal with ease.

This recording was not the man versus machine battle I was first expecting. When it comes to expectations in music, it is sometimes really good to be wrong. There was no winner here or "I told you so", just an album I found myself putting on again and again, and  with each listen appreciating just what a DJ can bring to this type of setting. A musically satisfying stalemate as it were.


Can be purchased from the label.


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Lol Coxhill (1932 - 2012)

Posted by Joe

Just a short post to announce the death of Lol Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 9 July 2012) who passed away yesterday after several weeks of serious illness. We could try to write an obituary but Lol's long career would certainly take up a whole blog. For all those who don't know this iconic performer you should look around to find out more, as he was not only a bastion of the British improvising scene but an important name in the European free improvisation scene as well. He was also one of the few performers to concentrate solely on the soprano sax (rather than double), and many soprano players around the world cite him as a main influence.

Here are a few links to the recordings that we have on the blog from this very special and individual musician.

Alex Ward and Lol Coxhill - Old Sights, New Sounds
Lol Coxhill, Barre Phillips, JT Bates - The Rock On The Hill
Lol Coxhill & Roger Turner - Success With Your Dog
Lol Coxhill & Enzo Rocco - Fine Tuning, The Gradisca Concert
Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Franz Koglmann - Darkly Again  

Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Giancarlo Schiaffini- Moot & Lid

You'll find a few more mentions if you type in Lol Coxhill into the search box also.

Considering that Lol must of recorded on literally 1000's of records it's impossible to put something up here that really represents him. One amazing recording comes to mind which puts the soprano sax in it's place and has Lol with Lacy and Evan Parker playing together - Three Blokes,  however his solo performances were defining moments in the art of improvisation, and also how to make something very difficult .. look incredibly simple! Here's a short video - you can find many more on the web  - of Lol pacing himself very nicely, playing a wonderful solo piece at the Battersea Arts Centre in 2009.

Thanks Lol for the wonderful music! 

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Wojtek Traczyk - Free Solo (Multikulti, 2012) ****

By Paolo Casertano

Poland has an increasingly vivid jazz scene. Thanks to the impressive work of labels such as Multikulti and Not Two, together with a remarkable number of jazz festivals, their strong tradition has gained international recognition and expands constantly towards new territories and paths. These young and gifted musicians seem to pay attention to the tradition and strengthen it just as much as they alter it by exploring its outer edges. Just think of the Oles brothers and their collaborations with Ken Vandermark.

To this category belongs as well the solo effort of Wojtek Traczyk. We’ve already met him in the bright trio “The Light”. Take a look here and here.

According to the liner notes by the musician himself: “Performing solo pulls me out of everyday life and puts me out there in that high place of danger and awareness that I long for risking everything giving everything not knowing yet believing and brings purification and freedom that is so hard to find”.

This is a spiritual journey indeed. Starting from the title of each “stage”. First is “Examen Conscientiae”, a self-examination the musician seems to face alone, using his own private and intimate language. It sounds like a mantra introducing us to the religious dimension and vision of Traczyk. An elongated note repeating in a timeless sequence, the bow flows slowly hesitating to leave the strings, unflappable, almost obliterating itself on the bass neck. You can hear a breath after the first passage. Presumably Traczyk, or maybe it is the instrument itself. On condition that you are willing to hear it.

The album is short and it deserves a deep listening. How could you otherwise approach to a solo album and to the innermost meanings a musician set down to each single decision he makes when he’s so unveiled to everyone? Especially when he chooses it will not be his - anyway evident - mastery and virtuosity to give uncritically to the listener the keys for it. Traczyk is looking for the right expression, the best structure and the most touching tone to let his thoughts seep out.

The title of the second composition, “Kyrie”, is the transliteration of an ancient Greek word now best known as a vocation prayer in the Christian liturgy. Far baritone melodies and their resonances start to outcrop and come closer merging into “Gloria”. Strings unravel and struggle to find their place, climbing up to the high notes register supported by distorted chords and sharp pitches. There’s a great balance between atonal and tonal.

After this turmoil, gentle comes “Sanctus” as a short lullaby echoing classical arias.

In “Benedictus” and “Agnus Dei” - basically one composition split in two - appears the first pizzicato of the album disguised as short rhythmic patterns spaced out by resonances that envelop the double bass. At first melodic phrasing grows slowly, then it evolves in a brutal attack on the strings. Traczyk whips and hits the wood before partially finding rest in a recurring hypnotic beat on which he inlays brief melodies.

In the closing act strings are turned loose and they blend in a droning stream. Voices decrease, last shrills before coming back to silence.

A real compelling solo debut.




Buy from the label.



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Fire! feat. Oren Ambarchi: In the Mouth a Hand (Rune Grammofon, 2012) *****

By Martin Schray

Mats Gustafsson is to me what Wadada Leo Smith is to Stef. I thought of not giving him a five star rating here because I already gave him two in the last few months but then I have listened to his new collaboration with Fire! again and again and I could not find a fly in the ointment – the album is simply marvelous as to creating unique sounds and atmospheres.

As usual Fire! are Mats Gustafsson (saxes, Fender Rhodes organ, live electronics), Johan Berthling (electric bass), Andreas Werliin (drums) and again they have a guest: Australian guitarist Oren Ambarchi, who is known for his collaborations with drone metal bands Sunn 0))) and Boris. What already sounds promising is actually a match made in heaven, the result reminding of a seminal band like Can or Norwegian progrock gods Motorpsycho.

The first track of the album, “A Man Who Might Have Been Screaming”, starts with Berthling and Werliin playing a rather simple and tough rhythm and Gustafsson howling over it in its typical manner, but after four minutes you hear and feel something else. First you hardly recognize it, but the track gets more complex, even somehow uncomfortable – it is Ambarchi crawling in with which turns out to be an enormous feedback. Then Gustafsson drops out and Ambarchi completely takes over and all of a sudden there is only sound, you can hardly hear single notes. This would have been a great soundtrack for the end of Stanley Kubrick’s "2001 – A Space Odyssee", when a frightened Bowman finds himself speeding across vast distances of space, viewing strange alien landscapes of unusual colors. Here Ambarchi displays his influences from Jimi Hendrix’ anarchic moments to Morton Feldman. You can hear  a huge drone, a very physical approach to music, but in this whirlwind you can also find beautiful details and a great harmony among the three players. And when the whole thing seems to fall apart Gustafsson takes over, the band members pull themselves together to land their spaceship smoothly.

The second track, “And The Stories Will Flood Your Satisfaction (With Terror)”, even raises the tension. The first half is a real Krautrock monster with a massive drum beat and a menacing bass line. Gustafsson’s sax is blaring and wailing like a mad dog on an evil drug and Ambarchi is supporting him playing psychedelic rock riffs that sound like 1980s space rockers Spacemen 3 before you find yourself in a huge psych metal/ free rock/outer space jazz orgy again. At last here the music has seized you and you have no chance to escape.

“He Wants To Sleep In A Dream (He Keeps In His Head)” begins with a brutally solid techno riff played on the bass while Ambarchi and Gustafsson are interspersing guitar and electronic sounds and specially Ambarchi’s  guitar sounds like buzz saw or like kamikaze planes. This is the most abrasive and brutal, even torturing, but also challenging part of the album. It is music as a raw power, an existential fight, but you feel good after listening to it, as if you completed some exhausting  piece of labor.

“I’m Sucking For A Bruise” is the last track on the CD version of the album. It is by far the shortest one and it is actually a reconciliation mainly consisting of bass drones and heavenly guitar feedbacks. Like listening to distant thunder and watching distant lightning you know that the storm is over.

The LP version offers an alternative ending called “Possibly She Was One, Or Had Been One Before (Brew Dog)”. Especially at the beginning the band reveals its free jazz roots. The bass remains in a rather monotonous drone again but Andreas Werliin especially leaves behind his rock approach to play freer, more subtle and versatile rhythms. Above this rhythmic carpet Gustafsson soars to unknown beautiful and melancholic heights showing that he knows his Coltrane, too. After seven minutes the band almost stops, leaving behind a uniform electronic pattern. Then the drums re-enter just to support a typical psychedelic Sixties organ which sounds much like Pink Floyd’s "Live at Pompeii", a last psychedelic reminiscence. This part fades out again and what is left is electronic static, white noise, interrupted by very distant drum and bass sounds now and then. The whole epic lasts 23 minutes.

When I reviewed The Cherry Thing one of the comments said that Mats Gustafsson was the musician of the year for him (or her) although there are another 5 months to go. I totally agree. He deserves it for his musical openness, for his creativity, for his diverse musical projects and his ability to integrate various musicians in his musical cosmos.

In the Mouth a Hand is available on double LP and CD, rune grammophon offers a limited edition of 100 in white vinyl (for the hunters and collectors out there).  Make sure you get one.

If you want to get an idea what it sounds like, you can watch this (although the album is even better):




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Insub Meta Orchestra - Archive #1 (Insubordinations) 2012 ***½

By Philip Coombs

When I first discovered avant-garde and free jazz, I was, like many of us I'm sure, fixated on the albums and artists that made us feel alive and helped us believe that anything was possible in music. A major turning point for me was the Globe Unity Orchestra, and more specifically, the 'Hamburg '74' recording. It was one of the first jazz records that I fully understood on my terms. The sheer chaos of that album made me swell up with emotion, still does actually. When the choir started, it puts me over the edge. There were no longer any rules, I could do whatever I wanted with my music and it could never be wrong.

Then this recording of the Insub Meta Orchestra fell into my lap and I was instantly hit with all of these old emotions once again. Here are 40 musicians playing instruments as traditional as guitars, saxophones, and trumpets while incorporating instruments of a non-traditional slant such as a tennis racquet, functioning generator, and mouth!

With five tracks conducted by one of five different members of the orchestra and one free piece to end the 'Archive #1' album I became very aware how the concept of insubordination becomes such an intricate part of both the group's and label's philosophy.

Track one, Punkte und Flachen, sets the tone and mood for the rest of the album. Minimalist they are. The best way I could think of to describe this first minute or so of this track is this. It is the sound of 40 instruments not being played. Picture an orchestra pit full of instruments but no musicians present. All you get is the sound of wood, brass, metal and electricity. Then over the course of the track, a spattering of percussion, single notes, and an occasional tone are played with incredible self control. Conceptually, it is very exciting, but in practice it only lasts as long as you are willing to let it.

The first five tracks follow in the same vein. With subsequent listens however, I stopped playing the recognition game of, Was that a typewriter? or When will I hear the banjo? and listened to the entire sonic picture. With this new listening attitude I got to hear more of the instruments and not just listen for them. They have an individuality of their own, an ebb and flow, all building their own structures on the gaps left behind by the others.

Track six, "Set Sail", finally, is the only track without a conductor. It is intimate yet extremely distant at the same time. You have to strain your ear to hear a trumpet or electric guitar but at the same time, pristinely hear breathing. Sometimes it feels like a single microphone was placed on the ceiling of a church for this recording, sometimes on someone's lip. It follows the same restraint as the previous five tracks and each of the instruments get to play if sometimes only for a single note.

'Archive # 1' isn't 'Hamburg '74', and nor should it be, but it does pose similar questions. Do we need a massive orchestra pushing what is safe and normal? Yes! Should it be insubordinate? Absolutely!!!!

Can be purchased and downloaded from the label.

A sample of the IMO live.


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Sax, piano, drums ... free expressions from around the world

By Stef    

Sax, piano and drums. Why no bass player? You could wonder about this. Based on these examples below, there are clear similarities in the overall sound. A bass would have added a more solid foundation, a deeper sound, maybe a warmer sound, some rhythmic aspects and surely an anchor point. Without a base, the sound is harsher, more fluid, somehow more free to roam, maybe also more abstract, without roots.

The first trio -  the Canadians François Carrier (alto) and Michel Lambert (drums), accompanied by Russia's Alexey Lapin (piano) - we already now. "Inner Spire", reviewed last year, was recorded in Moscow on December 19th 2010. But they kept recording the concerts of the following days, and they are now also released, one on FMR, the other one again on Leo.


François Carrier, Michel Lambert, Alexey Lapin - All Out (FMR, 2011) ***

"All Out", recorded in St-Petersburg on December 20th, 2010, adds no substantial difference to the previous evening. The playing is as good, open and exploratory. The sound quality is a little bit less, as if recorded from a distance. Despite the fact that it's a live performance, the audience is totally absent, which gives a strange feeling.

François Carrier, Michel Lambert, Alexey Lapin - In Motion (Leo, 2012) ****

"In Motion" was recorded on December 21st 2010, also in St. Petersburg and is clearly my favorite of the three performances. Possibly because it's the third night in a row that the trio has played. In any case, the trio starts with full power on the opening track "This Grand?", with a fierce breaking rhythm propulsing the musicians forward, yet halfway the piece the tempo slows down for some incredibly incantational playing by Carrier, repeating the same phrase, turning it, changing it, screaming it, whispering it, coming back to it, like a musical prayer to the universe only to be followed by Lapin's strange language on the piano, a wonderful mixture of classical and jazz, percussive and fluent at the same time, a great background for Carrier to then use his Coltrane legacy for some expansive jubilating phrases. Just beautiful.

"Is He?", the second track has a title fitting the hesitating and less dense mood of the piece, which is quite nebulous and eery, with light touches and higher tones and lower volume. "About To Go" is more playful, joyous even, and the last track "Love In Space", adds more drama, with Lambert being instrumental in the mixed percussive approach of hard hits and subtle cymbal work.

In short, a real treat : balanced, powerful, with three exceptional musicians at work.


Alexey Kruglov, Alexey Lapin, Oleg Yudanov - Impulse (Leo, 2012) ****½

We find Alexey Lapin back with two of his compatriots, Alexey Kruglov on saxes and Oleg Yudanov in percussion, for this incredible performance.

The trio's approach offers raw, direct, percussive, abrasive, in-the-moment outbursts of sound, often relentless but then with an incredible sense of authenticity and beauty. They really compose together, creating unexpected and fascinating changes of aspect and mood, from panic to gentle resignation, from absolute anger to sweet surprise or silent admiration. You just can't tell, you can't predict, you're drawn into it like in a great and captivating story, with plots and subplots and a whole lot of suspense and real sentiments. Despite the variation on each track, it still has its specific character and unity, a real feat.

The trio's approach is equally gentle, soft-spoken and cautious, with carefully developed evolutions of previously rehearsed sounds and effects, full of empathy and compassion, with the three musicians lifting their instrumental skills well over and above the banal or the usual, with sounds created to be special, with sequences carefully balanced and paced so as to be captivating.

It really is something different, and I hesitated a while to give it a five-star rating. The reason I didn't is because the consistency and the inherent drama of the album are a little broken by two duets, one between Kruglov and Yudanov, one between Kruglov and Lapin, and however good they may be by themselves, for the listener the duets break the momentum of the album, only to end with the rich sound of the trio on the last track, with the saxophonist playing both his alto and tenor at the same time, in the style of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

What makes this different from a lot of other music is that, despite the adventurousness, it has this kind of natural flow, mainly driven by Lapin's great piano-playing, with repetitive phrases leading to hypnotic effects or his muted strings sounding percussive and fresh, with Kruglov's sax among the most emotionally expressive I have heard in a while, without needing to shout the whole time, and Yudanov offering the kind of drama that moves up the entire sound a few levels higher. 

Incredibly intense. 

If you're interested in creative new voices, this one is a must.


Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp, Gerald Cleaver - The Foreign Legion (Leo, 2012)****½

Another album full of ferocious lyricism is this great trio with Ivo Perelman on tenor, Matthew Shipp on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Perelman has this great sense of expressionist expansive passion, full of emotional delivery and broad brushes, very Latin American in a sense.

Shipp's piano playing is as we know it, rhythmic, percussive and full of unexpected changes into romantic lyricism, juxtaposed with harsher abstract explorations, while being extremely attentive to his band-mates. Cleaver is as you may know one of my favorite drummers, subtle, adding depth and emphasis on the right moments, a real presence in the music without taking center stage.

The result is fantastic. The music flows forward full of intensity and sonic freedom. As Perelman describes Shipp's playing in the liner notes : "Since the piano is the harmonic instrument, you would think that would limit the choices, but with Matthew it does not. Even when he plays chords, the way he follows the harmonic sequence, it doesn't sound like the usual piano thing. And when I do venture out of tonal Western music, into noises and microtones, this doesn't scare him, he takes it as an opportunity to expand the music. In these moments, he's not a 'piano player': he goes with me wherever I want, and is always showing me new windows to open. And when I go there, he shows me new colors".

It is exactly this which makes the music exceptional, great musicians together on a journey, shaping things, open-ended, interacting on a deeply emotional level at the same time as creating the music. Shipp and Cleaver push Perelman forward into states of mind that result in some of his best playing on CD, deep, spiritual, expansive, stubborn, sensitive, heartrending and beautiful. On some of the calmer moments, he weeps quietly, or he offers us beautiful meditative sounds, and then before you know, he's screaming his heart out, blowing shrill and bone-chilling sounds, and back within in the silent weeping mode within seconds, as on "Sketch Of A Wardrobe", and it all fits, the trio moves the listening experience together, full of focus, full of drama.

Again, a highly recommended album.


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MMM Quartet (Léandre, Curran, Frith, Leimgruber), Live at the Metz’ Arsenal (Leo, 2012) ****½

By Troy Dostert

They call themselves the MMM (MillsMusicMafia) Quartet, so you know that bassist Joëlle Léandre and friends aren’t messing around on this 2009 recording at the Arsenal de Metz.  But in fact, they are having a great deal of (serious) fun in carrying out a collective improvisation that covers a broad range of emotional registers, ranging from whimsy, to delicate beauty, to in-your-face audacity.

The recording is made up of two tracks, the central one being a 45-minute tour-de-force which showcases each musician’s distinctive range of contributions.  Léandre is stunning, offering unfailingly creative sweeps of sound on her bass that range from percussive slaps, to slashing attacks, to sustained arco passages—all in service to the collective efforts of the other musicians.  Alvin Curran (electronics and piano) provides a bewildering array of sampled sounds, especially during the first segment of the improvisation, where he throws in everything from wolf howls to foghorns to assorted industrial noises, and even a bit of hip-hop.  Curran’s role varies throughout: at times his samples provide a jarring disruption of what the other players are doing, leading to a shift in direction, while at other moments he lays down a foundation that is then built upon by the rest of the group.  Toward the latter third of the track Curran largely limits himself to the piano, where his work is much more subtle and complementary, working closely with Leandre and the others in their explorations, as the track goes in a more meditative and somber direction.  Fred Frith (guitar) is just as unpredictable as Curran, sometimes using an almost organ-like sound to undergird the music, while on other occasions he provides a much more percussive voice which is out-front in guiding the music forward and providing a rhythmic pulse to support the other three musicians.  And Urs Leimgruber (soprano and tenor sax) is also consistently creative, most often with fluttering passages (especially on soprano) that alternately lead and comment on the work of the others.

It’s very hard to characterize this music in a concise way.  Each listen opens up new dimensions that were previously missed, and the quality of the recording itself is first-rate, revealing each and every nuance of the music, no matter how subtle.  There’s a lot of meat on the bones here.  And I’ll admit that I was tempted to over-analyze the recording, either by dissecting Curran’s use of samples, or tracing out the different musicians’ roles in taking the music in new directions.  (Now that I mention it, I suppose that’s exactly what I’ve been doing here!).  But this isn’t really the best way to enjoy this release.  The truth of the matter is that these are four individuals who share a common vision, and are so willing to subordinate their individual efforts to the work of the whole, that the best way to appreciate the recording is by simply letting it take shape, and enjoying the twists and turns of expert improvisers at the peak of their craft.  From moments of dynamic and aggressive cacophony, to subtler passages of careful and delicate minimalist expression, this is a recording that demands a lot of the listener, but it certainly rewards dedicated effort and repeated immersions.  A terrific release, and one I’ll be definitely be revisiting to from time to time.


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Beninghove's Hangmen (2012) ****½

Reviewed by Joe

If you've been wondering what to put on at your latest party, or just looking for some good time music which isn't schmaltzy type slick R'n'B, or Lady Gaga, then look no further here's Beninghove's Hangmen. In fact just at the moment when you were wondering what could possible fit in between your John Zorn, Shock Headed Peters (*), The Lounge Lizards, Nino Rota and 3-Mustafa-3 records along comes this fine raunchy band lead by naturally Brian Beninghove, a saxophonist with a mission, or so it looks like if you check out his website. Here he's following up on a sort of retro music that mixes film noir, punk, rock-a-billy and of course a slice of jazz. It's a great mixture of 'genres' which as I mentioned earlier is easily digested in plenty of situations, and like John Zorn's vision of the world of film noir and all that surrounded it Brian Beninghove obviously knows his references in this style. The album comes across as a suite, although I don't know if this is intentional, as the tunes don't link up or segue into each other, it's more a matter of coherence in the writing style that produces this effect. The tune's titles say much about the music and it's stylistic references, with names such as 'The Puppet-master', 'Tarantino (tarantella)'  or 'Jack Miller'(**) one can't miss the film, pulp fiction or comic book references.

To add to all this excitement is the fine sax playing of Bryan Beninghove who plays some splendidly screaming solos, completely in tune with the atmosphere of the music. The other players are no slouches either with some excellent guitar playing from either Dane Johnson or Eyal Maoz ... yes there's two guitarists, so whilst one is holding down the fort the other one gets a chance to rock (***). Both guitarists really let rip, balancing rocking chord player with feedback or raunchy distorted solos that risk taking your head off. It's nice to hear the blend between the various instruments, there's no ultra long sleep inducing solos, not on the album at least, just interventions with plenty of punch delivered at just the right moments. The front line of sax and trombone (the excellent Rick Parker) keep a good balance between pastiche and modern jazz when playing melodies such as Xopo (tk 2) a klezmer/Greek/Bulgarian horo type theme. Or Sushi Tango (tk 7) with it's retro melody which moves into party mode in the middle before returning to the serious elegance of the initial tango. In fact all the tunes have something on offer, Mingus like jubilance Roadhouse (tk 11) and even a ballad (of sorts) which signs off the album Film Sketch 1 (tk 12). There's not much to add really, if you like plenty of punchy music mixed in with fine themes that conjure up other worlds, real or invented, then try this one. Remember one more important thing ..... PLAY LOUD!

Where can you find it? I'm not sure if you can buy a hard copy, but you can download it from here at their Bandcamp site.

* = Do they still exist?

** = I guess this is John Jack Miller the crime writer, or maybe it was the screen writer who wrote some Tex Avery screen plays, or was it Jack Miller of DC comics fame?
*** = If you enjoy two guitar format, and especially something with plenty of hard rocking energy and sophistication, then don't miss out on an excellent Canadian band - Fond of Tigers. Highly Recommended!

© stef

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