Aurora Nealand - Oceans And

April 19, 2023

Label: Intakt Records, 2023

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Aurora Nealand: accordion, clarinet, voice; Hank Roberts: cello.

Tim Berne, an alto saxophonist with unpredictable musical temperament and a more-precise-than-brittle tone, teams up with master cellist Hank Roberts (a longtime partner), and multi-reedist/accordionist/vocalist Aurora Nealand (second musical experience after having joined forces with the duo Trapper Keaper in 2019). These musicians, owners of an excellent instrumental sound and big ears, put a spin on a unique post-modern trio that intrigues and captivates at every turn.

Their melding of ideas, eschewing genre conventions, is encapsulated in the 12 tracks that compose Oceans And. Take the opener as an example: “The Latter”, whose elongated, sustained notes with occasional screeching cello convey a mysterious tranquility, has Nealand’s atmospheric accordion giving harmonic context to Berne’s lines. And yet, one never knows where this gentle dance will take us.

“Framed” is fed by accordion’s elliptical textures, grievous cello, and saxophone motifs that, spreading across the tapestry, show no interest in eradicating tension. The next track, “Eez”, takes abstraction, fragmentation, and looseness even further with its constant diffusion of timbres.

“Partial 2” is an incredible piece that can be tied to “Clustard” and “Sutile”. The clarinet (surprisingly not as dulcet as one might expect) and saxophone engage in logical articulations that probe different intensities, while Roberts remains imperturbable in the back. The cellist excels during the eerie neo-folk of “Frosted”, emphasizing dark-hued elements with a firm identity.

Nealand puts her beautiful voice at the service of “Mortal and Pestered”, a haunting, ritualistic and often dramatic combination of the ethereal and the spectral, whereas on “10tious”, the longest piece on the album, she responsively attempts to mimic Berne’s intricate leaps and rhythmic trajectories on the accordion. There’s also cello pizzicato and quick-witted saxophone, with the protagonists coming and going from the scene with a particular aesthetic in mind.

This trio of like-minded artists offers strangely magnetic music with enough coils and refinements to keep you engaged.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Framed ► 06 - Mortal and Pestered ► 11 - Partial 2

Tim Berne / Gregg Belisle-Chi - Mars

January 20, 2022

Label: Intakt Records, 2022

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Gregg Belisle-Chi; acoustic guitar.

An exciting sound and impressive improvisatory qualities are offered on Mars, the first duo album by Tim Berne, a jaw-drop alto player and composer, and Gregg Belisle-Chi, an up-and-coming guitarist who, playing acoustic, is reinventing the jazz as we know it. The latter, a confessed admirer of Berne, released a solo album last year - Koi (Relative Pitch Records, 2021) - in which he interpreted pieces by the saxophonist. Here, they present a sophisticated menu with 12 Berne originals, and the result is less abstract than the above mentioned recording as it is easier for the listener to place the two instruments in context and grasp a more defined sense of direction.

“Rose Bowl Charade” opens the album in an alternative folk-jazz atmosphere, having the guitar slathered in acoustic magnificence and the alto toggling between tart and sweet tones. It sounds as much immersive as it is explorative, boasting a number of sustained pedals with pulsating notes floating around their centers.

Tossing off fragments of melody that replicate, match and integrate beautifully, “Purdy” (originally appeared on Berne/Mitchell’s Spiders album) is a highlight that shows a radiant lyrical vein. In turn, “Gastrophobia” remains in perpetual tension, while the duo’s capacity to articulate and create moods through mystery and timbre are in evidence on several titles - “Palm Sweat” is characterized by a fantastic conjoint work; “Frosty” denotes blues connotations (brought further to the fore on “Middle Seat Blues”) in addition to some rock chops and bop innuendos in an ode to tradition; “Not What You Think They Are” goes beyond with extra timbral allure, including droning multiphonics and guitar harmonics; and the short-lived “Giant Squids” is stripped down to its melodic essence.

Belisle-Chi sticks to his acoustic principles in the intro to “Big Belly”, where delightful dissonance and outstanding balance lead to the piece’s central figure. The cerebral “Dark Shadows” sets woozy, searching melodies against the churning flow that serves as a base. The temporary sparse accompaniment (just bass notes) does wonders and Berne rambles free in the middle register, grabbing that dazzling, sometimes inscrutable kind of beat in his phrasing that leaves no one indifferent.

Working with interesting frameworks, Berne and Belisle-Chi show a genuine, instinctual rapport in an album where their fearless inventive spirit and capacity of adaptation are fully on display.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Rose Bawl Charade ► 02 - Purdy ► 09 - Dark Shadows

Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson, Dave King - Broken Shadows

June 15, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Chris Speed: tenor saxophone; Reid Anderson: bass; Dave King: drums.

Formed in 2017, Broken Shadows is a powerful chord-less quartet dedicated to tunes from archetypal avant jazzers such as Ornette Coleman, Julius Hemphill, Dewey Redman and Charlie Haden. The combo - fronted by saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed, with Reid Anderson and Dave King (the rhythm machine of The Bad Plus) filling the bass and drums chair, respectively, is found in spirited form throughout 12 covers, ten of which had been included in a 2019 LP released on the Newvelle Records. Legacy is valued.

It all starts with “Street Woman”, a riveting Ornette Coleman piece whose subsurface tension adrenalizes the saxophonists to deliver freewheeling blows that roar with timbral splendor. They constantly interact with each other, usually embarking on unisons for a start, and then setting knotty phrases and potent riffs against the fibrous matrixes provided by bass and drums. “Toy Dance” and “Ecars” are contagiously swinging rides that follow both angular and sinuous melodic trajectories. The former is blissfully folk in nature while the latter is a freebop incursion.

Reid steps forward on Coleman’s “Comme Il Faut”, where he wallows in nimble movements with chromatic slips and improvisation, and also on Haden’s “Song For Che”, taking the folk intonations and gestural brushwork exhibited by his associates to a solitary bass perfection.

If the Redman-penned “Walls-Bridges” is rhythmically aggressive with the horns channeling all their creative energy into the solos, “Una Muy Bonita” requires sophistication in the latinized groove and rhythmic nuance.

Two Hemphill hymns are added to the track list: “Body”, a grooving and funky effort, and the cherished “Dogon A.D.”, a beautiful 11/8 statement with scratchy arco bass, parallel saxophone playing, and a cool beat upgraded with syncopation.

Because the excitement rarely slows down, it feels great that Coleman’s “Broken Shadows” concludes the record as a melodically arresting lament underpinned by brushed drums and a quiet bass flow that includes pizzicato and bowed techniques.

Rising and expanding with brief yet fraught soloing, this is energy music of the first order.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Street Woman ► 07 - Dogon A.D. ► 12 - Broken Shadows

Sun of Goldfinger - Congratulations to You

August 26, 2020

Label: Screwgun Records, 2020

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto and baritone saxophones; David Torn: guitars, loops, live samplings; Ches Smith: drums, electronics.

Containing three exciting tracks, Congratulations to You is the follow up to the acclaimed eponymous debut album of Sun of Goldfinger, the probing trio of saxophonist Tim Berne, guitarist David Torn and drummer Ches Smith. The musicians’ ability to conjure atmosphere while manipulating time and space is magical, and no contemporary jazz lover should be indifferent to the immensity and ruggedness of their sounds. The first two pieces were culled from their very first performance in Brooklyn in 2010, while the concluding title track was captured at the Vortex Club in London.

“Bat Tears” is not only a showcase for Berne’s echoing motifs and drifts on the alto - highly substantiated by Torn’s sampling and looping effects - but also to his grooving and popping baritone playing. The dance-like motion produced has the assistance of Torn’s rock-infested soloing and Smith’s krautrock-inspired rhythms. This initially raw and non-gratuitous chaotic incursion precedes a quieter second half, where uncompromising guitar noodling, loops and persistently ululating saxophone cries become trapped in a magnetic suspended form.

At more than 28-minutes, “Coco Tangle” is the longest ride on the album, carrying with it the possibility of dialogue and always providing us with something pleasurable to be discovered as the artists centralize their creative energies. The opening section brings out the fire within these artists, whose free expressions start to take a solid shape with the time. At some point, we have a cackling saxophone triggering digitally processed rhythmic figures, flickering flashes of powerful wah-wah guitar, and tremendous responses from Smith, who adds color and detail to every move - his actions can range from syncopated hip-hop-ish grooves to instinctive tribalistic flows to rock-infused rhythms. After delving into abstraction - a passage with some psychedelia in the mix - the trio outlines another kinetic, groove-centered concoction made of intense baritone sounds, galvanizing guitar procedures, and humanly ‘programmed’ trap-set maneuvers.

“Congratulations to You” is firstly presented as a partially blurred frame with inclinations toward experimental electronica before suddenly turn into a perfectly danceable number driven by a sparkling hip-hop beat. It reaches the climax when the trio breaks forth into a roar of sound.

Mastering texture, groove and free improv, Berne, Torn and Smith bring out the strengths in one another, and their unquestionable chemistry is on display from the very first track. Hail, Sun of Goldfinger!

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Bat Tears ► 02 - Coco Tangle

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - The Fantastic Mrs. 10

March 18, 2020

Label: Intakt Records, 2020

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega: clarinet, bass clarinet; Marc Ducret: guitars; Matt Mitchell: piano, modular synth; Ches Smith: drums, vibraphone, glockenspiel.

Making its debut on the Swiss-based imprint Intakt Records, Tim Berne's Snakeoil never looked as cohesive, exciting, and spellbinding as now. Their sixth outing, The Fantastic Mrs. 10, manifests the same appetite for experimentation and freshness, tossing the listeners into a world of curious, organic sounds that stream across ingeniously generated structures. Berne launched the group in 2012 as a quartet - with multi-reedist Oscar Noriega, pianist Matt Mitchell, and drummer/vibraphonist Ches Smith - but added an extra layer of complexity with the guitar of Ryan Ferreira. The difference here is that it’s Marc Ducret, Berne’s long-time collaborator in projects such as Caos Totale, Bloodcount and Big Satan, who fills the position, fulfilling his duties with brilliancy.

The title track opens the record with that stylishly thought-out angularity that characterizes the bandleader's approach, in anticipation of an infectious theme statement that feature him in unison with Mitchell. The rocking rhythm is incredibly gripping, and powerfully expressive improvisations then occur in a variety of settings. Noriega projects his bass clarinet with furious energy; Berne objectively combines sturdy and brittle tones within a predominantly suspended atmosphere that turns into haunting reverie when Ducret’s distorted cries become spasmodic. Mitchell fills and drains with torrential streams of notes before settling in a Jarrett-like chordal work that makes a strong impression on the final statement.

These types of rip-roaring layers can be spotted on other provocative tunes, and the 14-minute “Third Option” appears at the top of the list. In this case, Berne and Noriega trade off jagged punctuations, eventually agreeing on an extended melody connectedness with Mitchell and Smith already on board. I’m sure you’ll enjoy guitar explorations in a dark hued context, insouciant piano outpours backed by active percussion and screeched guitar chops, searing saxophone clamors walled in dreamy yet intriguing auras, and subtle murmuring vibes.

Introduced by glockenspiel, “Rolo” is another serious case, exhibiting sinuous, sloped and tangential courses filled with effective adjustments in rhythm and dramatic variations in mood. Besides Berne, who excels in his fragmented phraseology, Smith’s percussive wizardry comes to prominence.

“Surface Noise” initially revolves around an abstract piano/glockenspiel quiescence until Berne’s urgent lines attract everything to the center. Collaborating closely, Ducret and Noriega lend their peculiar stylings to the piece, which probes an atmospheric tone quality prior to fixate in harmonic cycles with sparkling hi-hat activity and linear saxophone onslaughts.

Immersed in sheer beauty, the sensitive “Dear Friend” by Julius Hemphill is the only composition on the album that Berne didn’t compose, and guitarist/producer David Torn is credited for the electronic arrangement on the folk-imbued closing number, “Rose Colored Assive”.

Rarely an avant-jazz album possesses this unstoppable energy and fascination straight down the line. This is absolutely my favorite Snakeoil work; an essential pick for adherents of addictive modern jazz.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Fantastic Mrs.10 ► 03 - Rolo ► 06 - Third Option

David Torn / Tim Berne / Ches Smith - Sun of Goldfinger

February 25, 2019

Label: ECM Records, 2019

Personnel – David Torn: guitar, live-looping, electronics; Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Ches Smith: drum set, percussion, tanbou.

Sun of Goldfinger is an outstanding, explorative trio composed of David Torn on guitar, live-looping, and electronics; Tim Berne on alto saxophone; and Ches Smith on drums, electronics, and tanbou. The group first played together in 2010 when Torn accepted Berne’s invitation to play a trio gig in Brooklyn, an event that got the guitarist very well impressed with the inventiveness of Smith.

Let me just start by telling you that the three-song album presented here is a must-have for fans of new music, allowing elements of jazz, rock, and avant-garde to blend under scrupulously burning arrangements and engrossing impromptu creations.

Torn’s “Spartan Before Hit It” is the central piece on the record, a modern symphonic marvel in every aspect that thrives with the addition of guitarists Ryan Ferreira and Mike Bagetta, super keyboardist Craig Taborn, and the strings of Scorchio Quartet, which contributes with two violins, a cello, and a viola. The song, tranquilly cinematic in its first minutes, has a rich piano underlying it and is ignited through a solid compound of saxophone-guitar exclamations, later turned into red-hot masses of sound, and a fancy rhythm that lies in-between the primitive African and the ecstatic Brazilian. The electronic effects are tastefully integrated and never feel as outsider elements. Surrounding, organic sounds penetrate deeply into our heads, extending emotions through a bright light before entering into a chilly, drone-dominant phase that paralyzes and bewilders. The autumnal landscapes are then reintegrated, with Torn’s folk gestures warming it up.

It’s phenomenal to see how the structural discipline and adventurous freedom work so well together, also prevailing on the two other spontaneous tracks. You’ll find three creative individuals speaking in their own languages and fusing different elements to conjure a unique collective atmosphere that unveils all their musical intelligence. They are master colorists working from different angles of time and space.

“Eye Meddle” combines guitar chords seasoned with beautifully atonal flavors, loops of several frequencies, odd percussion, and resilient grid-like sax lines that can sound furious and elastic. Halfway, look for the intoxicating psych-rock scenario mounted with a groovy hip-hop flavor running underneath. Hallucinating, this trip still offers a distorted guitar solo over a vibe-infused funky rhythm and cyclic buzzing drones emitted by guitar and saxophone. Nothing is out of place and the sound is fascinating.

Concluding the album, “Soften The Blow” starts off like poetry in motion, serenading us with passive dark tones. Wavy chordal twang and measured electronic fluxes are part of the game. The conversion to chaos happens when Torn inflames his guitar with a mix of distortion and delay in a rock-centric obsession, Berne dives into extravagant in-and-out work, and Smith uses nimble syncopation to produce a snarly pulsation.

Sun of Goldfinger is pure teamwork and nothing short of remarkable. Their unmissable debut album is powerful, it grabs you hard and you rise with it.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Spartan Before Hit It ► 03 - Soften The Blow

Tim Berne / Matt Mitchell - Angel Dusk

July 24, 2018

Label: Screwgun Records, 2018

Personnel – Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Matt Mitchell: piano.

Last year, innovative pianist Matt Mitchell released Forage, a great solo album whose audacious material consisted exclusively of compositions by alto saxophonist Tim Berne, the man who had hired him in 2012 to play in the progressive Snakeoil band. The musical bond between the two men is so strong that a duo album was almost inevitable. Hence, Angel Dusk is now available and features eight tracks that pair Berne’s agile phrasing and resonant angularity with the perceptive, if intricate, tapestries of Mitchell.

The session opens with “Perception/Reception”, which gets strong forward momentum without being constantly busy. It shapes into a lyric reflection imbued with precise movements and emotional force. At some point, Berne embarks on circular crusades, having Mitchell's regularly paced chords darkening the mood for the time they last. Even remaining enigmatic until the end, there’s light in the sharp unison lines, which also endure on the subsequent short tune, “Not Too Two”.

“Exception/pest” flows with an instant liquidity. Mostly amiable in nature and exhibiting a classical-tinged artistry on the piano, the piece is temperate in its last section with a sort of rebelliousness that surfaces under the guise of explosive saxophone statements. Things are maintained hot on “Starfish Blues”, in which the swift interplay becomes massive and irreverent, and on the hyperactive “Petulance”, a recipient of ritualistic saxophone drives delivered with scorching trills in the mix and a complete command of the language. Denser harmonic progressions are adopted as accompaniment.

Both “Chance” and “Snail’s Pace” take their time to evolve, embracing a melodic parallelism that, even cerebral to a certain degree, is no less interesting or provocative than the sonic outbreaks. If the former piece goes from balmy to eloquent before returning to the written section, then the latter opens with Mitchell’s mystic rainbows of beautifully contrasting notes, proceeding in 'searching' mode after Berne jumps in with a combination of intimate melodicism and rhythmic agitation.

The constituent pieces of this collaborative work are extremely hard to separate in upbeat or downbeat. It’s much easier to associate their organic sounds with light and darkness due to the timbral coloring of the knotty textures. Berne and Mitchell sculpt and engrave with an absolute sense of anticipation and direction, making their set of explorations a stimulating listening experience.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Perception/Reception ► 05 - Starfish Blues ► 06 - Chance

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Incidentals

September 4, 2017

Label/Year: ECM, 2017

Lineup - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega: clarinets; Ryan Ferreira: guitar; Matt Mitchell: piano; Ches Smith: drums, vibraphone, percussion + guest David Torn: guitar.

Credited for developing an adventurous work within the hard-line of contemporary jazz for almost four decades, alto saxophonist Tim Berne has created almost incessantly since 2012 to feed the repertoire of Snakeoil, a group whose core members are Oscar Noriega on clarinets, Matt Mitchell on piano, and Ches Smith on drums, vibraphone, and percussion. The band’s fourth ECM outing, Incidentals, also features for the second time Ryan Ferreira on guitar (he was in the previous You’ve Been Watching Me), and counts on the atmospheric guitarist and producer David Torn on a couple of tunes.

His soaring guitar prevails in the intro of “Hora Feliz” (the Portuguese title means ‘happy hour’), a tune that before expressing an ebullient extravagance through melodic unisons of sax and guitar, remains nearly four minutes in a sort of atmospheric limbo layered by clarinet, piano, vibraphone, and a shrilling guitar. Buoyed up by Berne and Noriega’s improvised narratives, Mitchell ekes out a variety of extemporaneous harmonic responses, always well backed by Smith’s polyrhythmic punch.

“Stingray Shuffle” starts a crawling process with Berne and Ferreira attempting a deliberately inexact unison turned into thin polyphony. The mood becomes viscerally spectral as a panoply of prolonged, multi-instrumental screeches haunts the scenario, right before the triumphant reinstatement of the theme.

Delightfully inventive and full of twists and turns, “Sideshow” occupies our attention during the 26 minutes it lasts. Never superfluous, this dazzling piece offers us plenty to chew on, from crackling, distorted guitar sounds (Torn is called into action) to the wonderful piano work by Mitchell, and from diversified rhythms and tempos to well-oriented horn-driven paths. The band works conjointly and tightly toward a grandiose epiphany that culminates in a serene auroral beauty.

The confident, action-packed “Incidentals Contact” is first activated by Smith's magical vibes but ends up navigating in those thrilling roundabouts engendered by Berne and amplified by powerful drumming. It develops a complex matrix that thrives with echoing rock momentum as it showcases the Stentorian improvisational skills by the bandleader and Mitchell, followed by a brief and hermetic interplay between Noriega and Ferreira.

The last track, “Prelude One / Sequel Two”, is also one of the most exciting pieces, consisting of two parts seamlessly connected. The prelude, co-authored by Berne and Mitchell, flows at a steady pace with melodic zigzags. The sound is then expanded and transformed into a swollen sonic mass for the sequel, where Berne’s intoxicating inflections are like blazing emotional outbursts. It’s a tour de force finale that makes you cry for more.

Tim Berne continues his sparkling creative saga with the Snakeoil, digging another taut album full of nerve, audacity, and mutual inspiration.