Archive: November, 2006

waterloo, 1985

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Evan Parker / Waterloo, 1985
Emanem / 4030

Evan Parker / saxophones, Paul Rutherford / trombone, Hans Schneider / bass, Paul Lytton / percussion, electronics

A single, hour-long improvisation from players who will be familiar to many readers, in a setting which is similar in sound to Parker’s celebrated trio with Paul Lytton and Barry Guy. Rutherford’s presence adds an extra element of rough-and-tumble into the mix, and the group’s occasional references to more recognisable forms of jazz are swept up in a tightly ensemble-based sound.

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brazilian watercolour

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Ivo Perelman / Brazilian Watercolour
Leo / CDLR266

Ivo Perelman / tenor sax, recorder, piano, Matthew Shipp / piano, Rashied Ali / drums, Guillherme Franco / percussion, wooden flute, Cyro Baptista / percussion, wooden flute

“En Adir” was Perelman’s take on the Jewish musics which he grew up with and which influenced him so strongly. This album may not complete the picture, but it adds a significant piece. What immediately strikes you in the line-up — and in the music — is that there’s no bass player. Expecting to hear William Parker weaving his way through Ali’s rhythmic maze as he does on Perelman’s trio disc Sad Life, the listener instead finds Franco and Baptista’s high-pitched membranophones. Odd? Well, no odder than finding the volcanic tenorist tackling “Desafinado”, I suppose.

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sieiro

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Ivo Perelman / Sieiro
Leo / CDLR271

Ivo Perelman / tenor sax, tenor trombivo, Tomas Ulrich / cello, Dominic Duval / bass, Jay Rosen / drums

The names on this disc will be known to many readers of Musings, and they’ve all played with one another from time to time in the past, although in such an unstable music scene it’s likely that this combination — despite being billed as “The Ivo Perelman Quartet” — is but a sporadic one. The session slightly predates that which resulted in The Alexander Suite, on which Perelman, Duval and Ulrich were joined by the other two members of Duval’s CT String Quartet.

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transmutation live

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Praxis / Transmutation Live
Douglas / ADC5

Buckethead ( Brian Carroll )/ guitar, Brain ( Brian Mantia ) / drums, Bill Laswell / bass, DXT / turntables, DJ Q-Bert ( Richard Quitevis ) / turntables, Mix Master Mike ( Michael Schwartz ) / turntables, Shortkut ( Jonathan Cruz )/ turntables, DJ Disk / turntables

Praxis are basically the house band of Laswell’s Axiom label and, however else they might sound, they always sound as if fun is being had. Rooted in funk and rock, but too outré to court mainstream interest, they combine a cut-and-paste aesthetic with strong grooves. If this sounds like a delicious fusion — and, yes, the word “fusion” was bound to come up sooner or later — it can be a case of falling between stools as well.

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continuum + / concert, v

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Eddie Prevost Quartet/ Continuum +
Matchless / MRCD07

Larry Stabbins / soprano and tenor saxophones, Marcio Mattos / double bass, Veryan Weston / piano, Eddie Prévost / drums.

Eddie Prevost and Veryan Weston / Concert, V
Matchless / MRCD37

Eddie Prevost / drums Veryan Weston / piano

The two latest issues from Prevost’s Matchless label are nicely paired; a quartet gig which has acquired a certain amount of status over the years as one of those events you were glad you were at if you were there, or you pretended you were at if you weren’t, together with a chance to hear half of that quartet indulge their fondness for the duet format together.

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sun ra arkestra meets salah ragab in egypt

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Sun Ra Arkestra meets Salah Ragab in Egypt
Golden Years of New Jazz / GY1

Sun Ra Arkestra, Cairo Jazz Band and Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble, featuring a cast of (almost) thousands.

This is one of the four debut releases of Leo’s new offshoot, “Golden Years of New Jazz”, a somewhat ironically-titled label whose intention is to remind us that free jazz has been around for a rather long time, that it’s a well-established genre with famous figures, classic recordings and, yes, “golden years”.

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urban voices

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Not Missing Drums Project / Urban Voices
Leo Lab / CD036

Lauren Newton /vocals, Joelle Leandre / bass, vocals, Uschi Bruning / vocals, Joachim Gies / saxophone, bass clarinet, Thomas Wiedermann / trombone, shakuhachi, Jurgen Kupke / clarinet, Elisabeth Bohm-Christl / bassoon, double bassoon, Ulli Bartel / violin, Gerhard Ubele / violin, Thomas Bohn-Christl / cello, Hartwig Nickola / bass, Dieter Zeretzke / piano

Large-group music without a drum kit is hardly much of a novelty, and if that were all NMDP were offering then this would be a slight thing indeed. Fortunately, there is a lot more to it than that; the group aims to fuse classical and jazz ideas in a music world which transcends both. Perhaps they do miss the drums occasionally — preparations are used in the piano for percussive effect at one point, while at another the group strike the bodies of their instruments at create a disjointed riff. The absence of a trap set, however, does give them a more chamber-oriented sound, and it reduces the temptation to divide the group into rhythm section, horn section and soloist.

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low shapes in dark heat

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

The Remote Viewers / Low Shapes in Dark Heat
Leo Lab / CD049

Adrian Northover / soprano sax, alto sax, Louise Petts / alto sax, voice, synthesiser, David Petts / tenor sax, synthesiser

The sax section from New York art-rock-punk-jazz-call-it-what-you-like group B Shops for the Poor has spawned an offshoot, which essentially sounds much like the B Shops themselves. They favour blocks of sound, often avoiding vibrato and other markers of “jazz” expressivity in favour of squalls of noise, synth textures and Louise Petts’ voice.

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