Some ramblings about the music I love, about the concerts in Krakow or elsewhere I get to witness, about cds I manage to get my hands on and particularly like. Stay tuned.
Jazz Alchemist
Oluyemi Thomas - bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette, percussion
Sirone - bass
Michael Wimberly - drums, percussion
NoBusiness Records 2010
To balance the content of last couple of reviews (big groups, orchestral compositions, string quartets etc) I jumped into the music of this improvising trio, and it's quite a big contrast.
This is free-jazz at its best. With fantastic musicianship throughout, with ideas flowing freely in and out, with the band members both reacting to one another and pushing each other forward, sometimes acting like three minds in one body. A journey, a mystical revelation, a metaphysical experience.
Luc Houtkamp - tenor saxophone
Kent Kessler - double bass
Michael Zerang
Entropy Stereo 1999
While free-jazz may seem to be all about surprise, even the most radical fans have a list of favourite musicians and it's easier to stick with the safe choices - players that You know can deliver what You want to hear. But then one uses the oldest method available to jazz fans if they want to hear more of their favourite thing - checking out some guys who are playing with guys who played with THE guy on Your list. Like in: I don' know this band but there's a musician who did something together with this guy who played with Miles Davis. What sometimes can be a misleading marketing trick (happens also in jazz world) does quite often work as the most effective method of finding new names and great music that could otherwise go unnoticed.
What I really want to say is that I've never heard about Luc Houtkamp before, but when one plays with Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang, and You can find Ken Vandermark's liner notes inside*, it's good enough recommendation for me.
Oirtrio:
Frank Gratkowski - alto saxophone, clarinets
Sebastian Gramms - double bass, bows
Tatsuya Nakatani - percussion, bowed gongs
Not Two 2010
(yet another review rewritten for You in english, to justify the presence of the cd in subject on my 2010 favourites list (originally written in polish on magnetoffon.info). This was the first written text after a long pause so I think the english version is now much better then the original one. I promise that next review will be posted soon and will a fresh one)
"Kanata" is a cd that offers a handfull of challenges/surprises. Firstly, of a philological nature. If I managed to guess it right (thanks to aunt wikipedia and uncle google) the name of the group comes from spanish 'oir' which "means "to listen" (and it's a big "If" since the graphics and the track titles point towards japanese, the title of the cd - "Kanata" means in japanese "far away" or "beyond"). You can have fun with trying to find the meaning of track titles, I was lucky only in some cases.
Than you have the instrumental line-up. It seems to be a typical, free jazz pianoless trio with sax (clarinet) - bass - drums. But it's deceiving - where else have You seen a similar description - Sebastian Gramms plays double bass and bows (quite unusal naming 'bow' an instrument) and Tatsuya Nakatani percussion and bowed gongs which is also more specific that your usual 'drums'.
And finally, the sounds You can hear. Music (as generic and of little precision a term it is) on this cd was recorded live, divided into 7 tracks but in fact there are only 2 improvisations, first one, around 35 mins, spanning tracks 1 to 5 and the second, tracks 6 and 7, about 10 and something mins. And by the begining of the second track You can put aside all those notions about music like melody, harmony, rhythm, phrase, note. While all those appear, none of them is what You expect it to be. You have to just listen ('oir') to the activity of the sounds and let Yourself go.
You will hear whispers, clicks, bangs, cries, singings of birds and stomps of little feet, all kind of sounds. Forget about what You know about music, even the one of free improv kind, this one manages to create a world that is unique and that have little to do with whatever music might have been played before or after. Impressive task on its own, but, while the sounds are going and coming from all directions, the sense of unity, of focus is immense and makes it not only a curiosity or musical experiment but a piece of real, if unreal, beauty.
This is a sonic adventure, music from other world, from the outside, from far beyond ("kanata" indeed). It's like listening to great poetry in the language You don't understand, where You can recognize some structures, phrases, sounds reappearing in order, rhymes and rhythms, but You still have no idea what does it say. The instruments loose their characteristics sound (it really is sometimes to tell which sound is coming from which player), everything goes into micro scale and You have to find a magnifying glass to see those microtonalities, microstructures, micromelodies. No sense in analyzing the tracks or the playing (although it's hard no to think about what kind of metallic objects is Tatsuya moving on the drumhead, I don't think he's ever concerned really with something as trivial as playing rhythm on drums).
You will need a lot of focus, You will need to clear Your mind (the drones of bowed gongs help a lot). And You will be taken into another world. And while it won't be anything like the world You know, it is quite amazing.
ps1. Hard not to notice the amazing sound quality, You can hear each physical aspect of this metaphysical playing, objects moving on plastic, metal, wood or through the thin air, strings being plucked, keys tapped, fingers moving. Like a magnifying glass indeed.
Maciej Obara - alto sax
John Lindberg - double bass
Harvey Sorgen - drums
Ars Cameralis 2010
I 've been planning to write about this cd since I got it after the trio's concert in Katowice about 1 month ago, couple of days before starting the blog, but then got swamped by all the concerts around and couldn't really find any time to sit down and pour something on black and white. So (trying to look for positive) since today's radio program was cancelled I might as well try to finish this text.
Both John Lindberg and Harvey Sorgen need little introduction, first is known from many recordings with Anthony Braxto or, lately, Wadada Leo Smith, the latter can be heard on many recordings by Fonda-Stevens group. On the occasion of a concert with this band in Katowice he met Maciej Obara and thus began their friendship. When Maciej was in New York, Harvey took him to Woodstock where they recorded this album.
Maciej Obara is definitely one of the most promising new talents on polish jazz scene, one who is not afraid of challenges like playing with much more experienced and acknowledged musicians than himself. Which is a great sign since jazz music can't really exist without ambition and challenging yourself (not to be mistaken with being too cocky).
The music on this release is deeply rooted in free-jazz tradition, to be more precise the one of Ornette Coleman, Obara's sax playing being very melodic but his tone sharp and edgy, precise yet warm, his narration though is very much his own. Most of the material is composed, with three pieces by Maciej, two by John, one by Harvey, "Spiritual Lover" by Andrew Hill and 3 pieces credited to all musicians. All of those are relatively short (the longest track clocking 6:49) still the musicians find the way to fill those few minutes with enough variety and musical development to please Your ears.
First sounds ("Spiritual Lover") are those of deep bass groove and syncopating drums rolling around it and this will be pretty much how the things will be on some of composed pieces with very much freeboppish, full of interval jumps themes (like "Noodles with Sammy Blues" or "Forage"). Obara's alto shines through with imaginative narration, great rhythmic touch and melodic approach. His sound can get also softer, with bit air to it in slower pieces like "One for Caroll" (beautiful solo intro) or "Multiple Reasons" (with main line reminding of "My Funny Valentine" delicate playing by Maciej, swinging brushes by Harvey and a great bass solo by John, passionate and dramatic).
Nonetheless the short tracks, playing can get quite intense, like on 'Muss influx", "Noodles with Sammy Blues" or "Twix'T D and E" with soaring into high register sax playing (expansive lines, energetic and very much in control tone). The musicianship is absolutely stellar and the interplay fabulous (highlighted by the three improvised pieces which provide great balance to the composed material, leaning on more abstract and 'in the moment' playing). As is expected from this kind of music 'rhythm section' is always right in the middle of the action, pushing forward, often left to do their magic on their own (like ending of "Noodles ...", "T'wixt D and E" or improvised "Dropped Drops").
Overall the music is free, passionate, fresh, energetic and imaginative, not innovative but very much personal with great individualites displayed throughout. Highlight of the album is "T'wixt D and E" with a great melodic theme, rolling rhythm section and passionate solo by alto, ending way to soon at 6'49''. This "too soon" could be very much the biggest disadvantage of the album, because I've seen them play those pieces pushing and searching far more outside and inside, and remembering the live performance I have to remind myself that this session was recorded after one (1!) day of rehearsals at the very first meeting of the group. Very highly recommended.
ps.1
While it can't replace the live experience (concert in Katowice was great, according to musicians the best one of the small tour) it definitely gives a great insight into playing of Maciej Obara (realising so far the 'promise' of his talent) and one can only look forward to new oppotunities to hear him again both in this trio setting as in other contexts.
ps.2
On Maciej Obara's myspace page You can listen to rhythmic and expressive "Forage" (composition by Sorgen) and "Wolverine Breath" (improvised piece with spare lines by alto, some ephemeric bow-painting brushes by John and distant mallets by Harvey), both coming from this CD.
ps.3
The cover is slightly different than the picture presented, with different layout of the written elements, graphic is the same.
I had already in mind couple of other recent cds I wanted to review but couldn't really decide to pick one so something really fresh and new took over.
Locksmith Isidore is a trio led by Jason Stein on bass clarinet, with Jason Roebke on bass and Mike Pride on drums. While many reeds players do play bass clarinet on regular basis and to great effects (David Murray, Ken Vandermark, Mikolaj Trzaska, Gebhard Ullmann, Waclaw Zimpel the ones that would come to my mind first) Jason Stein is the only one I can think of who plays exclusively on this instrument. Thus this recording is focused very strongly on the sound capabilities of the lead instrument, so rarely heard in this role in a reed-bass-drums trio setting. And that is, to begin with, obviously an upside to those who like the sound of this horn as much as I do.
Previous recordings (2 by the trio and 1 solo recording by Jason) would emphasize the various approaches to free-jazz interplay and spontaneous improvisation this one is based very clearly on compositions. And while 'free' is never far away, it's very much, as stated also by Jason (cited in extensive liner notes by Art Lange) a jazz recording, or, to be more precise, bass clarinet jazz recording.
The soloing is tonally loose, but very melodic, and soulful, Jason's sound enriched by a lot of overtones, very round, elegant and 'airy' at times, but he's not afraid of more raw, crying or distorted, or otherwise „expanded” sound while improvising. Themes are very clearly stated, and chord structures very apparent, especially in the great bass walking-lines by Jason Roebke. Some of the numbers are very free-boppish, with fast, syncopated and swinging brushwork by Mike Pride (Crayons For Sammy; Man or Ray that includes a powerfull drum solo), some lightly swinging ballads (Little Bird; Ground Floor South) and there's also a great blues piece (More Gone Door Gone with faboulous circling lines by Jason).
It's very much „reappropration of jazz heritage” (once again words by Jason Stein) and the biggest influence traceable would be the man who introduced bass clarinet to jazz music – Eric Dolphy, with his trademark interval and rhythmic jumps (Straight Up And Down comes to mind as a good example) echoed in both composed themes and the soloing (and the bluesy tone) by Jason. Archie Shepp is honored in the Arch and Ship with some wilder playing and more extensive sound explorations (but, more or less in the middle, also this piece gets into the swinging groove). Miss Izzy, which listed as a bonus track, as it comes from live recording in Alchemia, is definitely played more 'free', the sound is also much more 'direct' and 'in front' as the concert recording should be, it shows bit different face of the music played by trio (great playing by Roebke again, deep woody tone and a fine solo on this one) . Jason with great groove and Mike with very modest and elegant yet highly efficient playing make for an extremely good rhythm section.
The music on this cd is not groundbreaking in any sense, nor it's trying to be, It's personal take on jazz history, with great themes and arrangements (intro to Ground Floor South; contrasting fast and slow phrases in Man or Ray), faboulous musicianship displayed, great soloing and whole lot of swinging drive with a highly contagious foot-tap factor. Fun, relaxing, joyful and very enjoyable.
Art Lange in his liner notes does a great job on decoding the name of album and compositions' titles, indicating references to experiences from composer's personal past or some musical ones. I don't know much about three kinds of happiness but this cd keeps me happy for approximately 1 hour each time I put it into the cd-player.
Locksmith Isidore live playing "Cash, Couch and Camper" (sound quality bit shaky)
great bass clarinet solo by Eric Dolphy with Mingus group
Additional notes:
-yesterday birthday of Paul Desmond and Nat Adderley :)
-since Not Two is based in Krakow I'm very much able to keep track of their new releases on a very constant basis, definitely not the case with all the other labels I appreciate, so it is very probable that new Not Two releases will appear in this section (much) more often that the others although I will try to variate as much as possible.
