Frush (Luc Houtkamp, Sebi Tramontana, Steve Beresford, Martin Blume) - Frush (FMR, 2024)

By Martin Schray

Frush is a project of four unsung heroes of the second generation of European free jazz - Luc Houtkamp, Sebi Tramontana, Steve Beresford and Martin Blume. Nevertheless, this categorization in no way means that they deserve to be “unsung“ - on the contrary! Houtkamp is a Dutch saxophonist (tenor, soprano) and clarinettist who has been playing with Sven-Åke Johansson from 1973 - 75 and later with the great improvisers from the Benelux countries such as Ernst Reijseger, Han Bennink, Misha Mengelberg and Fred Van Howe. Tramontana, an Italian trombonist, was initially best known on the Italian scene, later working with Paul Rutherford and Barry Guy, among others, and becoming a member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. In the new millennium, he has been a regular at festivals such as Victoriaville (with Mario Schiano, Evan Parker, Paul Lovens and Barry Guy), he has connections to the Chicago scene around Ken Vandermark, he was a member of Mats Gustafsson’s Nu Ensemble and has played a lot with Joëlle Léandre and Paul Lovens anyway. The British pianist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Beresford is the age president of the quartet and probably the best known of the musicians. He was already part of Derek Bailey’s Company projects in the 1970s. Actually, he has played with everyone who is famous in the UK in the field of avant-garde music. Finally, the band is completed by the German drummer Martin Blume. He too can boast a significant list of collaborations: Among others with Peter Brötzmann, Lol Coxhill, Peter Kowald, Werner Lüdi, or Jay Oliver. Together with Ken Vandermark, Matthias Muche and Thomas Lehn, he forms the free jazz quartet Soundbridges .

From this somewhat lengthy introduction, you can already deduce that you can expect first-class free jazz of the European kind on Frush. The seven pieces can be divided into four longer improvisations and three shorter miniatures. What strikes you from the very beginning ist he excellent timing of the musicians. Everyone jumps into the improvisation when it suits him, but then leaves it again immediately. So somehow everyone is always involved, but then again not - there is a lot of air during the playing, but still an enormous dynamic. Very dense, energetic passages alternate with quiet moments in a matter of seconds. The dense passages sound as if a toddler is rummaging through his overflowing toy box full of exuberance (which is meant in an absolutely positive way here), while the quieter ones - mainly due to Tramontana’s mutes and Beresford’s preparations - seem almost eerie. Houtkamp’s saxophone hovers above it all, giving the impression that he is biting into the melody and shaking it back and forth like a predator does it with a large piece of meat. Blume provides a very solid background for the music, his playing is most reminiscent of that of Paul Lovens (another compliment). His contributions are lightning-fast, varied and full of surprises, both tonally and structurally. The icing on the cake are quotes, which are sprinkled throughout the pieces (e.g. Dixieland phrases in “Flusk”, classical film music at the beginning of “Fidther”, later in the piece there are modern jazz piano passages; “Fracchen“ starts with a cool jazz line). In general, the album offers a cornucopia of different sounds and little melodies.

In a nutshell, Frush offers outstanding free jazz of the old school played by masters of their trade. Anyone who likes John Butcher/Phil Durrant/Paul Lovens/Radu Malfatti/John Russell: News From The Shed, Quintet Moderne’s WellSprings or the good old Schlippenbach Trio’s Winterreisewill be well served here.

Frush is available as a CD and as a download. you can listen to the complete album and buy it here:

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Rhonda Taylor – chaos theory (self, 2024)

By Nick Ostrum

Rhonda Taylor is Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory at the University of New Mexico, Las Cruces. I am not sure how much location informs this album, but there might be something to Las Cruces’ removal from the usual metropoles. The distance might even have been crucial to chaos theory ’s sound, one that follows different musical lines than so many other solo sax releases.

And chaos theory is all about exploration. The album is divided into a side a and side b, and each composition, abstract and loose, appears twice on the album in different realizations, each time leading to a different conclusion. Rather than melodic variations on a theme, much of the divergence between, for instance, the first and second versions of the morning after occurs through sonic processing and layering. Despite this, Taylor and her technique remain central to this album.

Side a shows considerable range, from whistles and bird songs to a delicate, breathy pieces (exorcism) to explorations of longer tones. Much of this half is minimally processed, drawing attention to Taylor as a lone venturer on these sonic pathways through the neighboring and surprisingly though subtly vibrant deserts. Event horizon, the final part of side a, breaks this tendency somewhat, as it evolves from a soft minimalist drone into a harsh-noise clarion call, not unlike some of the territory Nate Wooley and Peter Evans have explored when amplified. Side b beginning with the second take of the morning after, however, takes this augmentation much further. It plays with space, and glitchy radio-fuzz chirps, and layered over bird recordings. To a greater extent than on the first realization, here the birds sing with the saxophone to the extent that they become more electronic as the processed sax comes to sound more natural. They meet in a strange middle. Exorcism follows with a return to the harsh noise workings of event horizon. The divergence diminishes on the final three takes on side b, which fall into a grouping on side b as they do on side a. The focus is long notes. The effect, however, is different. The sounds are often clearer and sound closer to the ear. What had been hazy on side a deepens on side b, often sounding fuller and cut with different degrees of space and sound. Appropriately, event horizon closes again, and blasts the ears.

I have not really heard much like chaos theory before. It lies somewhere between long-tone modern classical, amplified trumpet experimentation, and electro-acoustic noise. Through it all, however, it sounds deeply personal. One hears emotion. One also hears a coldness and, often, the clash between the two.

chaos theory is available as a download from Bandcamp:

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Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian – The Old Country (ECM, 2024)

By Don Phipps

The jazz world was devastated to learn that Keith Jarrett had suffered two strokes in October of 2020 and would no longer be able to perform. Primarily a pianist (but also skilled on other musical instruments), Jarrett’s astonishing sixty plus year career ran from brief stints with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis to filling halls around the world for his solo piano concerts. He received accolades for his efforts such as:

• Near hour-long free form piano improvisations that flowed in great arcs of spontaneous consciousness.

• Forming two simultaneous quartets that had distinct musical styles and focused on original compositions centered on improvisations:

  • An American quartet featuring Ornette Coleman alums Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Bill Evans Trio alum Paul Motian on drums.

  • A European quartet featuring Norwegians Jan Garbarek (sax) and Jon Christensen (drums) and Swede Palle Danielsson (bass).

• A series of classical music albums (in which he performed the music of Bach, Handel, Shostakovich, and others) and his own orchestral compositions.

• Explorations of the “great American songbook” with a long running “standards” piano trio (the Standards Trio) that performed from 1983 through 2014 and featured bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

Jarrett’s long association with the ECM label meant that his works were recorded to the highest standards. (Note: I would argue that Eicher’s production techniques resulted in superior recordings of piano that date back to the 70s – at that time a notoriously difficult instrument to capture due to its overtones and extreme range of notes – and that much of Jarrett’s output benefitted from this expertise – but I digress).

The standards trio mentioned above recorded exclusively for ECM. So, it was something of a surprise to see the label issue a live Jarrett recording of a trio in 1992 (At The Deer Head Inn) that substituted Paul Motian for Jack DeJohnette on drums. Motian and DeJohnette have distinctive styles of drumming – though both are (were) excellent drummers. On The Old Country, the Jarrett/Peacock/Motian trio covers Monk’s classic “Straight No Chaser.” A year earlier, the Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette trio covered the same song on their album Bye Bye Blackbird. On Blackbird, DeJohnette offers up a characteristically bubbling and effervescent beat that fits perfectly with Jarrett’s roaming and bluesy improv. On Country, Jarrett’s rendition of “Straight No Chaser” is lively but cooler, and Motian skips along behind Jarrett’s musical touches while Peacock walks the bass. Think sunglasses instead of sunshine. Motian keeps the beat light and only comes forward during the drum breaks, as his concern appears more with color and texture than with exposition.

The Old Country is a second release of material from the 1992 concert Jarrett, Peacock and Motian gave at the Deer Head Inn – and it should be noted this performance was the first and only time the Jarrett/Peacock/Motian trio played together.

The Inn is a venue situated in Pennsylvania’s Delaware Water Gap Region (Allentown, PA), and, according to ECM, it has presented live music continuously since 1950, making it one of the oldest jazz clubs in the US. Furthermore, the venue held a special place for Jarrett. He says in the liner notes that he was sixteen when he got a call to join a house trio for one night at the Deer Head Inn: “So, the Deer Head Inn was my first serious trio job on piano.”

At the time of this concert, Jarrett had not played the Inn for 30 years and had not played with Motian for 16 years. Call it happenstance, call it what you will, but the three, Jarrett, Peacock, and Motian, came together to make not one, but now two, marvelous records. Yes, marvelous is as good a word as any to describe the music on The Old Country (as well as the original At The Deer Head Inn). The “standards” explored on Country all come to life and are shaped anew, from the champagne opening and rolling closing on Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love” to the bluesy repose of the title cut (composed by trumpeter Nat Adderley).

Jarrett’s touch is distinct, and this is what makes his playing on Country as well as other recordings so unique. It can glide, dance, or bounce, but regardless of the technique deployed, there is a singing quality to it. One can sense Jarrett is playing accompaniment to what he hears in his head as much as what he is hearing from his bandmates. Another thing - his phrasing. It is like he always knows just when to enter and exit, and precisely what notes or combination of notes work. His lines are never filler. Instead, they engage and reward repeated listening. All these qualities are exhibited on the eight songs explored on “The Old Country,” from the Art Tatumesque opening to Cole Porter’s “All of You” to his melancholy romanticism on Gershwin’s “How Long Has This Been Going On.” Has sadness ever sounded so sweet?

Peacock puts on quite a show as well. He seems to intuitively understand Jarrett’s moods and mimics them with an exactness that demonstrates their long-standing relationship. Check out his solo on “Straight No Chaser,” where he exhibits an all over technique that is rhythmically diverse and sonically complex (think Dave Holland). Or his joyous offering on “Everything I Love.” Peacock offers a dynamic and sincere bottom to the numbers, giving Jarrett the space to take the music far and wide. Motian too lays low, using the high hat to great effect, and adding just enough trap set work on the breaks to generate heat when called upon.

It saddened the jazz world when Gary Peacock and Paul Motian checked out of this reality. And it saddens many in the jazz world (including this reviewer) to realize that Jarrett will never again play in public. We now have only albums such as this to remind us of what was real and happening in the not-too-distant past. Such is life. As Vladimir Nabokov put it in his memoir, Speak Memory, “The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tell us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.” Even Jarrett waxed on life’s momentary flicker. As he put it in his poem “The Death of a Flower”: “We live between birth and death, or so we convince ourselves conveniently, when in truth we are being born and we are dying simultaneously every eternal instant of our lives.” Well, that may be, but with this album, a living document of a past instant, the light shines on. Enjoy!

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BlankFor.ms, Jason Moran, Marcus Gilmore - Refract (Red Hook Records, 2023)

By Don Phipps

There is much to enjoy on Refract. BlankFor.ms (electronics), Jason Moran (piano), and Marcus Gilmore (drums) create a series of poetic vignettes that carry the listener on a wide-ranging episodic journey – a journey that explores a variety of moods and texture.

The album begins with the racing “Onset I,” which develops quickly with robust abstractions and wanderings. When it merges into “Onset 2,” the piece takes a darker and more somber approach, achieved by Moran’s judicial use of the piano pedal and his strikes at the very top notes of the keyboard.

Funky lines are developed on “Tape Loop A” and “Eighth Pose,” and these pieces permit Gilmore to set slippery rhythms that click along. On the latter, listen as Moran splashes about over the funk – and the others respond – creating a dance that percolates along.

BlankFor.ms shines on “Affectionate, Painful.” His electronic renderings suggest shimmering vistas, light, and color. And “Inward Curve,” is similar, with BlankFor.ms and Gilmore rendering a dynamic foundation for Moran to strut his piano creativity. The lines burst with bluesy, grand perspective.

The album masterpiece is “Tape Loop B.” A three-part opus that “wanders lonely as a cloud” (apologies to Wordsworth), “B” gives each musician a chance to shape the texture of the piece. “I” begins eerily enough, with BlankFor.ms’s atmospherics and Moran’s impressionistic lines that sculpt the mood above the extremely subtle all over Gilmore drumming. Gilmore’s cymbal work, while stunning throughout the album, really asserts itself on “II,” as he supports Moran’s motifs and his slow chordal buildup. Towards the end of “II,” Gilmore’s snare becomes more pronounced, but in a subtle and beautiful but never restrained manner – a technique rarely heard in free music. On “III,” the movement takes on a heroic character, especially when Moran’s motif emphasizes single piano notes. What really makes “III” stand out, though, is BlankFor.ms’s warm atmospherics. His electronics create an other-worldly experience before slowly fading away.

There is much to admire about Refract and the efforts here encourage repeated listening. Call it mood music – music that takes you to shimmering mountain peaks - or perhaps warm summer surf is more appropriate. As the water slowly rolls in and your feet sink into the sand, the music on Refract washes over you. It is up to you to know when (and where) to dive in. Enjoy. 

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Peter Evans - Sunday Interview XL

Photo by Cristina Marx/Photomusix

1. What is your greatest joy in improvised music?
   
   I get a very basic and fundamental joy from the activity itself. This is not necessarily enough to generate good or interesting music however!
   
   
2. So, how do you turn the joy of making music into interesting music?
   
   I don’t know if its a matter of “turning it into interesting music”, more framing or delivering the activity or process of improvisation into something that is not only somewhat intelligible for the listener but perhaps more importantly constantly engaging for the performers. I believe there needs to be almost a feedback loop or regenerative process of using the group dynamics to produce things that are maybe on the border of “not working” to keep things fresh and engaging. If the players are alert and engaged, the music stands more of a chance of being interesting both to the players and the listeners. Take all of this with a grain of salt, nothing said about the activity of improvised music has ever really captured the vibe or been 100 percent true.
    
3. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?
   
   Personality, craft, the development and mastery of their own language... I guess I appreciate a personal voice the most. I admire the dedication it takes to cultivate and develop that voice.
   
   
4. You have so many projects going and clearly often asked by other musicians to join their bands: how do you prioritize what you do?
   
   I’m not asked a ton but when I am and its by someone I really admire I will make space for it. I love being a sideman with an inspiring bandleader. Aaron Burnett, Dan Weiss and Mazz Swift are three artists I’ve gotten to perform with in their groups just this year alone. They are all so different and each exhibit total mastery over their materials, have interesting aesthetics, so its a pleasure for me to help realize their vision. Its fun as well, and I always learn something.
   
   With my own bands I really have one main thing now and that’s Being & Becoming. Other groups that I gave documented recently such as Symphony or Forever 21 are more in a holding pattern until I can focus on them more, although in NYC I’m always trying stuff out. I recently set up a couple of gigs with the tenor player Mark Shim for instance, which was an incredible experience.
   
   I don’t know if its like this for everyone but I’ve found that in this business it pays to be proactive. I am working hard now to get B&B out there in front of listeners and to develop the band sound.
    
5. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?
   
   Can't pick just one, I'm sorry!
    
6. If we extend it to say 5?
   
   Bach and Coltrane. I know that’s boring in a way but its true.
    
7. If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?
   
   I've known and worked with too many musicians who have died prematurely to really appreciate this idea. It's a bit morbid. If I HAD to resurrect someone would they be in? I'm a big fan of the movie Reanimator. Things can go haywire.
    
8. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?
   
   Many things, more than I will be able to achieve. All sides of my work I think have so much room to explore. I feel that I am reaching towards something; a vision or a concept of how I would like my music to feel and sound, and while I go forward. the thing itself keeps morphing. I think this is a common feeling for artists.
    
9. Your solo performance are considered by many (including us here at the Free Jazz Blog) to be the highest level of achievement. Do you however see areas of improvement or development?
   
   Thanks for that. But to answer the question - of course! The only limits are that of the imagination and how much time one is willing to put in to realize an idea.
    
10. Is there a musical setting that you would still like to perform in or create?
    
    Too many to name, but in reality most „new“ settings happen naturally. I would like to explore the Early Music side of things at some point.
     
11. We often ask about ideal band members, but what is the audience that you prefer?
    
    Just that people are there, relaxed and involving themselves with the music. I don’t mind when people make noise and interact with the music, it can be really nice.
     
12. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?
    
    Sure! These days I enjoy the act of listening to music more than even getting into whether I "like" the specific music or not. So I listen to lots of stuff without a lot of judgement on the front end. It's nice. My wife and I were recently going through classic Pharrell stuff, some of the big hits he produced, Twista's "Overnight Celebrity" for instance. That stuff is kind of old now! Recently listening to some Dua Lipa as well. If I'm in another country I will always listen to the local pop radio. Recently in Sardinia they were playing some really nice new pop stuff. American-influenced for sure, but still cool and it had a vibe. Angelina Mango was one, she had a definite Rosalia influence (who I also really like, especially Motomami).
     
13. So, if you were to choose between performing with Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift, who would it be?
    
    Miley seems cool. I’d be happy to work for her.
     
14. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    
    I don't know how to answer this! I don't want to bullshit you but a real answer will take some more consideration. There are things that are actually changeable so those things I attempt to work on. I guess the real question would be - what is something you'd like to change that is impossible to change? Need to think on that.
     
15. Which of your albums are you most proud of?
    
    Specific recordings:
    
    
    • "Embraceable You" from the album Standards
    • “From Beyond” - the Midi piano piece from the album Murmurs
    • Destination Void
     
16. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?
    
    I will only listen to it maybe years later out of curiosity. After a recent album comes I'm usually sick of hearing it for awhile.
    
     
17. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?
    
    That's tough. Not sure. Maybe some Coltrane…
     
18. What are you listening to at the moment?
    
    Digging around some older minimal techno recommendations from Nick Jozwiak, Richie Hawtin for example. I listened to some of the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues last night. I love Steve Grossman's stuff from the 70s and have had "Shapes to Come" on repeat for the last year or two. I listen to a lot of "early music", stuff like Ockeghem, Phillipe de Vitry, and stuff from the Ars Subtilior movement in the 1400's. Recorder music from that era too. I have Tomito Satori on right now while writing this - some more techno stuff. An album called Blood Rising.
     
19. What artist outside music inspires you?
    
    Comedian Tim Dillon brings me a lot of joy these days. I have a book of interviews with Andrey Tarkovsky on the nightstand now. I am really inspired by these "larger-than-life" characters, so for instance when I read Mike Tyson's auto-biography "Undisputed Truth", I thought there was a lot to chew on. Great book.
     
    
20. The element of fun is often present in your compositions and improvisations, either in the speed of the execution (pyrotechnics), the pulse and drive of the music. How important is this to you as compared to your work with eg Jeremiah Cymerman or Cory Smythe or Barry Guy? How do you place these differences in your performances?
    
    I think its more important just to be prepared and act/react naturally in every situation.
     
    
21. Any ideas on how to get mainstream attraction for avant-garde music? Why is non-figurative painting more acceptable than non-figurative music?
    
    The age-old question. I don’t know what constitutes mainstream anymore but I think for instance with Being & Becoming we could vary the repertoire enough that we could play for pretty much anyone. I’m not necessarily presenting it as "avant garde" music. That goes for other projects I play in as well.
    
    A lot has to do with how the music is presented, who it is advertised to, which venues it is happening in. I wish promoters would understand better how much of a difference they can make in the reception and the development of audience by addressing some of these parameters more imaginatively and directly. I feel that at times (not always) the lack of acceptance of more „difficult“ music is a self-fulfilled prophecy, and it doesn’t need to be. A lot of responsibility to create a better situation rests on the artists and the presenters, in my opinion.
    
    Non-figurative painting is fine as a thing in general of course but let’s be honest: that world is now part of an international system of money laundering, and has been for a long time. We all know this. On the other side there is Francis Bacon's criticism of non-figurative art, in which case its resigned to becoming background ambiance, indistinguishable from interior design, like buying a Mondrian-style decorative plate at Walmart. So it’s acceptability is kind of strange and much different than music. I’m not sure what non-figurative music is - I think I know what you mean but the definitions here are to slippery to be of much use.
    
    

Peter Evans on the Free Jazz Blog:

• Summer Memories: Gunter 'Baby' Sommer's Sister and Brotherhood and Jazzwerkstatt Peitz
• Oliwood feat. Evans, Mahall, Landfermann - Anatomy of Anarchy (Jazzwerkstatt, 2024)
• Jazz em Agosto 2024 (Part 3/3)
• Monheim Triennale II: The Prequel - July 2024
• Peter Evans' Being & Becoming - Ars Memoria (More Is More, 2023)
• Barry Guy Blue Shroud Band - all this, this here (Fundacja Sluchaj, 2023)
• Stemeseder & Lillinger - ANTUMBRA (PLAIST, 2024)
• Solo Trumpet (2)
• Festival Causa Efeito - Lisbon, Portugal, June 28 - July 1, 2023 (Part 2)
• Magnet Festival - Wiesbaden, Germany, May 12 - 14, 2023
• Evan Parker X-Jazz Ensemble - A Schist Story (JACC, 2023)
• Cologne Jazzweek (Day 4)
• A Double Helping of Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
• Ayler Records is Back (Part II)
• Petter Eldh and Christian Lillinger: Quantum Mechanics with Sudden Interruptions
• Solo Trumpet
• Solos from Relative Pitch (2/2)
• Peter Evans - Being & Becoming (More is More, 2020) *****
• Reflecting upon last decade's musical influencers
• Blue Shroud Band - Intensegrity: The Small Formations / Odes and Meditations for Cecil Taylor (Not Two, 2019) *****
• Astral Spirits - Upcoming Releases
• Trumpet & Drums
• Sunjae Lee - Entropy (Self, 2018) ****½
• Barry Guy ‎– Blue Horizon - Barry Guy@70 [Live at Ad Libitum Festival 2017] (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2018) ****
• Trumpets and Bass
• Two Cory Smythe - Circulate Susanna (Pyroclastic, 2018) *****More Guys
• Unlimited 32 Festival, Wels, Austria, Nov. 9-11, 2018
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Paint (Hotcup Records, 2017) ****½
• Amok Amor - We Know Not What We Do (Intakt, 2017) ****
• ANEMONE - A Wing Dissolved In Light (NoBusiness, 2017) ****½
• John Zorn - There Is No More Firmament (Tzadik, 2017) ****
• Peter Evans and Alfred Vogel – Il Piccolo Incindete (Boomslang, 2016) ****
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Loafer’s Hollow (Hot Cup, 2017) ****
• Peter Evans / Agustí Fernandez / Mats Gustafsson — A Quietness of Water (Not Two Records, 2017) *****
• Where darkness, doom and despair reign ...
• Peter Evans Quintet - Genesis (More Is More, 2016) *****
• Peter Evans - Lifeblood (More Is More, 2016) *****
• Three Day A L'arme!
• Premature Burial - The Conjuring (New Atlantis, 2015) ****
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Hannover (Jazzwerkstatt, 2015) ****
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing, KSET, Zagreb, Croatia; 10/3/2015
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Mauch Chunk (Hot Cup, 2015) ****
• Evan Parker Days Intro & Live at Mulhouse
• Pulverize the Sound - Pulverize the Sound (Relative Pitch, 2015) *****
• Agustí and the Scandinavians
• Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Septet – Seven (Victo, 2015) ****½
• Peter Evans Quintet - Destination: Void (More Is More Records, 2014) ****½
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Blue (Hot Cup, 2014)
• Fushitsusha & Peter Brötzmann - Nothing Changes, No One Can Change Anything, I Am Ever-Changing Only You Can Change Yourself (Utech, 2014) ***
• Trumpet and piano
• Duos
• People - 3x a Woman: The Misplaced Files (Telegraph Harp, 2014) ***½
• Nate Wooley, Hugo Antunes & Chris Corsano - Malus (NoBusiness, 2014) ****
• Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Peter Evans - Live in Lisbon (NoBusiness, 2014) ****½
• Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Peter Evans – Freedom Principle (NoBusiness, 2014) *****
• The strange universe of Jeremiah Cymerman
• Trumpets and Drums: Live in Ljubljana (Clean Feed, 2013) ****½
• Mostly Other People do The Killing - Red Hot (Hot Cup, 2013) ****½
• Evan Parker Trio: Live at Maya Recordings Festival (NoBusiness, 2013) **** ½
• Relevant DVDs - New ones and not so new ones
• Peter Evans Trio - Zebulon (More Is More, 2013) ****½
• Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Slippery Rock (HotCup, 2013) *****
• Evan Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: Hasselt (Psi, 2012) *****
• Payton MacDonald, Peter Evans, Elliott Sharp - Payton Peter Elliott (Savory Art) 2011 ****½
• Peter Evans - Beyond Civilized and Primitive (Dancing Wayang 2011) ****½
• Peter Evans & Nate Wooley - High Society (Carrier Records, 2011) *****
• Okkyung Lee - Noisy Love Songs (Tzadik, 2011) ****
• Full Blast & Friends - Crumbling Brain (Okkadisk, 2011) ***
• Thomas Heberer - Clarino (No Business, 2011) ****
• Mostly Other People Do The Kiling - The Coimbra Concert (Clean Feed, 2011) ****
• It could be argued that the trumpet is leading the way again ...
• Peter Evans Quartet - Live In Lisbon (Clean Feed, 2010) ****
• Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Forty Fort (Hot Cup, 2009) ***½
• Quick reviews - simplicity and complexity
• Tyft - Smell The Difference (Skirl, 2009) ****½
• Peter Evans - Nature/Culture (PSI, 2009) *****
• Solo Trumpet CDs - update
• Peter Evans Quartet - ! (Firehouse 12, 2007) ****
• Into the groove - some fun albums
• Solo Trumpet CDs

 

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Hans Schneider (1951 - 2024)

By Martin Schray

The period from the late 1960s to the early 1980s can certainly be described as the golden age of European and therefore, of course, German free jazz. Apart from the big names - the Brötzmanns, Schlippenbachs, Kowalds etc. - the heyday of this music would have been inconceivable without the musicians who were always there and without whom the trios, quartets and even larger ensembles would have been unthinkable. The wonderful bassist Hans Schneider is a prime example of this. He has now died after a long illness.

Schneider was born in 1951 in Leverkusen, West Germany. He turned to music at an early age and at the beginning of the 1960s he first started playing in beat bands, then in rock and jazz groups, where he met guitarist Erhard Hirt. It was the start of a long musical journey together, which began in a band called Jazz Community. In addition to these local bands and his double bass studies at the Cologne University of Music, Schneider soon became part of the scene around the legendary FMP label in the 1970s. From 1974 he was a member of Georg Gräwe’s quintet, with whom he later also played in the Grubenklangorchester. Since 1979 he has also worked on different projects with Erhard Hirt. Together with saxophonist Wolfgang Fuchs, the two were then among the founding members of the King Übü Orchestrü, to this day one of the most unusual large formations in the field of improvised music. But Schneider’s musical activities were not limited to Germany. In the mid-1980s he played in a quartet with Evan Parker, Paul Lytton and Paul Rutherford, and over the years with many greats of improvised music such as Maggie Nichols, Peter Kowald, John

Tchicai, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Phil Minton, Sven-Åke Johansson and Peter Brötzmann. Projects such as Frisque Concordance with John Butcher, Georg Gräwe and Martin Blume and the re-formed XPACT (with Stefan Keune, Erhard Hirt and Paul Lytton), the nucleus of the King Übü Orchestrü, were also highlights in his later work.

From the 1990s onwards, he frequently played with saxophonist Stefan Keune, who - apart from their common interest in music - became a friend for life. Their trio, initially with Paul Lytton on drums, who later was replaced by Achim Krämer (also a lifelong friend), lasted a long time. He later worked with Melvyn Poore and Frank Gratkowski, among others. Schneider was finally back at the first concerts of the King Übü Orchestrü, which was re-launched by Erhart Hirt. Schneider was able to the concert in Bonn, but it was already becoming apparent that he was in pain. He was suffering from severe circulatory problems and had to be hospitalised. The doctors realised that one of his legs had to be removed. Since then, he was unable to play, a heavy blow for him, whose life and thoughts were largely determined by music.

His friends and fellow musicians always emphasised how unique Hans Schneider sounded as a bassist and the Unlimited Festival in Wels also celebrated him as “... one of the most distinguished bass players in free music in Central Europe for over 35 years.“ Felix Klopotek summarised his playing like that: “Hans Schneider very often creates connections; as a player, you can actually always refer to his rich, inviting playing in order not to lose the overview in the heated (musical) debates. But Schneider can also refuse to play and withdraw until he imperceptibly reappears and sets the final accents.“ These recordings may epitomise this:

The first recordings with Georg Gräwe, New Movements (FMP 1976) and Pink Pong (FMP, 1978) with Gräwe (piano), Horst Grabosch (trumpet), Harald Dau (saxophones) and Achim Krämer (drums) are secret FMP classics. Also worth mentioning is the trio with Wolfgang Fuchs (saxophone) and Klaus Huber (drums) and their somewhat underrated recording Momente (FMP 1979). Waterloo (Emanem, 1985) with Evan Parker (saxophone), Paul Rutherford (trombone) and Paul Lytton (drums) is a great disc, as is XPACT’s Frogman's View (Uhlklang, 1986) (with Fuchs, Hirt and Lytton). Of course, the first recording of King Übü Örchestrü, Music is Music is ... (Uhlklang, 1985), should not be forgotten here. My personal favourite is his trio with Stefan Keune and Achim Krämer, especially their album No Comment (FMP, 2009) and Nothing Particularly Horrible (Live in Bochum’93) (FMR, 2019) Stefan Keune, John Russell (guitar) and Paul Lovens (drums). Also absolutely worth listening to are the re-formed XPACT with XPACT II (FMR, 2021) and of course the King Übü Örchestrü: Roi (FMR, 2023).

With Hans Schneider goes an important part of the l’age d’or of this music. May he rest in peace.

Here is a video of XPACT II with Hans Schneider on bass:

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Daniel Carter, Leo Genovese, William Parker, Francisco Mela – Shine Hear Vol. 2 (577 Records, 2024)

By Matty Bannond

A poem about the transience of modern life is the muse for the second episode in this two-part series from 577 Records. Shine Hear Volume 1 (review here)was characterized by urgency and raised tempers. But things are much calmer on Volume 2. It’s a more contented release with a soothing spirit, where warm-whispered kindnesses prevail over primal screaming.

Daniel Carter wrote the poetry that inspires both three-track Shine Hear albums. Alongside his saxophone, he also offers flute and trumpet this time around. Leo Genovese sticks to the piano, while William Parker contributes double bass and shakuhachi (an end-blown bamboo flute from Japan). Francisco Mela plays drums and adds traditional Cuban vocalizations.

Those vocals shape the early stages of “Sentimental Moments”. The coarse quality of Mela’s voice conveys anguish even when singing during gentle sections of the track. Rippling trills from piano lend a sense of nervousness to most of the eleven-minute improvisation, but the saxophone’s cream-and-aloe-vera tone keeps the lid on the pot before a gorgeously restorative two-minute ending.

Mela also kicks things off for “Vida Mia”. This time his percussive skills are out in front, while a second vocalist is somewhere in the mix too. Again, Carter’s saxophone is fulsome and friendly. Parker hoots through his shakuhachi. The mood is serene, with noodly passages that lovingly quote fragments of old-time ballads.

A cymbal-driven swing rhythm launches the final track. “Oh Yeah T’ Be Blessed” features the record’s most peaceful, playful material. It has a deeply satisfied feeling. This is well-fed music in an armchair by the hearth. Some agitation arrives later in the piece before the band sinks to an exhausted finish.

Shine Hear Volume 2lets listeners see the softer side of these four high-profile improvisers. It’s an album played with patience and packed with compassion. While modern life may be transient, as Carter’s poem suggests, it’s clearly still possible to investigate depths of meaning beneath the fleeting day-to-day mayhem.

The album is available on CD and as a digital download here .

About the Author

Matty Bannond is a 39-year-old fiction writer and music writer. He was born and raised near Manchester, UK. He now lives in Germany. Twitter: @MattyBannond

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[Ahmed] – Giant Beauty (Fonstret, 2024)

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

The music of [Ahmed], quite deliberately, is too difficult to pin down or label. Of course someone who is not an acolyte, I must admit that I am, of their music, would comment that this is jazz based music. But is it really? Just because the quartet of Pat Thomas on piano, Joel Grip on double bass, Seymour Wright on alto saxophone and Antonin Gerbal on drums and percussion resembles a classic jazz quartet, it doesn’t mean that, by definition, it is so.

The music of the quartet, also, poses, a lot of questions. It isn’t something you wouldn’t expect if you followed their non-[Ahmed] musical activities. Most of them are fruitful adventures into sounds, traditions that need to be broken or extended, conjunctions between musical ideas and trajectories. And, probably, above all a lack of fear when confronting the unknown of what the outcome will be, when four different people interact and react.

On Giant Beauty there’s also the immense size of the release. A box set consisting of five CD’s clocking around forty five minutes, presenting five consecutive nights, in the summer of 2022, at Fylkingen in Stockholm. The reviewer, at least me in this case, feels bewildered, a bit intimidated but surely thrilled, or I should write psyched (again: I’m a big fan of their music) about this music that demands you time, since it’s over three hours.

[Ahmed]’s music also deals with repetition. Be it how to play “older” music with new ears and hearts or patterns that that they revisit, like this is the case in Giant Beauty. I feel very close to the idea that the vast majority of sounds are not “new” per se, but have been played, performed and listened to before. Somewhere and in various formations and combinations. This is the way, I try to perceive their music. But, still, the improvisational ethos lies there, a note to all the listeners that this music is not pre-fabricated, but, apart from general ideas, made on the spot.

I will not get into many details about the music, since I find it almost impossible to describe, for example on the first CD titled Nights on Saturn, forty eight impassioned minutes balancing between post-Ornette without solos jazz and the minimal approach they choose to present their material. On the second, more frantic and a bit more crazy (but, what the hell this word means when talking about music?) Oud Blues, the listener gets the idea of a meta blues quartet that, initially started as part of the New Thing but now –thanks to the percussive nature of Pat Thomas’ playing on the piano- is mostly focused on presenting dance music…

The third CD, African Bossa Nova, is as playful as the title suggests. An eccentric, energetic and intriguing take -actually their take- on bossa nova, offers the listener an alternate version of playful music to dance to. The sax seems in unison with the piano, while the, so called when it comes to [Ahmed], rhythm section is locked in a parallel route with the sax and the piano. The more Coltraneish CD four, titled Rooh (The Soul), dives deep into the core not just of Coltrane’s music with the classic quartet, but into the 60’s black music. Rooh (The Soul) is their prismatic and polyrhythmic take on an era of radical sounds but also esoteric thinking. But, again, as I mentioned before, this is my take on the music and I could be totally wrong.

The fifth and last CD is my least favorite, a fact that after repeated listening, troubled me a lot. On El Haris (Anxious), as the fifth CD is titled, the quartet is transformed (remember that the compositions of Ahmed Abdul-Malik are quite often re-imagined here) into a big band that delivers swing, blues and a whole trajectory of Black musical tradition. It troubled me because even though I realize that this is the ideal ending for a box set that quite intentionally looks back and (re) imagines the past, some parts of the past do not coincide with my personal taste. Mea culpa.

Giant Beauty is massive in its ideas and willingness to step on two boats, the past and the present. I really like the fact that it doesn’t offer an easy way out. You have to listen and think, probably (re) imagine how to get out of your comfort zone. Probably Wood Blues, the ”proper” album for [Ahmed] in 2024, is a more concentrated affair, but both of them are real contenders for the best music of 2024.

Listen here:

@koultouranafigo

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Summer Memories: Gunter 'Baby' Sommer's Sister and Brotherhood and Jazzwerkstatt Peitz

My apologies! These have been sitting in my 'to-post' pile too long now. So, as the clocks start falling back for winter, here's a little remembrance of the summer, first with a review of Gunter 'Baby' Sommer's contribution to the "Free Jazz Big Band" niche, and a photo exhibit from the Jazzwerksatt Peitz Festival.

Gunter 'Baby' Sommer's Sister and Brotherhood @ Jazz am Kaisersteg. July 22, Berlin

Gunter "Baby" Sommer. Photo by G. v. Schroeder

By Paul Acquaro

Günter 'Baby' Sommer’s big-band project brings together a stellar ensemble in what can only be described as a who's who of the Berlin music scene, paying tribute to Chris McGregor’s legendary 'Brotherhood of Breath.' With unfettered joy, the ensemble captures the spirit of the beloved musician through Sommer’s compositions, original works from the 1970s, and pieces by other ensemble members.

The musical arrangements are centered around Sommer’s multi-directional rhythms. Sitting stage left, the 80-year-young percussionist anchors the group with his dynamic drumming. The band fills the stage with a diverse, vibrant presence, while Scottish saxophonist Raymond MacDonald not only plays but occasionally takes on the role of conductor and arranger.

Standout solos by woodwind player Gebhard Ullman and saxophonist Anna Kaluza captured the audience, but in a crowd of seasoned musicians like Frank Gratkowski, Silke Eberhart, Matthias Schubert, and trombonists Anke Lucks, Marleen Dahms, and Gerhard Gschlößl, alongside trumpeters Nikolaus Neuser and Martin Klingeberg, each brought their unique flair. The rhythm section, featuring bassist Antonio Borghini and Sommer’s long-time collaborator from the classic GDR (East German) Free Jazz band Synopisis (later Zentrallquartett), added depth, dynamism, and a bit of history to the ensemble.

The setting was equally captivating. Nestled in a small green pocket along the Spree river, in the heart of a former industrial area - once one of Europe’s largest - Jazzkeller69's 'Jazz at the Kaisersteg' offers a powerful connection between the audience and the music, bringing jazz from the clubs into the open park. Here, newcomers might stumble upon free jazz, feel inspired, and come back wanting more. Experiencing Sommer’s Free Jazz Big Band is like taking a bite-size crash course in Free Jazz history, while enjoying a showcase of some of the city's best established and emerging musicians.

Jazzwerkstatt 61. August 2024, Peitz, Germany 

I wrote the snippet below about the Jazzwerkstatt Peitz Festival on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2023:

Affectionately called Woodstock am Karpfenteich, the nickname of the Peitz festival captures the spirit of the time. In the GDR, it was a moment for the younger generation to get together and express themselves in a closely watched political system. Going back to the programs from the festival's start from 1973 until 1982, when it was shut down by the authorities, is pretty mouthwatering. Names like Peter Brötzmann, Johannes Bauer, Conny Bauer, Leo Smith, Peter Kowald, Günter “Baby” Sommer, Harry Beckett, Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, John Surman, Barre Phillips, Barry Guy, and so many more, ring a Pavolvian bell for the the free jazz fan. Fortunately, much of the music was recorded and has been - and still is being - released by Uli Blobel on his Jazzwerkstatt label. Starting in 2011, the festival started up again in Peitz, with a just as rich line ups - if not more so - of musicians.

This year, founder and long time curator Uli Blobel handed the reins over to his daughter Marie Blobel, who organized the festival's 2024 edition. On hand was frequent Free Jazz Collective collaborator Cristina Marx who valiantly photographed the entire three day festival often in the blazing sun. Here is some of what she captured:

ØKSE

Peter Evans' Being and Becoming

Monk's Casino

Carl Ludwig Hübsch’s Longrun Development of the Universe

 

Mette Rasmussen & Sun-Mi Hong

Willi Kellers The Circle

Willi Kellers with Jazzpreis Brandenburg (sculpture by Helge Leiberg)

Etienne Nillesen

Schnellertollermeier

Mieke Miami’s Birdland

Daniel Erdmann – Aki Takase

Pospieszalski - Andrezejewski

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Paula Rae Gibson - The Roles We Play To Disappear (33 Xtreme, 2024)

By Sammy Stein

The Roles We Play To Disappear will be released by acclaimed artist Paula Rae Gibson on Fri 1st of November on 33 Xtreme label.

It is an album of experimental songs, and electronica written and produced collaboratively with electronic musician and trumpeter, Alex Bonney and award-winning pianist, Kit Downes with notable contributions by Rob Luft on guitar and Matthew Bourne on piano, cello, and synth.

The album was already featured at an exhibition of Paula's portraits of emotion, ‘Be Alive With Me’ – a photographic tribute to her late husband, British film director Brian Gibson – which exhibited Tuesday 1st– Sunday 6th October 2024 at Fitzrovia Chapel, London, W1T 3BF.

Gibson has the gift to transfer emotion from her heart and soul into the music she creates and here she excels. This album is a stark, deeply emotive song cycle and the way Gibson puts sounds and musicians together and how the music has been produced could be compared to several others but in truth, it is pure Gibson, and the sound is uniquely hers. The press office informed me this album was ‘brilliant and utterly beautiful’ and they were right. This is the embodiment of ensemble work across which vocal lines pitch and pivot to capture and deliver specific and intimate emotions in a beautifully worked manner. Completely immersive, this music gets to your soul, traversing genres and delivering heartfelt, soul-warming music.

This song cycle explores deep emotions including some of the darker facets of commitment to a relationship like breakdown, and entrapment and Gibson creates a sense of intimacy as she reveals layer after layer of her inner self. Yet, despite the emotional energy the music contains, Gibson retains pitch and control of tone and volume and there is clearly a deep resonance between the music supporting the voice and the vocal lines. The musicians are given places to shine too and one of the characteristics of this recording is the quality of the ensemble work. Gibson occupies the periphery of the music at times, while emerging from its core at others, creating a sense of ethereal, spiritual connection.

There is urgency, a sense of not understanding yet also at other times deep insights into the soul, memories, and the transforming power of time, peace, and above all, connective love. It is difficult to put into words the emotional charge that feels contained within the songs and lyrical lines and the music perpetuates this instinctively with arrangements that soar and rise at the perfect moments.

‘Heart Off The Hook’ is deeply moving with Gibson’s vocals strikingly atmospheric across the delicately placed percussive background. At times, the whispering eeriness of Gibson’s voice is so moving it deftly embodies the lyrical narrative of the number. The story is of giving oneself, ‘no one gets invited to my heart for very long’ yet listen further and you realise– they surely did. The echoed piano notes in the final phrases offer a sense of a void into which those emotions are being tipped.

‘Ashes As Confetti’ develops from the backdrop of electronic soundwaves with Gibson asserting vocal lines across the top. The warping keys and intricate percussive rhythms vie perfectly creating a density of sound Gibson’s ghostly voice rises phantom-like above.

‘Necessary Drama’ is lighter, airy and features stringed effects and chorded delights, across which Gibson flits and dips, her rich, warm voice questioning the meaning of love and leaving. The shocker of the final line, ‘She buried her son, her friends, her husband, her everyone’ sums up the atmosphere and heartfelt depths of the number.

The beautifully worked ‘The Silence and The Shadow’ is a perfect vehicle for highlighting the talents of Alex Bonney’s trumpet as it drops in periodically, releasing temporarily the genie that wafts across the surreal lines of voice and background.

Gibson is adept at using her voice to encapsulate profound thoughts, sometimes sad and often with deeper meaning. From the brooding dark energy and gorgeous harmonics contained in ‘My Hope’s Back’ to the brightness of ‘Necessary Drama’ and the twists and turns (as that number is not on a light subject) that surprise and capture the listener.

The easy, relaxed essence of ‘Fall Into You,’ about the uniting of souls, and the interesting noises in the background belie the charged emotions of the track. The short ‘Lover Two Takes You To Lover Three’ is worth its 48 seconds because this track evolves into ‘Makes No Difference to The Trees’ which is a delight of spoken and sung voice, electronic atmospheres, and intricate rhythms, that seem to capture energy like an intake of breath that is held and then exhaled in waves and ripples of sonic delight. The contained energy builds and builds. ‘I Am Not’ is simply glorious with a wonderful deep ‘cello voice pitted against Gibson’s breathy, vocals.

Many of the tracks seem to carry a pulse, like a heartbeat and this maybe encapsulates the life force that feels like it works its way through this music.

The eerie, surreal ‘3 Am Always’ morphs into ‘Ashes as Confetti’ reprise which in turn develops into an energised, slightly unbalanced number that closes this album perfectly with male and female voices pitched across a percussive background, topped by warping strings, among them a wonderfully deep bowed ‘cello line. The final spoken words are ‘I can’t save you’ but this album does just that. It saves us from complacency, and despair because, while there is music like this, there is hope. This album is a thing of beauty, period.

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