By Nick Metzger
This one was a long time coming. It’s been almost a quarter century since the AALY Trio released an album, their last being I Wonder If I Was Screaming at the turn of the century - and that’s not counting the excellent AALY Trio/DKV Trio release Double or Nothing that came a couple of years later. Surprisingly it’s also their first release as a proper trio, with all of their previous albums including Ken Vandermark on reeds. This absence is rectified by the maestro’s comprehensive liner notes in which he charts the history of the trio and provides some valuable insights into the forces and circumstances that shaped their path. The group is famously named after the Art Ensemble of Chicago piece “Lebert Aaly…dedicated to Albert Ayler” from their album “Phase One”, which was released at the end of their European/Paris period just before they returned to their eponymous home city. The album was the first of theirs heard by a young Mats Gustafson, and it made a hell of an impression, as did said city and its music scene when he was invited there in 95’ by John Corbett. Vandermark then notes that this trip led to the Pipeline project, and that subsequent tours and collaborations also birthed the groups The Thing and School Days, among others I’m sure. On “Sustain” we have the quintessential trio as of 95’, Gustafson on saxophones, flute, and harmonica with bassist Peter Janson and drummer Kjell Nordeson. It’s apparent from the music that the affinity and bonds the trio forged still remain firmly intact.
The set begins (and ends) with a rendition of the Art Ensemble of Chicago piece “Rock Out” from 1969’s “A Letter to Our Folks”. The AALY version is lowercase but the foot tapping rhythm of the original remains. Janson and Nordeson initiate the rhythm of “W2” before Gustafson lays out the melancholic theme in broad, hoarse lines. The bass and drums push to the surface from beneath the snaking melody which closes the piece out in a wide, soulful vibrato. On the Rev. Frank Wright song “Your Prayer” Gustafson switches through baritone sax, flute, and tenor sax as the bass and drums writhe against each other. Audible yelps of intensity pockmark the blistering performance as the trio lose themselves in a tempest of their own making. On the next piece the group revisit the Ken Vandermark composition “Why I Don’t Go Back” from their first release “Hidden in the Stomach”. The track is an absolute dirge that strikes sparks from within its darkness. The rhythm plods along, hefty and uneasy against great peels of bellowing glossolalia, gradually winding down into a trickling blues. “Cover Yourself” is a brief, exploratory improvisation that pits the dialogue of Janson and Nordeson against Gustafson’s flute attack. The ceremony is punctuated with harmonica blasts as visceral as altar bells.
The next piece is a performance of Norman Howard’s “Soul Brother Genius” from the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit 93’ cassette version of his album “Burn, Baby, Burn” on Roy Morris’ Homeboy Records (maybe Mats will dub us a copy one day). Gustafson previously covered this song with The Thing on the 2002 album “The Music of Norman Howard”. Here the rendition is resolute, the theme carefully and dutifully traced in great, groaning strokes. The clairvoyant dialogue that follows is such that I almost have no words, it’s just incredible. On “Deepfreeze Pretend” the band pits tense vocalizations and reed pops against sparse, pattering kit noise and pointillist clusters of gut. The next piece “Egypt Rock” is an interpretation of the New Life Trio song from their album “Visions of the Third Eye” which was the subject of a comprehensive Bandcamp Daily review a few years back. The trio run the groove, sax and bass double up on the melody briskly astride the surging percussion. Initially the intensity of dialogue on the next piece “Dustdiver Kneeling” is forceful and brusque, the players take turns throttling the improvisation. This gradually breaks down and the trio settles into careful contemplation. “Albumblatt. Sustained” builds up momentum from the outset, reed hiss and simple pluck phrases, the drums roll in abruptly and it doesn’t take long before the group is off on flights of heavy-handed playing. The album ends with a second rendition of “Rock Out” - expanding on their initial reading of the piece - with the funk rolled back slightly - the trio closes out the recording in circular fashion.
Recorded in Stockholm during March of this year and released on the legendary Silkheart Records (who also released the first AALY Trio album) this one is a tour de force. The titles of the improvisations were inspired by the writer and composer Sture Dahlström and the album artwork is by the great Håkan Rehnberg, both fellow Swedes. It’s remarkable to hear what has changed after all this time and what remains the same. The intensity is absolutely still there, but the musicians have grown in ways that are apparent to the listener. Perhaps their most crucial release to date, “Sustain” does just that by putting the next foot forward. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next one to drop. Highly recommended.
Other AALY Trio releases on Bandcamp:
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