Flow Trio with Joe McPhee - Winter Garden

Label: ESP-Disk, 2021

Personnel - Louis Belogenis: tenor and soprano saxophone; Joe Morris: bass; Charles Downs: drums + Joe McPhee: tenor saxophone.

Flow Trio comprises intrepid, like-minded explorers of sound and texture with proven merit in this peculiar musical art known as free jazz. 

Influenced by Ayler, Coltrane and S.Ware, the saxophonist Louis Belogenis was an intermittent collaborator of the late drummers Rashied Ali and Sunny Murray; for his part, bassist Joe Morris is a rhythm machine who’s been faithful to his own vision alongside many musical partners (multi-reedist Ken Vandermark, tenorist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp); Chicago-born drummer Charles Downs (aka Rashid Bakr) joined the pianist Cecil Taylor in the early 1980’s for a more-than-a-decade collaboration, and was a member of Billy Bang’s Survival Ensemble. Winter Garden marks their third outing as a group, the second on the ESP-Disk label, and features another prolific pathfinder and timbral digger on the tenor, Joe McPhee.

The trio grapples with violent agitation on the opener, “Rabble Rouser”, where the saxophonists clash against each other, pulling out raucous and raspy timbres as their phrases swell with volume and speed. The robust foundation of bass and drums never vacillates in the support of horn growls whether in complete ecstasy or severe distress. There’s still time for Morris’ arco dissertation. He starts alone, but somewhere down the line, is joined by antsy drumming and juxtaposed saxophone ostinatos.

“Recombinant” adopts a more pattern-based approach. McPhee’s repetitive tenor figure is later matched and kept by Morris, while Belogenis keeps chanting loose, longer lines on the soprano with perseverance and plasticity. A stream of cymbal attacks accompanies this process until the flow gets interrupted by a bass solo. 

Whereas “Incandescence” is a blistering discharge of tension that becomes more melodic in its final phase, “Glistening” is the calmest track on the album. Although amorphous in form and free in pulse, the latter is less vehement in the expression and more discernible in the direction.

The title track alternates intensities and concludes the session with the saxophones on the same side. It features a double intervention by Morris, first bowing across the bass strings and then opting for pizzicato. 

Unpacked with multiple levels of abstraction, Winter Garden is a raw and ferocious album that lives from intensive communication and unrestricted reciprocity.

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Rabble Rouser ► 02 - Recombinant ► 05 - Glistening

Roscoe Mitchell & Mike Reed - The Ritual and the Dance

Label: Astral Spirits

Personnel - Roscoe Mitchell: reeds; Mike Reed: drums, percussion, electronics.

The free jazz genre is graced by the dynamic duo of multireedist Roscoe Mitchell, an unapologetic nonconformist, and drummer Mike Reed, an artisan of the rhythm. The sophomore release of these AACM artists is called The Ritual and the Dance and was recorded live in 2015 during their European tour. It consists of a nearly 37-minute uninterrupted storytelling with no idle moments.

The high-pitched soprano laments delivered by Mitchell take the form of piercing indigenous chants blown vertiginously with circular breathing and patterned stimuli. The dry rat-a-tat of the snare drum makes a beautiful tonal contrast with the deep bass drum kicks, establishing an intense, sedulous workout routine that will put you in a state of bemused fascination.

The impressive versatility of Reed surfaces not only when he seats behind the drumset, but also when he operates electronics with subtle sensitivity. At some point, his adept pulses are transformed into droning backgrounds, whose dark tones allow the saxophone to reflect brightly. Reed then resumes the stomping cadence but keeps changing its colors. 

The turbulent environment is refrained at the minute 20, when Mitchell switches to tenor, seeking folk melodies and exploring some long notes that oscillate in pitch. His beefy, occasionally raucous tone is unadorned, if slower, here, but he switches horns again for a stimulating final stretch.

Adventurous jazz listeners will be struck by the force of this music, certainly wishing that Mitchell and Reed can collaborate again soon.

Grade A-

Sabir Mateen / Christopher Dell / Christian Ramond / Klaus Kugel - Creation

Label: 577 Records, 2020

Personnel - Sabir Mateen: tenor saxophone, voice; Christopher Dell: vibes; Christian Ramond: double bass; Klaus Kugel: drums.

This free jazz session, recorded live at A-train in Berlin in 2012, brings together Philadelphia-born, New York-based saxophonist Sabir Mateen and a German rhythm section composed of vibraphonist Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond and drummer Klaus Kugel. Creation comprises three parts, the last of which is a bonus track only available in the digital format.

“Creation (Part One)” enters upon a straightforward storytelling with nimble tenor phrases, digressive vibraphone movements and loose groundwork from bass and drums. The often jittery drumming goes against the soft vibes but shares the same state of mind of Mateen, who improvises with anxious fervor, expressing lucid motifs that exclaim, ask and sometimes answer. For this, the saxophonist employs a timbral alchemy that applies to the whole range of his instrument.

Clocking in at 31 minutes, the second movement starts with a steady flux of vibes, bass and drums, but its textural surface is not always maintained even. On top of this, Mateen unleashes raucous staccatos and multiphonics, fluttering whistling blows and winding phrases occasionally enhancing ascendant and descendant movements through a pinned note as a reference. These oblique trajectories are quite thrilling. At times the group goes for cathartic left turns and sharp angles as they muscle up the procedures, on other occasions they swing in an open manner, virtually soliciting the scat-singing abilities of the American frontman. The piece doesn’t come to an end without Kugel’s rollicking drum solo.

The third part is perhaps the one shrouded in louder and more intense sonic waves, generating a similar sense of engagement and freedom.

Grade B

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Creation (Part One)

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Brian Kastan 2 Trio - Avant Trance Dance

Label: self released, 2020

Personnel - Brian Kasten: electric guitar, electric fretless bass; Peter O’Brien: drums.

Brian Kastan is a New York-based experimental bassist and guitarist, who is found here in a combustible duo collaboration with New York drummer Peter O’Brien. Kastan, who plays bass and guitar simultaneously through a bass looper pedal, employs his own hybrid-finger technique, discharging substantial amounts of energy over viscously dripping grooves.

On the opener, “Continuum Vibe”, they favor a non-stopping pour of power in a frenetic machination that includes stridently noisy funk chops as a key ingredient in an alternative-rock metabolic process that is both mercurial and hefty.

“My Funky Pussy Cat” has a softer inception, relying on a sort of proto-funk flavored with a bluesy feel. Apparently more structured, the piece doesn’t take long to be deconstructed by a raw assault of explosive guitar lines and rough texture. Kastan’s ideas develop at its own pace, often creating an interesting polyrhythmic effect with O’Brien dynamics.

“For The Love of Black Sabbath” showcases the duo’s appreciation for the English metal band referred in the title. The four-bar cycle at the base of this improvisation is infused with muscularity and the music reaches acid-rock proportions. 

The longest pieces on the album are the most gripping. “Soul Reveal” is set to slower speeds, having its mood carefully worked with wah-wah and other psychedelic effects. The guitarist’s shouts and cries find O’Brien’s proficient drumming filled with timely cymbal crashes. The latter’s awareness of form, in addition to his musical adaptability, is quite impressive, and after a period of time, there are playful, agitated spasms that lead to a final delirium. And the record concludes with the nearly 19-minute trip “Avant Trance Dance 2” whose title doesn’t lie. With influences of electronic music, experimental rock and free jazz, it’s like having Sonny Sharrock probing noise-punk and Jimi Hendrix diving into in a neurotic post-hardcore dance. The duo speak out their ideas and their communication is on the edge through exciting drum patterns, drone-oriented bass fluxes and guitar noise.

Systematically embracing dissonance and abstraction, this program might feel quite intense for some listeners, but it is well worth a try.

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Soul Reveal ► 05 - Avant Trance Dance 2

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Patrick Shiroishi / Dylan Fujioka - Neba Neba

Label: Cacophonous Revival, 2020

Personnel - Patrick Shiroishi: alto and baritone saxophones; Dylan Fujioka: drums, percussion.

Although they’ve been playing together since 2013 in different contexts, West-coast saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi and drummer Dylan Fujioka have never released a collaborative duo album until now. Neba Neba is a three-track free jazz suite, in which the duo adopts their habitual take-no-prisoners approach. Shiroishi and Fujioka joined the post-rock band Upsilon Acrux in 2015, and more recently have collaborated with keyboardist Paco Casanova on Kage Cometa (FMR Records, 2018) as well as with multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia and drummer Alex Cline on Borasisi (Astral Spirits, 2019).

“Lucky Boys” starts off with plain sax melodies floating atop limber percussion. While the saxophonist gradually extends his color range by incorporating glissandos, eccentric trills, and elliptical movements, the drummer injects zealous bass drum kicks in his lively activity. The improvisational interplay may vary from cogitative suspensions to fiercely intense rides, and every idea favors exploration and communication. Even in the sections where they operate in solo configuration, the clear language overrides demonstrative aesthetics. Prior to the conclusion, a predominant cymbal legato with variable flashes of intensity joins the droning quality of the alto sax before it glides into spiraling mode.

Whereas the previously described piece lasts for nearly 26 minutes, “Chorizo” clocks in at 29, validating improvisation as the driving force behind the duo’s actions. Launched with dry snare drum and eloquent, breathy alto sax phrases, this piece gains some nice, loose throb along the way. At a given moment, Shiroishi switches to baritone, extracting interesting deep sounds with occasional multiphonics while engaging in a strange dance with his mate. He returns to the alto for a powerful ending.

Although initially marked by the serene cascading effect of a rattling percussion and restrained saxophone playing, “Stray Dog” reaches its boiling point right before fainting permanently into quietude.

This is a bold sax-drums duet.

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Lucky Boys ► 03 - Chorizo

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Arto Lindsay / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Phil Sudderberg - Largest Afternoon

Label: Corbett. vs Dempsey, 2020

Personnel - Arto Lindsay: electric guitar; Joe McPhee: alto and tenor saxophones, pocket trumpet; Ken Vandermark: tenor and baritone saxophones, clarinet; Phil Sudderberg: drums.

Four indefatigably creative spirits - guitarist Arto Lindsay, saxophonists Joe McPhee and Ken Vandermark, and drummer Phil Sudderberg - combined efforts for an exploratory and often intuitive noise jazz spree captured early last year at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago. True to the artists’ inspirations, Largest Afternoon consists of 15 spontaneous tracks delivered in duo, trio and quartet formats.

The nine first pieces feature the corrosive guitar noise from Lindsay, an extremely versatile player who, throughout the years, showed proficiency in multiple genres, from synth pop and electronica to indie rock to modernistic bossa nova. Here, you’ll find him operating in a heavy rock mode, building rugged textures and discharging voltages capable of burning the house down.

The opening and closing quartet pieces, “Whether You Were There or Not” and “Or Depth of Field”, respectively, provide dynamics. The former benefits from the cacophonous conductions and central rhythmic figures offered by baritone and tenor, while the groove of the drums sustains everything with a contrasting feel-good approach. In turn, the bottom track is vividly electrifying in its whole, even with the inclusion of a brief, anthemic horn-driven passage.

McPhee explores extended techniques over Lindsay’s pitch-swooping underpins on the shapeless “She Must Have Known”, where spasmodic impulses, horse whinnies, and twisted growls come out of his pocket trumpet. One can literally hear his voice here and also on “When I Lose Any Sense of Perspective”, a dialoguing duet with Sudderberg.

On “Head Down and Bent to One Side” it’s Vandermark who attacks with precision, pulling out some gorgeous percussive popping sounds and warped lines from the baritone, which grows ferocious, darker, and motivic by the end. For this one, he teamed up with Lindsay, who incurs in a paroxysm of convulsive shrieks to compose texture. The pair repeats the experience on “The Push and Pull Beneath the Surface”, but now having the stomping flare-ups of the drummer playing underneath.  

“Family Can Mean Many Things” and “The Distance Between the Door and the Car” are both cathartic trio inventions armed with intense rhythmic flairs. Much more quiet and noise-free are three blatantly communicative McPhee-Vandermark duets, which, falling into conversational, frequently evolve with motifs. “So What’s Your Idea of Epic” is definitely a peak, boasting controlled sonic neuroses, vivid circular gravity, and off-the-cuff runs intoned with power.

Largest Afternoon thrives with jagged edges and its vigorous constitution will definitely discourage the faint hearted to reward venturesome audiences.

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Whether You Were There Or Not ► 02 - She Must Have Known ► 05 - So What’s Your Idea of Epic 

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Dave Sewelson - More Music For a Free World

Label: Mahakala Records, 2020

Personnel - Dave Sewelson: baritone saxophone; Steve Swell: trombone; William Parker: acoustic bass; Marvin Bugalu Smith: drums.

Throughout the three spontaneously composed tracks that constitute his new album More Music For a Free World, baritone saxophonist Dave Sewelson blows with muscular authority, exploring the fleshy tones of his instrument. For this outing, the follow-up to the 2018 Music For a Free World, he teams up again in the frontline with the adventurous trombonist Steve Swell, and they both ride through the dynamic rhythms and bouncy grooves laid down by bassist William Parker and drummer Marvin Bugalu Smith.

“Memories” starts off with the vigorous reedy/brassy coalition intersecting low-intoned rhythmic figures and hefty expressions of rebelliousness. The rhythm section offers freedom, tension, tonally static grooves, and occasional swinging rides that incite the horn interplay to go on, whether in the form of shared ideas, call-and-response scenarios, or individual statements. Although burning hot, the atmosphere contracts a little, allowing a logical dialogue between drummer and bassist. Yet, a collective expansion takes place at the end, where baritone growls and multiphonic trombone call-outs get on the same page.

Clocking in at 27 minutes, “Dreams” is the longest track on the album and provides an absolutely delightful experience. The agile percussive chops open the curtain, fearless bowed bass incisions announce pensive trombone deliberations, and lastly, Sewelson steps in, infusing the setting with a raucous tension. The two horn players maintain a straight communication, often swapping positions within the pitch range. There’s a quieter passage with more implosions than explosions before an Afro-Latin pulse sparkles to set the horns in flames. A marching strut with timbral contrasts and robust swinging exaltations anticipate the intelligible bluesy ending, whose deep groove is warmly affecting. Parker and Smith, working in an edgier mode, are true to their creative natures.

The closing piece, “Reflections”, is introduced by an expressive, wide-ranging solitary baritone, evolving into a strange ritual composed of beautifully designed layers. The quartet creates mystery through motifs and frictions, as well as breathy discharges and long notes. 

Whether playing in a tight and controlled way or plunging into wild spirited romps, Sewelson’s quartet manifests freely what they have inside, striking a well-honed balance between raw improv and demarcated structure. Free jazzers have here another driving force to connect with.

Grade A-

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Dreams ► 03 - Reflections

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Federico Ughi - Transoceanico

Label: 577 Records, 2019

Personnel - Rachel Musson: tenor saxophone; Adam Lane: double bass; Federico Ughi: drums.

Transoceanico is a vinyl/digital release from Italian-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Federico Ughi, who leads a powerful trio composed of like-minded explorers: British saxophonist Rachel Musson and American double bassist Adam Lane.

This sturdy free jazz session celebrates the 20th anniversary of Ughi’s very first album, The Space Within, which consisted of duets with saxophonists and was released in the UK while he was living there. It kicks off with “So Far, So Good”, a dense yet never crowded exercise where the group always finds a consistent direction. With the experienced Lane suggesting harmony by plucking more than one string at a time, Musson emphasizes rhythmic ideas that suddenly dissolve and then return for further development. Concurrently, Ughi’s drumming gains impetus to the point of becoming fervently spanking.

On “Segnale Di Via Libera”, bassist and drummer weave a tight rhythmic web adorned with on-spot cymbal splashes. In a preliminary phase, the saxophonist blows fragmented phrases, which evolve into raucous yet expressive cacophonies with the time. The trio heartily reunites for a moderate final stage, right after Ughi’s solo based on groovy rudiments.

“Blues Apart” embraces a deceptive hush and calmness. A tense atmosphere invades the scenario, especially created by Lane, who infuses heavy bowed bass interjections. This piece differs from “Emergency Exit”, whose mysterious tones and tense pyramids of sound are taken on during the first minutes. Here, Lane exhibits a sort of coiled phrasing that ends uprooted, while Musson embarks on surging cacophonic gushes that burst with energy and intensity. This is a showcase for her noisy contortions wrapped in dark timbral shades. Ughi keeps the entire thing moving on the borderline with restless chops that magnify the music’s rough edges.

The drummer starts alone “Sky Ramblin” and speaks for more than a couple of minutes. His language includes effervescent cymbal legato and meticulous, reverberant tom-tom drives. We can also identify a droning melancholy coming from the bowed bass and a less aggressive approach by the saxophonist, who goes vibrato with flickering pitch variations.

The trio pours out their souls with a rough sound, embracing somber timbres and advocating free speeches that go beyond the far side of tonality. Transoceanico doesn't open up new avenues, but if you wish to continually remain in the 'outside' world, this is a valid option.

Grade B

Favorite Tracks:
01 - So Far, So Good ► 03 - Blues Apart ► 06 - Sky Ramblin

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Rodrigo Amado - A History of Nothing

Label: Trost Records, 2018

Personnel - Rodrigo Amado: tenor saxophone; Joe McPhee: soprano saxophone, pocket trumpet; Kent Kessler: double bass; Chris Corsano: drums.

Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, a mainstay of the European free jazz panorama, is recognized for blowing his tenor with logic and authority, frequently in trio and quartet settings. He was also a member of the adventurous Lisbon Improvisation Players group, with which he recorded three albums for the Clean Feed label.

A History of Nothing, his debut on the Austrian Trost Records, features five improv-centric tunes authored and sculpted by the same quartet that made This Is Our Language (Not Two Records, 2012) a reference in the genre. Namely, Joe McPhee on soprano saxophone and pocket trumpet, Kent Kessler on double bass, and Chris Corsano on drums. 

“Legacies” opens the session with strong chamber intonations, driven by gentle bowed bass moves and occasional cymbal screeches. The midpoint marks a change with Kessler providing a bit more conduction through punctilious plucks, and Corsano getting increasingly active behind the drum kit while the horn section creates a free state of harmony.

The deliberative "A History of Nothing" starts with a cacophonous tug-of-war between saxophones, triggering responsive reactions from the rhythm section. It’s like a push-pull game of thrones where nobody wins, replete with raw, exhilarating collisions and powerful individual expressions. Bass and drums weave a supportive if impenetrable rhythmic net that stimulates Amado and McPhee to exhibit heftiness and intricacy in their explorative endeavors. At that moment, we can see the ensemble in full flight.

The mixture of mordant and airy sounds from pocket trumpet initiates the operations on “Wild Flower”, but McPhee soon switches to soprano sax, delivering racing phrases over the foundational tandem priorly established. Amado then chips in, employing discernible folk-ish lines with a rollicking grasp and striking timbre, evoking Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, and sometimes Fred Anderson in his musical descriptions. It felt good hearing him digging something more melodic in contrast with the fierce rhythmic approach of his co-workers. McPhee joins again by the end, for a victorious, snappy final round of interactive play.

Establishing a strange communication, the quartet finishes this adventurous journey with “The Hidden Desert”, whose dark mood and sedative hypnotics take the listener to a brooding cinematic realm. However, I could not fail to mention the homage to McPhee on “Theory of Mind II (for Joe)”, marked as a CD-only track. The intense combination of mallet drumming and bass perambulations vary in intensity with Amado opting not to bring all his impetuosity in his first improvisatory incursion. He returns later with a turbulent foray, though.

Amado’s quartet is in peak form, exerting another biting album that comprehends both volcanic and ruminative sonic layers. Just let the freedom touch you while enjoying this finely calibrated commotion.

        Grade A

Favorite Tracks: 
02 - A History of Nothing ► 03 - Theory of Mind II (for Joe) ► 04 - Wild Flower

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François Carrier / Michel Lambert - Out of Silence

Label: NoBusiness Records, 2018

Personnel - François Carrier: alto saxophone, Chinese oboe; Michel Lambert: drums.

Canadian saxophonist François Carrier, a dauntless improviser, has been associated mostly with his country fellow drummer Michel Lambert, whether in duo or trio formats. His discography is rich in valuable collaborations with likes such as Paul Bley, Bobo Stenson, Dewey Redman, Tomasz Stanko, and many others. In the case of Lambert, the idiosyncratic percussive style he follows led him to recordings with David Torn, Dominic Duval, Ellery Eskelin, and Barre Phillips.

Even if the rapport between the two musicians is undeniable, Out of Silence, their new outing on NoBusiness Records, doesn't reach the immediacy of the commendable Freedom Is Space For The Spirit (FMR, 2016), an album released last year with pianist Alexey Lapin.

The stretching free-form improvisations begin with the title track, where multiple interrogations and exclamations are thrown in at different speeds and with varied tones. Despite the imperturbable percussive flow, they evolve naturally to denser textures with Carrier’s angular phrases ranging from fierce and tribal to casually conversational. In contrast, during the brief moments he switches to the Chinese oboe, a weeping intonation takes care of providing an alternative mood. 

“A Thousand Birds” starts with high-pitched whistles swirling around the edges, rapidly slipping into deep multiphonic howls and growls. Lambert’s dry thumps and cymbal arrhythmias fluctuate according to the desired dynamics, and the Coltrane influence is perceptive in some fragments of Carrier’s manifestations. 

With ascendant melodic movements that reminded me the repetitive organ anthem played at certain key points of the NBA games, “For No Reason” feels like an unorthodox march containing asymmetric heartbeats. It unfolds and progresses toward a faster, busy finale.

Carrier tosses discernible melody at both extremities of “Soul Play”, while on “When the Hearts Starts Singing” he introduces some patterned phrasing while advancing at the sound of multi-timbral percussion. By the end, the tune takes a fanfare-like shape with the Chinese oboe sounding almost like a Scottish bagpipe.

To close the album, the duo reserved us “Happy To You”, a fragmented version of the worldly recognized song "Happy Birthday to You".

Even lacking groove in its kinetic dynamics, there’s a palpable energy on Out Of Silence, an intermittently amusing record by two inveterate explorers.

       Grade B-

Favorite Records:
01 - Out Of Silence ► 02 - A Thousand Birds ► 05 - When the Hearts Starts Singing

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Joe McPhee / Pascal Niggenkemper / Stale Solberg - Imaginary Numbers

Label/Year: Clean Feed, 2017

Lineup - Joe McPhee: tenor saxophone, pocket trumpet; Pascal Niggenkemper: double bass; Stale Liavik Solberg: drums and percussion.

Multi-reedist Joe McPhee, a respected artist of the New York free jazz movement, has been around for five decades, demonstrating that his procedures are filled with as much irreverence as freedom. Prolific and self-taught, he has been an influence for many adventurous musicians of multiple generations. 

Imaginary Numbers, his most recent album on the Lisbon-based label Clean Feed, comprises three free-form improvised pieces recorded live at Jack in Brooklyn on December 13th, 2015. The musical content bursts with high-caliber sounds exerted by his robust international trio, which features the German-French double bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and the Norwegian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg.

They start off with “I”, an extended piece with almost 24 minutes, where McPhee starts by sibilating, squeaking, and holding discussions on the pocket trumpet, while the drummer is kept busy with erratic rim shots, programmatic scraping, and wet snare tonalities that feel enchantingly adherent. Passing through different moods and rhythmic variations, the tune benefits from Niggenkemper's beautifully jagged textures, whether bowing enthusiastically or projecting dried bass mechanizations through consecutive athletic plucks. Taking advantage of the solid rhythmic alliance of his associates, McPhee unleashes rough-edged saxophone attacks, occasional cutting shrills, and even some easy melody that was particularly reserved for the beginning of his improvisation and the tune’s the last section.

If the latter piece lets us identify some phrasal twitches of Coltrane, the following one, entitled “A Supreme Love” (an obvious dedication to the ‘giant’ and his masterpiece A Love Supreme), sounds pretty suggestive with McPhee invoking his idol, but also following his own voice, hurling mighty sonic waves with a heavy timbre. The tune starts with a variety of percussive sounds, from chimes to screeches to bass grunts, becoming a rhythmically spunky workout along the way and ending in a phantasmagoric pool of wails and creaks. 

“Zero” closes the session, gradually evolving from a quiet percussive setting into a tempestuous sprawling of rhythm and tonality defined by cacophonous sax assaults on top of a dense carpet weaved by bass and drums. It all becomes playful and temperate by the end.

With a titanic obstinacy for sound exploration and a virtuosic spontaneity to create tense atmospheres, this powerhouse trio channels bulky transferences of energy into our ears.

       Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
01 - I ► 02 - A Supreme Love (For John Coltrane)

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Mats Gustafsson & Craig Taborn - Ljubljana

Label/Year: Clean Feed, 2017

Lineup - Mats Gustafson: saxophone; Craig Taborn: piano.

Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafson and American pianist Craig Taborn, two dauntless explorers with an accentuated inclination for avant-garde jazz and free improvisation, had never joined forces until the 2015 Slovenia Jazz Festival. 
That singular happening, a live duo performance completely improvised was turned into a two-long-track vinyl record, entitled Ljubljana, which is now available on the Portuguese label Clean Feed.

While this is the first move of the year for the prolific saxophonist, the highly in-demand pianist saw his magnificent album, Daylight Ghosts, coming out on the ECM label three months ago. 

“The Eyes Moving Slowly”, the opening and lengthiest track at over 20 minutes, begins with Taborn’s dark combination of bass notes while Gustafson sneaks in with a few air blows. A few minutes later, the latter unleashes the beast in him, showing us the power of his baritone saxophone through vociferous deep-toned outcries that can be tied in with pain, pleasure, or fear. At this phase, Taborn embraces the macabre scenario by creating continuous murky textures of distinct intensities. The verbal fury is gradually mitigated, opening space to a punctilious pianism supported by single-note lines rather than wider chords. Simultaneously, Gustafson plays with timbres and explores sounds of various kinds. The tune ends up in an oddly disjointed dance.

The almost-18-minute “The Ears Facing the Fantasies” starts out through (un)geometric figures engendered by Taborn, who takes in Gustafson’s attacks with a ceaseless, self-ruling posture.
The saxophonist puts into practice a variety of extended techniques - his famous slap and flutter tonguing, roars, growls, and whistles. He complements all this with rapid-fire phrases and the sound of his own voice. Moods range from dense/grotesque to minimalistic/graceful.

The liberties arise with an opulent fervency, drawing intense musical moments that could make this record a hard nut to crack, especially if taken by someone whose taste falls out of the free jazz circuit.

         Grade B+

Favorite Track:
01 – The Eyes Moving Slowly

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DKV Trio & The Thing - Collider

Ken Vandermark: reeds; Kent Kessler: bass; Hamid Drake: drums; Mats Gustafsson: reeds; Haker Flaten: bass; Paal Nilssen-Love: drums. 

Joining two of the most well-established free/avant-garde jazz trios of our times on the same recording can be simultaneously bold and risky. However, the idea is not a novelty for DKV Trio, which already teamed up with AALY Trio in Double or Nothing (2002) and Gustafsson/Nilssen-Love/Pupillo in Schl8hof (2013). 
In Collider, the undamaged, piercing sounds of DKV and The Thing trios merge, evincing a high compatibility without losing a bit of identity. None of the formations superimpose to the other, but rather combine efforts for striking us through their bracing sonic textures.

The American DKV Trio, active since 1996, has drummer Hamid Drake, bassist Kent Kessler, and multi-reedist Ken Vandermark as its pillars while the nordic The Thing, whose debut was in 2000, is composed of Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, Haker Flaten on bass, and Mats Gustafsson on reeds. 

Collaborations with individual musicians are not uncommon practices for the trios - DKV had saxophonist Fred Anderson and guitarist/bassist Joe Morris on their side; The Thing joined forces with vocalist Neneh Cherry and Sonic Youth’s singer-guitarist Thurston Moore. 
The three extended tracks of Collider, driven by fluent, improvised melodic interactions and insane rhythmic locomotion, were recorded live in 2015 at Manggha Hall in Krakow, Poland.

The opening tune, “Cards”, shows a top-notch sextet dropping wild cards on the table and winning us over with an upfront attitude that brings raucous sounds wrapped in hard-and-groovy bass-drums contractions and expansions. The energy can be felt in every section, where the expansive languages of free jazz and rock music cross with an upbeat power funk of colossal intensity. We have the perfect notion that there’s a multitude of creative possibilities for these wild cats.

“Moving Map” is 24 minutes long and opens with two bowed basses and the clamant, high-pitched notes of Vandermark’s clarinet. They seem to be asking for Gustafsson’s tenor saxophone, inviting him to take part in the game. When that happens, the tune is immediately reshaped into an ultra-rapid rhythmic blast. Minutes later, it suffers another mutation, this time settling on a hypnotic African-style pulse with baritone ostinatos on top. A polyrhythmic dialogue between the drummers brings unexpected Latin aromas before the band returns to the relentless untamed spirit they are known for.

“Left And Left Again” draws darker atmospheres on the account of the bassists’ sinister lines. In order to frame this picture, industrial rhythms are put up with the same vigorous collective improvisations atop.

The impactful Collider is a delight for any enthusiast of the modern creative jazz genre. This is what happens when six members with this level of technique and creativity team up. They punch you in the face while keeping you dancing at the same time. 

         Grade A+

Label: Not Two Records, 2016
Favorite Tracks: 
01 – Cards ► 02 – Moving Map

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Rich Halley / Carson Halley - The Wild

Rich Halley: tenor saxophone, wood flute; Carson Halley: drums.

Rich Halley, a tenor saxophonist and composer born and based in Portland, is a confessed enthusiast of asymmetric compositions and an inveterate improviser whose approach ranges from mildly melodic to unruly powerful. 

Since 2011, he has released at least one album per year, most of them with his quartet known as Rich Halley 4, which includes trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Clyde Reed, and drummer Carson Halley, his son. The latter conceived the rhythmic structure in The Wild, a duo album with his father, released on Pine Eagle Records.
Last year, Rich decided to extend the band into a quintet, with the inclusion of multi-reedist and frequent collaborator Viny Golia. The resultant album, entitled The Outlier (Pine Eagle, 2016), was one of the most satisfying avant-garde works of the year, deserving a lot more exposure.

The Wild is a collection of eight free-form improvisations where father and son explore their interactive affinity with ample vision.
The first two tracks, “Wild Land” and “Progenitor”, take us to the universes of Coltrane and Ayler, bursting with forcefulness and often humor. In the latter, Carson modulates taut drum chops, culminating in a great solo moment, while Rich starts with a dark, low-pitched tone that, at intervals, changes to fleshy and sparkling.

The adjective wild can be perfectly applied to “Cursorial”, a piece where Rich explores sonic possibilities, phrasing vigorously on top of an uptempo beat well-marked by hi-hat and snare drum. Carson adorns it with revolutionary fills. I love how this tune ends.

The opulence of mutable African grooves drives Rich’s fiery saxophone throughout the disquieted “From Memory”. In turn, “The Stroll” vibrates with syncopated funk-rock pulses while evincing the audacity of the saxophonist who, despite freewheeling, doesn’t abstain from introducing tractable melodies. 

More reflective are “Fat Plane of the Sky”, which plays with silence and sound, and “The Old Ways”, which takes us to exotic and ancient countries through the sounds of Rich’s wood flute and Carson’s primitive approach.

The Wild serves as a showcase for father and son to explore multiple textures and timbres within a unique musical approach.
It’s always challenging to make saxophone and drums sound consistently good, but the Halleys felt at 'home', with sufficient space for their creative freedom.

         Grade A-

Label: Pine Eagle Records, 2017
Favorite Tracks: 
02 – Progenitor ► 05 – Cursorial ► 07 – From Memory

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