The Russian Connection: the Latest from Mikroton

By Eyal Hareuveni

The Moscow-based Mikroton label specializes in experimental, free-improvised electroacoustic music. Mikroton latest release offer challenging yet highly gratifying listening experiences.

Cilantro: Angélica Castelló & Billy Roisz - Borderland (Mikroton, 2017) ****½

Cilantro is the Viennese duo of Mexican Angélica Castelló, who plays here on paetzold, ukulele, organ, tapes and electronics, and Billy Roisz, who plays here on electric bass, organ, tv, piezzo, computer and electronics, and on live performances adds her video art. Castelló and Roisz collaborated before in a quartet with fellow Viennese guitarist Burkhard Stangl and turntables master Dieb 13 (Scuba, Mikroton, 2014), and are involved in many other like minded project. They have worked under the moniker Cilantro for the past six years. Borderland was recorded n a basement in the resort Austrian area Podersdorf am See.

The demanding, enigmatic music leaves no time for mind numbness. Cilantro, like the spicy herb, thrive on intense borderlands, between the ones who can’t have enough of this herb and those who can not stand its taste or smell. Castelló and Roisz play wisely on the contradictory sonic terrains. Their nuanced, labyrinthian soundscapes can sound sensual, fragile and and delicate and almost on the same time can be chaotic, mean and cryptic. Both move instantly between control and total freedom, evoking suggestive human, very emotional textures with their varied arsenal of noisy, feedback-laden and processed, electronic devices and sampled, fragmented vocals. Pieces like “Oruga” and “Skrimslo” navigate in stormy and hazy, hallucinogenic oceans while other pieces like “Whales on Wheels”, “Prinz Wompe” and “Lullaby For A Ghost” suggest delicate, meditative rituals. 

Beautiful and strange.

Ease: Klaus Filip / Noid - No No No, No (Mikroton, 2017) ****

Ease is another Viennese duo comprised of sine-wave explorer Klaus Filip and free-improviser cellist Noid (aka Arnold Haberl), both playing here on laptops equipped with the freeware audio-visual software ppooll. Ppooll is a project driven by Filip with contributions from many users, including Noid, Christoph Kurzmann (who plays it in Ken Vandermark’s Made to Break) and Christian Fennesz. Filip and Noid work together also in the Sonic Luz duo, exploring DIY optometric synthesizers. No No No, No celebrates the ten year anniversary of Ease. It offers two live recordings - the first, “Never”, from June 2014, captured at the Teni Zvuka Festival in St. Petersburg and the second, “Ever”, from January 2015, at the musicians-cooperative Klingt.org (sounds weird in German) annual festival in the Brut hall in Vienna.

Filip uses the ppooll software to generate pure sine wave synth sounds, while Noid employs the software to manipulate field recording as noises from various mechanical devices and recordings of wind, geysers and water revealing only microscopic traces of their origin. “Never” distills Ease aesthetics to its musical atoms. Its fragile narrative is comprised from abstract, transparent sounds, often reduced to almost absolute, still silence, leaving only fragmented contours of imaginary, stormy sonic events. “Ever” is more tense and raw, still, exploring surprising, more deeper and dynamic aspects of an elusive silent soundscape , sometime with noisy edges. Both pieces suggest a unique, hypnotic listening experience.

Kurt Liedwart / Andrey Popovskiy / Martin Taxt - Hjem (Mikroton, 2017) ***½

This trio also investigates quiet terrains. Mikroton boss, Moscow-based Kurt Liedwart plays the ppooll, using sinewaves and quiet noises; Saint Petersburg-based Andrey Popovskiy plays violin, electronics and objects and Norwegian, Oslo-based Martin Taxt, who runs the Sofa Music label and plays in the microtonal tuba trio Microtub, plays the tuba.

Hjem was recorded in Moscow on September 2015, later mixed and mastered by fellow sonic sculptor Toshimaru Nakamura (who plays the no-input mixing board). The 28-minutes piece offers a surprisingly organic, restless drone that dismisses any distinctions between the acoustic, manipulated, processed and electronic sounds. The patient, careful approach of all three musicians blend wisely clouds of microtonal sounds, continuously sustained and resonating into this arresting, twisted sonic organism.

Burkhard Beins / Lucio Capece / Martin Küchen / Paul Vogel - Fracture Mechanics (Mikroton, 2017) ***½

Fracture Mechanics is a European quartet of sonic sculptors - experimental German percussionist Burkhard Beins, who plays here on hand oscillator, monotron, e-bowed zither, snare drum and objects; fellow Berliner, Argentinian soprano sax player Lucio Capece, who plays here also on sax samples and on wireless speakers; Swedish sax player Martin Küchen, known from the Angles 9 band and the Trespass Trio, who plays here on tenor sax, flute, radios, ipod and speakers; and Swiss-Irish clarinetist Paul Vogel who plays here on “air from another planet contained in terrestrial glassware” transform the concept of Fracture Mechanics into a unorthodox but highly inventive sonic texture.

By definition, Fracture Mechanics is a scientific field focused on studying the cracks in any form of material. This metaphor is used for a careful, alchemical process of creation and investigation of sounds - in all its forms and manifestations, their ever-evolving elastic shapes, and their noisy breaking points. The quartet was recorded on October 2014 at Radio Student in Ljubljana. After a short vocal introduction that suggests the coming dynamics the quartet offers three extended improvisations. “Pebble Snatch” is the most engaging one, obviously, in its own weird manner. It is a quiet, colorful and highly cinematic soundscape, that may depict a lone journey in a deserted, icy scenery where the senses of time of space are almost frozen, turning into abstract yet tangible entities. The following “Pendentive” dives even deeper into minimalist oceans, where all stands still, except ritualistic, exotic oscillation of distant sine-waves and radio stations. The last, 30-minutes of “Transmogrification” expands the the methodical investigation of ultra-minimalist, static sonic terrains into a dreamy, meditative soundscape.

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Spunk – Still eating ginger bread for breakfast (Rune Grammofon, 2016 ) ****

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

A few years back Maja Ratkje (a member of Spunk experimental quartet along with Lene Grenager, Hild Sofie Tajford and Kristin Andersen), when asked why she was making 'Noise', she replied “ in order to forget all the noise of everyday life”. Maybe I’m a bit paraphrasing here, but you get the picture.

My first impression, when I read that, was not exactly understanding. Time has passed and I’ve come to terms with what, at least in my opinion, this anathema was. Music – art in general – has numerous functions. Personal, social and political. Music has powers. It really, as Ratkje clearly stated, has the power to make us forget, to eliminate the vulgarities of everyday life, to provide a safe zone from the evils of the world. Since you are reading these lines, I guess you are pretty aware that there are a lot of them.

The democratic procedures of Spunk’s music (as presented also in a live setting) oppose, again, the functions of a society of hierarchy, sexism , patriarchy and racism. Before you comment on all this, just think of how many women are there in the music world of Noise, of experimental music? Of the avant-garde as a whole? Not many I’d say. Here we have a quartet of women trying to find their way in a male dominated but so called free thinking genre. It must be pointed out.

Spunk’s music has always been, at least in my perception, about process. I guess the collective way of thinking and reacting is transferred to the ways they present their material too. This also applies to their live recordings. This CD is a live recording too, a 20th anniversary concert held in Oslo in December 2015. The two tracks that comprise the bulk of this release are built layer-by-layer and follow a gradual process. Both tracks certainly fall into the category experimental, one which by now, of course, includes a trillion different sounds…

Their main sound generators (I do not say 'instruments' on purpose) are a cello, a trumpet, a French horn, a theremin, various electronics and the voice. Ratkje’s voice, following her solo experiments with her voice, seems to take a bigger part in the recordings that previous Spunk’s albums. I do not hear any preconceived ideas, just a general plan of how they react to each other attempts. They are freely improvising in real time. After so long of playing and most importantly, interacting together, they manage perfectly to combine their unique musical voices into a collective improvisation.

The gradual procedures they follow build up as time passes by into a less complex but more loud and noisy trajectory that, at times, become more and more chaotic. Do not think you have it figured out though… Although on the second track the climax reaches an apex when it’s time to end, on the first track things are different. Like a snake trying to devour it’s own tail, every time you think it’s coming to end by a catharsis of free noise, it comes back to haunt you with another audible gesture of four individual instrumental voices. They follow parallel lines conjuring something new and unexpected every time. I strongly believe that this is the core of Spunk’s collective improvisation.

@koultouranafigo

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Blindflug - Without Doubt (Self Produced, 2017) ****

By Eyal Hareuveni

Blindflug (blind flight in German) is the new trio of American, Tübingen-based vocal artist Lauren Newton, known for her ongoing collaborations with innovative improvisers like double bass masters Joëlle Léandre and Tetsu Saitoh and composer and reeds player Anthony Braxton, with young Swiss reeds player Sebastian Strinning, who collaborates with drummer Gerry Hemingway in a new trio, and drummer Emanuel Künzi. The trio's debut album was recorded live at Jazz Ghet Baden in Baden, Switzerland, and at a Swiss studio during 2016.

The title of this album, Without Doubt, captures faithfully the atmosphere of this set of free improvisation. Newton sets the tone with her imaginative stream of wordless vocalization that deconstructs and reconstructs, again and again, any common syntax, offering enough room for Strinning and Künzi to contribute colorful sounds until all three form a fragile, sometimes turbulent texture. On “Ways”, she suggests a brilliant interpretation to Strinning extended breathing techniques and Künzi fragmented percussive sounds, forming an enigmatic narrative, deciphered even deeper with her intuitive language. “Sphärischefische” (spherical fish in German) is a fantastic game-like play with language and sounds. Newton juggles with the title phonetic syllables, morphing it constantly until it becomes totally unintelligible and having its own volition and rhythmic drive, but sometimes sounding similar (or not) to other German words as “creative”, “heavy”, “research” or even “Hellenism”.

The studio pieces, “Baden Part I-IV” focus on extended, yet more abstract and free-associative sonic searches. The last one is the most playful one. Newton plays with the German word “kuh” (cow), charging the beast noun with surprising, new nuances, while Strinning and Künzi add the sounds of a hyperactive, vocal cow with a resonant cowbell. These improvisations suggest an egalitarian dynamics that cements the organic, fearless interplay of this trio, always delivered with an arresting sense of elegance and reserve.

Blindflug may not be headed to any known, chartered destination but Newton, Strinning and Künzi collective flight offer many magnificent sonic visions.

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Tony Malaby, Mat Maneri & Daniel Levin - New Artifacts (Clean Feed, 2017) ****½

By Derek Stone

To those familiar with the work of Tony Malaby, it’s no secret what his primary thematic concerns are: as the abundance of Spanish titles and themes suggest, and as Malaby himself states, he’s interested in the “feelings, flavors, scents, panoramas and such” that he experienced growing up in the American Southwest. From the sun-baked soundscapes of Paloma Recio, to the occasional hints of exoticism found in Tamarindo, Malaby has shown that he’s more than capable of bringing those sensations to life. Despite his fascination with the cultural and physical worlds of the Southwest, however, Malaby’s projects have largely remained embedded in jazz tradition; for the most part, the references to Native American culture have been oblique, revealing themselves through atmospheric evocations rather than through any direct embrace of traditional native music. On New Artifacts, that doesn’t really change, but Malaby’s meeting with Mat Maneri and Daniel Levin has shaken things up a bit - the pieces here are wispier, more formless than usual, and often leave jazz tradition behind completely in search of something more elemental and ineffable.

The title track is a fine introduction to the trio’s inimitable approach. Malaby moves from warm, honeyed tones to snarling rasps, from richly melodic lines to raucous ululations. Meanwhile, acting as the ground to Malaby’s shape-shifting figures, Maneri and Levin show why they form one of the greatest partnerships in improvisational jazz today - their playing runs the gamut from densely physical to tremolously quiet, and they are capable of both speedy runs and calmer, more subdued stretches. Some of the best moments on “New Artifacts” occur towards the end, when all three players seem to be pushing themselves to their limits. In these final moments, the creaks and moans that Maneri and Levin produce combine with Malaby’s hoarse calls to form a venomous, whorling stew.

“Creation Story” picks up this same frayed thread, but here Malaby’s switch from tenor to soprano allows for a wider, more versatile performance. He sputters, spits, and squeals his way across the jagged terrain that Maneri and Levin lay at his feet, and the lyricism of the title track gives way to an unsettlingly diverse array of timbres and tones. Similarly, the strings employ a rapid-fire sautillé technique to great effect, thereby pushing Malaby on to even more breathless exertions of strength. The third track, “Freedom from the Known,” is a bit of a respite, with Maneri bowing out long, funereal notes, Levin providing strongly-plucked accents, and Malaby returning to tenor sax for a series of wounded shapes that lend the piece a feeling of world-weary resignation. The “freedom” here is less the exhilarating freedom of discovery, and more the freedom of finally accepting some torturous fate - that of dying of thirst in a desert, perhaps. Finally, “Joe” is the concluding track, a quick burst of nervous energy that wraps up the album nicely.

New Artifacts is an excellent collection of improvisational jazz, one that benefits greatly from the lack of rhythm instruments. How, you might ask? Well, because the players are not “tied down” by percussion, they are free to move about in a world that is, in some ways, “timeless” - they can sprint wildly, crawl around, or stretch out in languorous arcs. 2015’s The Transcendent Function had already familiarized me with Levin and Maneri’s mastery of these kinds of nebular, beatless sound-worlds, but I wasn’t quite sure if I would appreciate Malaby working in such a context. Needless to say, I’m kicking myself for doubting him, because his contributions here are absolutely thrilling.

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David S. Ware Trio - Live in New York, 2010 (AUM Fidelity, 2017) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

I've had this new release from the David S. Ware Trio on heavy rotation for the past week. I do have a pile of other new records and a bunch of CDs sitting on my coffee table, plus several digital albums to contend with too, but they're going to have to patiently wait their turn - this one is just too good to interrupt. Recorded at the Blue Note in NYC at a one-night engagement in early October 2010, the occasion was a concert celebrating the recent release of Onecept, which featured this same piano-less trio of Ware on stritch (a straight alto sax) and tenor sax, William Parker on bass, and Warren Smith on drums. 

The music comes to us as a part of the ongoing archive series from AUM Fidelity. Diagnosed in 1999 with kidney failure, Ware had received a transplant in 2009, and passed away in 2012, but in the years between delivered several powerful recordings. While the album's liner notes mention the hardship that Ware endured to play, his music transcended any physical limitations. 

Two of the most striking elements of the double CD set is, first, the piano-less setting: Ware has a lot of space to fill, and many directions in which he can go, and second, the heavy use of the stritch. The horn has a reedier, more constricted sound than the typical alto and Ware uses its sound to great effect, creating an atmosphere laced with middle eastern modalities. The opening moments of disc one finds Ware introducing the evening's music, solo. Building layer upon layer, he takes the music from a spacious and lonely opening figure to a drenching downpour of notes. The impact is palpable when Parker and Smith join in after about five minutes. Ware has drawn the audience in, focused solely on his lone sax, and when the sonic pallette opens up, it is a thing of pure joy. Parker's confident and supportive bass along with Smith's tuneful percussion ably fills the space, lifting Ware even higher on a musical tide swelling from below. 

The sets are broken down into a total of 7 tracks with several sub-parts to many of them. The aforementioned first track set the night's adventurous tone, it is an effective introduction with moments of both gathering storm and meditative calm. By the time the group begins the second track, the atmosphere is charged and ready. After a restrained, albeit tense, build up the music is soon on an exhilaratingly tumultuous roll as waves of energy pitch the music forward and then pull it back with a sweeping undertow. Ware additionally switches to the tenor sax and the instruments' full bodied sound brings on a bolder musical persona. 

The second CD, presumably the second set of the night, kicks off with Ware back on the stritch and solo, exploring again more exotic melodies. A crash of cymbals and a rumble from the bass ratchets up the intensity as Ware elaborates on his mysterious melody. Parker's solo, about eight minutes into the third track is a captivating tapestry of doublestops and frantically bowed passages, the energy and simplicity is genius (the audience agrees as they burst into applause). Ware soon rejoins, matching Parker's intensity, delivering a wild coda with technique and velocity that boggles the mind. '#4' opens with a solo from Smith, playing with a wide range of rhythmic ideas, eventually leading Ware into some of his most emotionally intense playing of the night. 

Before Ware passed away, he released Planetary Unknown featuring long-term musical acquaintance pianist Cooper-Moore. Prior to the release of this trio's Onecept was the quartet outing Shakti with guitarist Joe Morris. So, this archive recording one of the few recordings feature this lean trio. It's a treasure trove of music - highly recommended.  

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William Parker Quartets - Meditation/Resurrection (AUM Fidelity, 2017) ****

By David Menestres

William Parker’s new double album, Meditation/Resurrection, is a fine continuation of the path that Parker has walked for over forty years. If you’ve liked anything he has released under his own name in the last few decades, there’s no reason you won’t like this new set.

Both discs were recorded “on one fine October day” last year in Brooklyn and feature a core group recognizable to any fan: Parker on bass, Hamid Drake on drums, and Rob Brown on alto. The rhythmic foundation of Parker & Drake is unstoppable. As Parker says in the liner notes, Drake is “the foundation upon which trees and grass grow.” On the first disc, billed as the William Parker Quartet, these three are joined by the equally talented trumpeter Jalau-Kalvert Nelson. The second disc is credited to the long-running quartet In Order to Survive, with Parker, Drake, Brown, and Cooper-Moore on piano.

All compositions are by Parker and many feature deceptively simple melodies and rhythmic hooks that provide launching pads for creative solos. Parker’s composition style is so readily recognizable at this point. There’s a pretty clear historical lineage to Parker’s compositions, from Duke Ellington to William Parker (with a few other stops in-between). There is a deep earthiness to Parker’s compositions, providing a solid floor for the two quartets to dance upon.

I’m partial to the second disc, but it’s hard to not be when Cooper-Moore is playing. Parker’s arco solo at the beginning of “Sunrise in East Harlem” is beautiful, reminiscent of Charles Mingus’s bow work, especially on those live albums from 1964. The longest cut on the album is the vibrant “Things Falling Apart,” a frenetic thoroughfare of a tune. This is not to take away from what Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson brings to the first disc. A fine, endlessly creative trumpeter who shines beautifully in this setting.

The music is beautifully recorded and packaged, as is usual for the Aum Fidelity label, with liner notes by Parker. Meditation/Resurrection is a solid addition to Parker’s sprawling discography. Perhaps not essential, but very worth your time and money.

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Not to be missed: William Parkers' In Order to Survive, with Hamid Drake, Rob Brown, and Cooper-Moore is performing at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn on July 13th and 14th. More info here.

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Hamid Drake & Sylvain Kassap - Heads or Tails (Rogueart, 2016 ) *****

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

Why exactly write a review? I believe there is more than one answer to this question. If I had to prioritize, I’d say that my main objective would be to deliver to you my truth. My feelings about something, my impressions, what kind of meditation (to remember Coltrane’s masterpiece) is transcended through the medium of music. Why review this album or write some thoughts about this album? The answer must be a positive one: all the above and so much more, however difficult to describe and put to a piece of paper. All these are the reasons I’m writing these lines right now. To review a recording and share with you my enthusiasm about it. In any other case it wouldn’t be worth the effort.

I've been following Hamid Drake’s career for some years now, his name on an album reassures me about the quality and will to present something new and truthful. His playing, seeped in the tradition of polyrhythmic African drumming, has a spiritual nature of dual powers. It relaxes me and at the same time has the energy - not transcribed in audio volume though - of a full blown attack. I cannot say that clarinetist Sylvain Kassap was familiar to me. His playing on Heads or Tails, the timbre of his clarinet, forced me, in a way, to look both ways: to the west at the tradition of free improvisation and the east, where the reminisces of Greek traditional musics kept coming in my mind.

Heads or Tails is free improvisation at it’s best. The interplay between the two musicians is fantastic. From beginning to end they draw deep feelings and sounds from each other. Drake is like a chameleon, changing his playing each time he works with different musicians. This here is one of these times and it’s unique again. The first CD has much longer tracks than the second. It is rich and adventurous and, as always in free improvisation, reveals a special moment in time and place that deserves to be captured on tape. It also reveals two musicians that believe their art is not a commodity and that it is worth listening.

On the second CD you will listen to much shorter tracks, snippet-like, and full of energy. Small urgent messages in a bottle with short melodic lines that intervene with even shorter playful explorative improvisations. On this CD Drake’s frame drum is at ease with the variety of Kassap’s clarinet. They seem to avoid solo parts in favour of a continuous duo improvisation. It is a well balanced act between spontaneity and melody – a feature in many of Drake’s recordings I must say. Sylvain Kassap stands up to Drake’s challenge, presenting each time a new form of melodic spontaneity. He adjusts with him incredibly well. This is an equal partnership, a collision of two great artists with no need of outbursts or freak-outs but a constant flow of duo sounds. Buy this album.

@koultouranafigo



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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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