HurdAudio Rotation: Neither From Nor Towards

Marc Ducret: Un Certain Malaise. Screwgun Records: screwu 70005.

Marc Ducret: guitar

Marc Ducret has a healthy amount of crazy in his sound when he's within a group. Here he's a free range crazy guitar as he slashes his way through this live 1998 set. Somewhere along the way he powers through what has become one of my favorite solo guitar recordings over the years. Working a language of strings and electricity with a performance that stays balanced along a sense that his energetic bursts could dart in any direction at any speed at any moment for an extended period of time.

Misha Mengelberg: The Root of the Problem. 1997. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 504.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Thomas Heberer: trumpet
Michel Godard: tuba, serpent
Achim Kremer: percussion

Misha Mengelberg draws upon a deep well of jazz history and intuition for his improvisational craft. He can be ruthlessly abstract without losing his sense of humor or even taking a turn toward swing. With The Root Of The Problem he teams up in duos and trios with Steve Potts, Thomas Heberer, Michel Godard and Achim Kremer as equal collaborators. Often times these collaborators are absent for long stretches before hitching along with the whimsical rides that Mengelberg sets out with his "roots." The collaboration between piano and tuba is surprisingly compelling in this set. The dialog between improvisers feels so natural, so unforced that it is startling to hear this music move through so many extremes. This is a dialog that bears repeated listening and keeps the intellect guessing.

Thelema Trio: Neither From Nor Towards... 2010. Innova: 752.

Ward De Vleeschhouwer: piano
Peter Verdonck: saxophones
Marco Antonio Mazzini: clarinets

Tres Danzas Episkenicas by Rafael Leonardo Junchaya
Shadowing by HyeKung Lee
The Devil His Due by Keith Carpenter
neither from nor towards (ballade) by Eric Honour
Imprevisio by Marco Antonio Mazzini
Refractions by Kevin Walczyk

Five Miniatures by Fernando Benadon

Chamber music that eschews trans-Atlantic roots in favor of a current body of music drawn from the Americas - both North and South. Featuring works by composers from Peru, Argentina and the United States, this is just a sampling of a repertoire that has yet to be fully realized. Eric Honour's neither from nor towards is strikingly beautiful and Marco Antonio's short clarinet solo Imprevisio makes dramatic use of the instrument's extreme dynamics and register. Each of these works leave an impression while contrasting strongly with the other works in this set. They also remind these hungry ears (that are so frequently gorging upon new music) that there is a great deal of music yet to be heard.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Sybert Commission

Dave Holland: Jumpin' In. 1984. ECM: 817 437-2.

Dave Holland: bass, cello
Steve Coleman: alto saxophone, flute
Kenny Wheeler: trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, fluegelhorn
Julian Priester: trombone
Steve Ellington: drums

Dave Holland is a valued presence in the jazz world for so many reasons. As both side man and ensemble leader he has an impressive discography that touches upon an astonishing and expansive range of jazz from the fringes to the mainstream. The fact that he's consistently hit such a high level of quality is nearly taken for granted by now. Jumpin' In from 1984 is no exception. Unbelievably great writing for a quintet of super stars that often sounds larger than the mere five improvisers assembled to fashion this sound. "Sunrise" is a breath taking and beautiful piece that builds a choral sound out of lush harmonies and inspired voice leading. "The Dragon and the Samurai" works an infectious groove that keeps Julian Priester's trombone in the center of its fury. The sophistication of these compositions never overwhelm or crowd out the impressive solos and improvisational chops that each of these players bring to this session. Well worth a listen for the varied journey this set offers up to the ears.

Misha Mengelberg Quartet: Four In One. 2001. Songlines: SA 1535-5.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
Dave Douglas: trumpet
Brad Jones: bass
Han Bennink: percussion

To know the Dutch jazz sound is to develop an addiction to its mix of deep roots and off-kilter humor. And to know Dutch jazz is to know the towering influence and irreverence of pianist Misha Mengelberg. Featured here with an ensemble that straddles the Atlantic and nearly a century of jazz history. With Mengelberg's long time collaborator and counter weight Han Bennink at the drums. An improviser who's sense of physical humor and comedic timing acts as a foil for Mengelberg's dry, understated qualities. Dave Douglas brings a similarly addictive sound as he once again brings his considerable trumpet chops into a improvisational situation along with his long time collaborator Brad Jones on the bass. Douglas' sound nearly dominates this set early on before giving way to an astonishing display of Mengelberg and Monk compositions in the hands of true instrumental masters. Brad Jones' solo interpretation of "Monk's Dream" is unbelievable. This disc is a strong argument for Mengelberg's place in jazz tradition and an irreverent, forcible prod toward investigating more of his creative output.

Cold Reading Trio: Life of Ghost. 2007. Form Function Records: f(F)0701.
John O'Brien: drums, percussion
Evan Mazunik: accordion, melodica, electric piano
Christian Pincock: laptop computer

The live sampling, sample manipulation and processing gives the improvisative dimension a strong sense of interaction. A feeling of energy that is barely harnessed, though focused and never frenetic. The "ghost" presence of Life of Ghost sounding like a reference to the invisible-yet-clearly-audible force of digital manipulation in real time. The fact that the electronic leg of this trio works in full parallel with the creative impulses of accordion and drums is a testament to the musicianship of each member of this trio. The transparency of the final two tracks offering up sonic insight into the compositional forms that inform these improvised textures. "Jennie at the Hippodrome" laying bare the process of adding and blending the processed layer to a set of accordion phrases. And "Auvers-sur-Oise" works with a beautiful texture of electric piano chords. Life of Ghost explores territory that is refreshingly remote and thoroughly other worldly.

HurdAudio Rotation: Startling Turns and Lyricism

Marc Ducret: Un Certain Malaise. 1997. Screwgun Records: Screwu 70005.

Marc Ducret: electric guitar

Solo electric guitar with plenty of turns toward avant asides and aggressive energies. Marc Ducret brings a unique ear to his instrument that soars in the unbridled and unaccompanied setting. The final tracks settle toward more lyrical material without losing any of the jagged edges that poke throughout this performance. Beautiful and fully engaging throughout.

Misha Mengelberg: The Root Of The Problem. 1997. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 504.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
in duos, trios and quartet formed with -
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Thomas Heberer: trumpet
Michel Godard: tuba, serpent
Achim Keremer: percussion

The overlapping improvisational sensibilities of Misha Mengelberg and Thomas Heberer makes for some startling play between the piano and tuba. "Play" is the operative word to describe this music. Loose yet strangely focused and a wonderful freedom to stumble in and out of established jazz conventions toward free improvisation and back. At its core, a string of moments that connect and stand independently from one another. A rare balance of form and idea.

Louis Moholo-Moholo/Marilyn Crispell: Sibanye (We Are One). 2008. Intakt: CD 145.

Louis Moholo-Moholo: drums
Marilyn Crispell: piano

I have a particular interest in this recording as one who was present at this first-time collaboration at Baltimore's An Die Musik. Listening for specific moments I remembered from that evening with an ear toward deeper understanding of how this duo achieved such a joyous sound. This was also the performance that piqued my interest in Luis Moholo-Moholo's artistic journey and his work with the Blue Notes and the Brotherhood of Breath. A body of music I now regard as indispensable for understanding the evolution of free improvisation in Europe via exile from South Africa. In this encounter, the evolved languages of Moholo-Moholo and Crispell mesh together as each generously extends space toward the other. The rich, tonal lyricism of much of Crispell's playing in this session was startling - and still is on recording.

HurdAudio Rotation: Cracked and Hanging By A Shoe String

Marc Ribot: Shoe String Symphonettes. 1997. Tzadik: TZ 7504.

Film scores by Marc Ribot:
Death by Unnatural Causes (1991) - directed by Karen Bellone and Lisa Rinzler
Marc Ribot: guitar, sampler
Greg Cohen: bass
Jill Jaffe: violin, viola

Landlord Blues (1987) - directed by Jacob Burkhardt
Marc Ribot: trumpet, banjo, guitar
Brad Jones: bass
Bill Ware: vibes
Curtis Fowlkes: trombone
Jim Nolet: violin
Roy Nathanson: saxophone
EJ Rodriguez: drums, percussion
Gregory Ribot: flute

Aelita Queen of Mars (1928) - directed by Yakov Protazanov
Marc Ribot: guitar
Paul Clarvis: drums, percussion
Dave Meric: keyboards
Phil Boyden: violin
Helen Thomas: cello
Mike Kearsey: trombone

Pieces From An Incomplete Project (1995 - 1996) - directed by Joe Brewster
Dave Douglas: trumpet
Vicki Bodner: oboe
Charlie Giordano: piano, keyboards
Mauro Refosco: percussion
Jill Jaffe: violin, viola
Maxine Neuman: cello
Tony Garnier: bass

Summer Salt (1993) - directed by Charlie Levi
Marc Ribot: guitar, e-flat horn
John Zorn: saxophone
Andy Haas: saxophone
Cyro Baptista: drums

An absolute gem. Often music composed for film - or any mixed media - has a tendency to feel incomplete or unnaturally malformed by the bullying exigencies of visual momentum. While many of these pieces are short, or subjected to abrupt jump cuts, these still feel like complete works. Sonic moments stretched taut with introspective beauty at one moment. Caricatures of idiomatic reference points served up with irreverence in the following moment. The focus that Marc Ribot brings to this - both as composer and guitarist - is unwavering regardless of the level of seriousness or serious mischief.

Paul Plimley Trio: Safe-Crackers. 1999. Victo: cd066.

Paul Plimley: piano
Lisle Ellis: contrabass
Scott Amendola: drums

A recorded documentation that captures exactly what makes each of these players so compelling in live performance. This disc gets a lot of spins in the rotation because it's so engaging to put it on and hear what these improvisers are doing. The complete lack of gravity in spite of the depth of musicianship is unbelievable. One of the great, under-rated piano trio recordings of all time.

Misha Mengelberg Quartet: Four In One. 2001. Songlines: SGL SA 1535-5.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
Dave Douglas: trumpet
Brad Jones: bass
Han Bennink: percussion

No recording can adequately capture the full-contact embrace of absurdity that marks Han Bennink's drumming style. What this one does preserve for aural posterity is an irreverent musicality willing to bolt scatter shot along the jazz continuum - or well outside such genre confines if need be. But when it's "inside," it's squarely in the pocket. And when it's "outside" it rarely upsets the furniture in its haste to get there. Paired with the understated humor of Misha Mengelberg's compositions this becomes a thrill ride of both virtuosity and careening "where-will-this-go-next?" dimensions. Adding the considerable improvisational chops of long-time collaborators Dave Douglas and Brad Jones (Douglas' trumpet playing being a peculiar addiction of mine) gives this quartet sound considerable personality. There's a sly mischief to this music that draws upon equal parts Thelonius Monk and Kurt Weill.

HurdAudio Rotation: Roots, Preomintion and Gravitas

Misha Mengelberg: The Root of the Problem. 1997. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 504.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
in duos and trios with configurations of:
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Thomas Heberer: trumpet
Michel Godard: tuba, serpent
Achim Kremer: percussion

Misha Mengelberg mines an unusual space within the nearly limitless confines of free improvisation. There is a calm, unhurried exhilaration that the sequence of moments and gestures could go in any direction - with a technique to back up the stylistic demands of any journey. With unfailing taste for improvising partners these snapshots convey a mature yet wild sound that is rarely so deftly navigated as it is in The Root of the Problem. These ears are taking notice of Mengelberg and curious to hear more from the Dutch jazz scene.

Ellery Eskelin: Premonition. 1993. Prime Source: cd 2010.

Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone

There's a part of me that wants to hear a "For Tenor" follow up to Anthony Braxton's groundbreaking For Alto recording from 1969. Eskelin's Premonition, a solo tenor saxophone outing is a high accomplishment of its own that carves out a singularly different territory from the monophonic language of Braxton. The balance of three solos from Eskelin's structured improvisations of "Song Cycle" against three standards sheds light on the common thread that runs through Eskelin's sound as both composer and interpreter. The "Song Cycle" makes it clear that Eskelin's distinctive sound is his own, and in full sonic view even when unaccompanied by the extreme talents with which he normally surrounds himself. The light, pre-programmed percussion on the brief "Besame Mucho" clouds the solo experience to some extent, but makes for a pleasant coda. "For Tenor" it isn't, but it is a strong case for outstanding creative and lyrical voice of Ellery Eskelin.

Wayne Horvitz/Gravitas Quartet: Way Out East. 2006. Songlines: SGL SA1558-2.

Wayne Horvitz: piano, electronics
Peggy Lee: cello
Ron Miles: trumpet
Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon

The "chamber jazz" that Wayne Horvitz has been mining in recent years takes on the hues of improvising piano, cello, trumpet and bassoon on Way Out East. This disc shares several melodic and formal qualities with Horvitz's Otis Spann release from 2001 with the Seattle Chamber Players. But the group improvisation - and the prominence of Shoenbeck's bassoon sound - takes this music into slightly different territory. The short durations of these pieces and the strong harmonic and melodic focus keep things within a "composed" sensibility even as the improvisation adds considerable detail and texture. The few pieces that are free improvisations - either as a duo with Schoenbeck in "Our Brief Duet" or as a group on "Between Here and Heaven" and "Reveille" - manage to fold completely into the familiar treads of Horvitz's distinct sound. This makes for a sonically attractive, shimmering listening experience.

Double Dutch Jazz

Misha Mengelberg Quartet
Friday, January 18, 2008 @ International House, Philadelphia, PA

Misha Mengelberg: piano
Dave Douglas: trumpet
Brad Jones: bass
Han Bennink: drums

The sense of theatrical absurdity that permeates the physical force of Han Bennink at the drum kit (often as he dissembles it) or the fluxus tinged clusters beneath the fists and palms of Misha Mengelberg at the piano coexists with deep jazz roots that seemingly extend to the very source of dixieland swing, tin pan alley and the blues with assertive swipes at bop, modal jazz and fusion along the way. That these Europeans have come to be masters of this musical genre and living treasures of improvised music speaks to the lessons learned from the expatriate years of Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry and Albert Ayler.

Misha Mengelberg made his recording debut in 1964 as a sideman for Eric Dolphy's final album. Three years later he founded the Instant Composer's Pool Orchestra, a large ensemble that continues to tour and expose ears to the outstanding avant jazz scene of Amsterdam. The fact that his current quartet includes Dave Douglas - one of the most consistently engaging American trumpet players, improvisers and label mavens of this age - and still gets top billing speaks to the enduring qualities of his music that my own ears are only starting to comprehend.

As a live concert, the Misha Mengelberg Quartet put on a world class performance in Philadelphia. Four musicians with intense creativity and a responsiveness that makes each one of them an ideal collaborative partner. Brad Jones effortlessly picked up phrases and gestures tossed off by Dave Douglas and wove them into the sonic fabric on bass. And the wealth of ideas and sense of play developed between Mengelberg and Bennink was a pure joy to behold.

The evening's long set began with a solo, unaccompanied Bennink putting more energy into a drum solo than most percussionists a fraction of his age. His relentless search for sonic (or visual) resources from anything and everything at hand nearly stole the focal point all evening long. As Mengelberg casually walked on stage and shifted the dynamic toward a duo the chemistry of the understated and overstated sense of the absurd took hold. As the house and stage lights malfunctioned through much of the first half of the set - often plunging everything into complete darkness before casting both performers and audience under the same harsh glow of the house lights - this quartet pressed on, treating the unplanned light show as a natural part of their uncontainable creativity. Bennink and Mengelberg's response toward reemerging into the light often took the form of flightless birds attempting to fly as they soundlessly waved their hands - a gesture of unrehearsed synchronicity.

HurdAudio Rotation: What Next? Managing the Instances

Don Byron/Bang on a Can All-stars: A Ballad for Many. 2006. Cantaloupe Music: CA21036.

Don Byron: composer, clarinet
Robert Black: bass
David Cossin: drum set, percussion
Lisa Moore: piano
Mark Stewart: electric guitars
Wendy Sutter: cello
Evan Ziporyn: clarinet, bass clarinet

The Don Byron sound passes through the lens of the Bang on a Can All-stars as this collaboration between New York-based composer and New York-based performing ensemble results in these brilliant interpretations of Byron originals. "Eugene" and "Music from The Red-Tailed Angels" were both written to accompany moving picture as Byron's score expertly adapts to the unseen jump-cuts and narrative demands with results that endure well as stand alone compositions. This is an inspired collaboration that highlights the intelligence and sonic beauty of Don Byron's creative ideas.

Elliott Sharp/Orchestra Carbon: Abstract Repressionism: 1990-99. 1992. Victo: CD019.

Elliott Sharp: composer, double guitar-bass
Gregor Kitziz: violin
David Soldier: violin
Wendy Ultan: violin
Ron Lawrence: viola
Michelle Kinney: cello
Margaret Parkins: cello
Mary Wooten: cello
Lindsay Horner: bass
Joseph Trump: drums, electronic percussion

Creating music means constantly confronting the question of what next? and where does this sound go from here? Each composition and improvised performance offers a possible answer to the voracious appetite of those questions. Abstract Repressionism offers a compelling large-scale answer that has strong parallels to big bang theory. The entire work begins with an explosive onslaught of dissonance and fury that immediately confronts the what next? question with an expansive energy emanating from the dissipation of that initial force. With clear melodic themes and consistent core ideas woven throughout this piece providing a strong sense of coherent unity coupled with a willingness to unleash sonic violence from time to time this is a piece that continues to influence my own thinking about how one approaches the question of what next?

Misha Mengelberg: The Root Of The Problem. 1996. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 504.

Misha Mengelberg: piano
in duos and trios with:
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Thomas Heberer: trumpet
Michel Godard: tuba, serpent
Achim Kremer: percussion

Recorded over a 3-day stint at the Loft in Koln, these roots offer a glimpse at the small scale duo and trio approach toward "instant composition." Instant takes on the dual role of instantaneous improvisation and a navigation from/to/between instances in a manner that eschews formal symmetry in favor of a reactive dialogue between players. At times this sound favors sparse, yet colorful strokes along a canvas while at other times shards of surprisingly idiomatic jazz emerge from within these abstract textures. What keeps this music engaging is that each performer is willing to stand back, well clear of becoming the focal point as a "soloist," and allow the composition to develop and form under its own momentary logic. This works particularly well when the dialogue is between piano and brass as the duo between piano and tuba and the trio of piano, trumpet and tuba offer some of the most striking textures found on this disc.