Devouring the Guilt –Not to Want to Say (Kettle Hole Records, 2024)

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

Devouring the Guilt is the trio of improvisers Bill Harris on the drums and percussion, Gerrit Hatcher on the tenor saxophone and Eli Namay on double bass. What started as a meeting of like minded musicians, has developed into a long-running group of three artists who like to improvise collectively.

The three musicians have played together a lot and this sharing of ideas, thoughts and sounds produces a collective improvisation divided into two long pieces. Kettle Hole has given us some excellent free jazz releases, but this limited edition cd pushes the envelope a bit more. Needless to say (or should i?) that of course this is jazz based musics, but the amount of improvised ethos posed by the musicians takes it far from the, many times serving a “necessity”, energy blow outs of free jazz. I would really love to say far from any labeling but since you are reading these lines, we have to communicate in some way…

Both tracks on the cd clock around the twenty minutes mark and they deny most of the thoughts of resorting to the jazz traditions. Both are tight and packed with ideas of attentive listening and egoless playing. In fact, after some listening I believe that their approach is deliberately minimal, resulting into (in both pieces) a climaxing build up, but not through energy that rises as every minute passes, rather like patiently, all three of them, climbing up a stair that they do not know where it leads. Playing humbly in a less is more mode.

I wasn’t able to find lesser connections, like duos within the structure of the trio, in both tracks. They play in unison, managing to sound clearly as individuals that collectively act and react. The label’s small catalogue has offered many treats by now, but this one is the best, making it, also, one of the best for 2024 so far. The minimal artwork adds to the aforementioned experience. Listen here: https://kettlehole.bandcamp.com/album/not-to-want-to-say