Nu Ensemble at 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn - day IV (11.10)

The fourth and the final of the Alchemia evenings was so packed that it seems impossible to me to fit the whole in a single post but I'll try to do a telegraphic one.

Set I 

Once again a solo + duo + solo formula. Dieb13 appears on stage behind 5 (!) turntables, the music is a mirage of loops, electronic noises, acoustic samples. A marriage of analogue sounds in a digital world. Impressive sense of drama and tension and technical mastery in managing the five different sources contemporaneously.

Peter Evans and Per-Ake Holmlander

Peter Evans and Per-Ake Holmlander started off with a series of burps on the horns but this time the real pleasure was to hear Peter Evans playing in the more "traditional" free-jazz vein, with wild runs trumpet flights (l had an immage of a hunter playing his bugle, with the steadier tuba walkig by heavily).

Kjell Nordeson gave a solo performance on drums set and vibes, with the first focusing more on the sonic details of singular objects (for the first couple of minutes he plays just one plate, trying different spots on the plate and different ways of muting the trembles with his palm). The vibes part was a true spectacle, virtuosic speed, daring melodic lines and tonally coherent - some of the most impressive vibes playing I've seen - lightspeed, precision and grace.

Set II

Instead of one Ad Hoc formation we get three, starting the Per-Ake Holmlander solo on tuba. The tuba kind of looses it's weight in Per-Ake's hands as the sounds are light, lines abstract yet quite melodic nonetheless and notes hoppy with all the particular breath and timbre effects. Ther'e innate sens humour everpresent in Per-Ake's way of playing tuba which I find most precious.

Stine J Motland, Jon Rune Strom, Mats Gustafsson

The trio follows with Mats, Stine and Jon Rune. First of all I've got to say it takes balls to go with unamplified bass against Gustafsson's baritone. Second of all Stine's voice is simply mesmerizing, whether it's a high-tone scream or sub-silence click like a drop of water falling into the ocean. A very intense performance, with the most spectacular moments being the voice and sax mimicking each other with a high-tones fluttering screams.

A trumpet duo ends the second third of the evening. Mats introduces them ironically as two most normal guys playing the trumpet as it was actually intended to be played. Which could only mean you have to expect a series of most unorthodox sounds, and such expectations are gladly fulfilled by Joe and Peter as they swish, hush, swoosh, burp and growl joyfully together.

Mats Gustafsson, Ingebright Haker-Flaten, Joe McPhee

Set III

How many times did the Thing proved themselves as one of the best live acts in the rock'n'roll showbiz? The thundering drums, unstoppable drive, omnipotent riffs, exhilirating energetic sax outbursts. You can add one up to the count. Just irresistible energy that couple of times went bit sideways but who cares. Joe McPhee with his tenor gets sometimes lost in the mix (which testifies to the volume level of the Thing) yet he provides some priceless soulfull moments in between the all-hell-breaks-loose rock burners songs from the trio's songbook. The crowd just wanted more and got the band back three times on stage, so they could finish the night with the heartwarming tune you can find in the video below. Hats off.

More pictures by Krzysztof Penarski available on the photofreejazzblog

Set I

Dieb13 - turntables, electronics

Peter Evans - trumpet; Per-Ake Holmlander - tuba

Kjell Nordeson - drums, percussion, vibes

Set II

Per-Ake Holmlander - tuba

Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax, slide horn(?); Stine J Motland - voice; Jon Rune Strom - double bass

Joe McPhee - pocket trumpet; Peter Evans - trumpet

Set II

The Thing and JoeMcPhee:

Joe McPhee - tenor sax, pocket trumpet; Mats Gustafsson - baritone, tenore, bass saxophone; Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten - double bass; Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Nu Ensemble week at Krakow Autumn Jazz. Alchemia. 11.10.2013