Label: Gotta Let it Out Records, 2022
Personnel - Andrius Dereviacenko: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Asger Thomsen: bass; Szymon Gasiorek: drums.
Litterjug is the Copenhagen-based jazz trash trio of Lithuanian saxophonist Andrius Dereviacenko, Danish bassist Asger Thomsen (a member of Mia Dyberg Trio) and Polish drummer Szymon Gasiorek. On their debut album, the trio offers seven tracks where nothing is explored for too long, but everything is mounted rationally to incorporate catchy avant-garde jazz themes, rock-encouraged motions, and crack improvisation.
In the two first cuts, “Usurpator” and “Boffel”, they prove to be great listeners as they interact with resolve and abandon alike. Whereas the former number blooms with accented riffs before growing into something playfully noisier, the latter is curled with wit in the head, evoking Ornette Coleman and Dewey Redman, and featuring a bass solo over recycled snare drum rattles. The rhythm section has the ability to lock in with rhythmic coordination, and that’s pretty evident on “Projektil”, an entrancingly unsettling modern creative piece that begins with the dreary stretching and scratching of bowed bass, and ends in a danceable mix of dark electronic and post-punk revival.
“Guitar” has angular staccato melodies filtered through a haze of art-rock panache, handing over changes of rhythm whose ambiance goes from zippy to reflective. In turn, “Litterjug” feels like a controlled experimentation with variegated dynamics. Although not mandatory, this is an interesting album within the contemporary sax-bass-drums configuration.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Usurpator ► 02 - Boffel ► 05 - Projektil