PROG/JAZZNET artikler

ESOTERIC - DARK DOOM METAL.

2011-03-07T05:05:00.029-07:00

Slowly but steadily a sound rises, starting upon a deceptively light note, but rapidly turns into a swelling tide of massively droning guitars. Vocals crush in like a tidal wave, breaking with a voice as harsh and resonant as a maelstrom. Streams of sonic psychedelia are constantly intertwining, twisting, melting together, then exploding, forming patterns and dissolving into chaos again. Shapes, visions and scenes tumble into the mind, luring the soul out of the flesh, taking it on an unrelenting musical journey, and the imagination into a seething miasma of melancholy and insanity.

ESOTERIC formed in July 1992 in Birmingham, after the gathering of five individuals, inspired to create dark, innovative music that was evocative to and expressive of the contents of their psyche. The lyrics and music are reflections and transpositions of their thoughts, philosophies, emotions and experiences. The music captures the essence of the word 'esoteric'. The music the band play is extreme doom metal, that incorporates highly acute, somewhat distorted vocals and samples over slow paced riffs and atmospheric melodies.

Prognet had the oppertunity to do a interview with the vocalist and guitarist of the band Greg Chandler in february 2011.

PROGNET : Could you tell us a little about yourself, the members of the band and the history ???
GREG CHANDLER :Esoteric was formed in July 1992. The band has undergone several line-up changes over the 18 year history, and I am now the only remaining original member of the band. The current line up consists of myself, Jim Nolan, Joe Fletcher, Mark Bodossian and Jarkko Toivonen. We are about to record our sixth album this coming may and june and it will be released later this year through Season of Mist.

PROGNET : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you ???
GREG CHANDLER :I listen to many genres of music, all kinds of metal, doom, industrial, death, black, thrash. Anything that is unique or has its own flair and character within any genre. And I guess the same can be said of all music. I listen to some classical music, dark ambient, noise, progressive rock, avant-garde, post rock, anything really regardless of style or genre. So long as it has passion and a sentiment that I can relate to then it’s something that will interest me.

PROGNET : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
GREG CHANDLER :For me personally, the following, though I must admit, it’s hard to narrow down the albums and music that I find inspirational.

Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets and Ummagumma
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
Tuxedomoon – The Ghost Sonata
Stravinsky – Rite of Spring/Firebird Suite
Guapo – Five Suns
Neurosis – Times of Grace
Autopsy – Mental Funeral
Morbid Angel – Blessed Are the Sick
Godspeed You Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennaes to the Sky
Unholy – The Second Ring of Power
Portishead – Portishead
Jeff Buckley – Grace
Winter – Into Darkness
Shinjuku Thief – Medea
The 3rd & The Mortal – Painting on Glass
Emperor – In the Nightside Eclipse
Ved Buens Ende – Written In Waters

I could write many more, including many other styles of music

PROGNET : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction ???
GREG CHANDLER :I think I would choose The Maniacal Vale as it is the album that contains most of the diverse elements of Esoteric within one album, partly due to its long running time.

PROGNET : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the music world ???
GREG CHANDLER :That they should make the music they want to, can believe in and can be very passionate about. I think it is important to try to be unique and give a part of yourself and character to your music. For many reasons, so that you can put your all into its creation, rehearsal, recording and live performances. There is nothing worse than hearing or watching a band that looks bored of playing their own music.

PROGNET : My favourite tracks from Esoteric is the massive, epic “Circle” from The Maniacal vale and “The Blood of the eyes” from Subconscious dissolution into the continuum. Could you tell me a little about these tracks ???
GREG CHANDLER :They were written by Gordon Bicknell, who has sadly departed the band only a few weeks ago, and was also in the band since the beginning. The melodies within those songs are quite memorable and more uplifting than some of our other songs, so they tend to stand out to the listeners.

PROGNET : Do you often perform live or are Esoteric mainly a studio band ???
GREG CHANDLER :We perform live as much as we are able to. I guess we usually do between 20 and 30 gigs per year when the line-up is stable. We rehearse and play the songs live as they were recorded on the album, more or less. So that they are very close to the versions we record.

PROGNET : Could you tell us a little about the proces of writing a new Esoteric song. Is it a long process ???
GREG CHANDLER :It can be. It depends on each song and the complexity of the structure and composition. Some are more straightforward than others, though we tend to change key, tempo and time signature often, and have songs that develop and modulate in sections or movements, rather than a typical intro, verse, chorus, bridge, etc, structure. It does tend to take a while because we have 3 guitar parts, bass, keyboards, vocals and drums to write, and also the creation and programming of different effects and sounds for all of the instruments during different parts of each song. During a typical Esoteric song, I might change my guitar sound and effects between 5 and 10 times for example.

PROGNET : On the first two albums the tone is darker than on the later albums. Could you try to describe the lyrics on those two albums contra the newer ones ???
GREG CHANDLER :Personally I think the lyrics on the later albums are just as dark, but in a less obvious way. The meanings are more shrouded, rather than a starker, straightforward use of the language. I guess it’s hard for me to be subjective about it as I wrote most of them. But in general, different sets of lyrics are representative of the period of time in which they were written and my/our thoughts, emotions, inspiration and expression of that period of time.

PROGNET : Do you sometimes think of what it is that people like about the music by Esoteric ???
GREG CHANDLER :I guess that those that can relate to the emotions and atmospheres within the music are more likely to appreciate it, and those that can’t maybe won’t. However, when people listen to it the first time, I rarely expect them to like it. The music is not obvious and generally takes some time to grow on the listener. So only the people who are interested on first listen might give it the time to absorb the music on a deeper level. It is not background music but requires more attention from the listener, as there are often a lot of layers and instruments within the mix.

PROGNET : Could you tell us a little about the forthcoming 6. Esoteric release which is in the making ???
GREG CHANDLER :Yes, we will record during different periods of May and June at Priory Recording Studios and will release the album later this year through Season of Mist records. The album will contain 6 songs and have a running time of approximately 70-75 minutes. The artwork will again be created by Kati Astraeir.

PROGNET : Where do you see yourself in 5 years, still making music for the masses ???
GREG CHANDLER :I see myself still making music, yes. I would like to think that I will carry on making music for as long as I physically can. Though I don’t think that our music is too appealing to the masses [Symbol]

PROGNET : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects ???
GREG CHANDLER :Current plans include the album, and to tour and play gigs to follow its release. Also, our previous albums will each be released on vinyl in turn through Aesthetic Death Records

PROGNET : Finally I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Is there any final words you would like to say in closing ???
GREG CHANDLER :Thank you for this interview Henrik! Your support is much appreciated

www.esotericuk.net
www.myspace.com/esotericuk

Richard Pinhas interview.

2010-12-22T01:36:00.045-07:00

Composer, guitarist and electronics innovator Richard Pinhas is recognized as one of France’s major experimental musicians. A pivotal figure in the international development of electronic rock music, Pinhas' stature in France is analogous to Tangerine Dream's in Germany: the father figure of an entire musical movement. The pioneering, aggressive music produced by his band Heldon during the 1970s, fusing electronics, guitar and rock, heralded the industrial and techno to come and remains today vital and unsurpassed. The ‘Father’ of electronic music in France is also recognized as a world-class guitarist whose “diabolical guitar work” (Progression) earns comparisons with Robert Fripp.

PROGNET DENMARK : How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
RICHARD PINHAS : I started playing guitar at the age of 13, my adventures in sound started with The Yardbirds : For your love, Rolling Stones : The Last time and of course Jimi Hendrix. I met him at age 14, to give him in Paris, a PICATO green strings O9 gauge. The guy that were The MC knew that i were a hard fan of Jimi Hendrix (saw him on stage 8 times live)and phoned me. Before the second Hendrix OLYMPIA show in 1964 or 65. My first show (i was very very BAD guitarist..Supposing that i am better now.) at LA Locomotive. It was the same place the who played one week before. My first gigs were ind london and in paris. In london replacing the lead guitarist of a band in a club, the guy just dissappeared. And in paris at Golg Drouot with Klaus Blasquiz. He went to Magma some years later and i found Schizo the Heldon. Then it was Heldon's first vinyl 33 tours in 1974 (recorded in 1973), then it got serious with Heldon 5 and Un reve sans consequence special, then succes until i disbanded in 1979. After 9 years the drummer and bassist Didier Batard wanted to stop, so i decided to stop the name of Heldon and continue alone under my own name mainly (Schizotrope projekt, a 3 CD project with french brilliant writter Mauriceg Dantec)So at the age of 17 i went more and more into music, but goes at the same time at university for history, stopped that and went for sociology, anthropology (masters) then definitivly philosophy, with a phd. at the age of 23.Teached one year only and had quite a "success" (relativ with 19.000 sold in one year of the lp Heldon 1.

Chose the life of a Guitar Player and Synths composer more attractive and i studied with Deleuze for 17 years at the university of paris 8. Became "professional" guitarist difinitivly at the age of 22, the same time as i did my phd and recorded the first release from Heldon. After that it was only music, except the periods of 1984-1989 were everything stopped for me - even guitar playing. I was thinking that it was done for me, nothing left to play. Mountains, Parachute, Paragliding and then it was back to the music by a big big chance.

After the proposition of Steve from Cuneiform i re-released all the catalog of Heldon an my solo work (at the same time a proposition in europe and japan, so i took the three. At this time it was possible to have the same lp in a euro version, in usa version and in japanese version. Now i work only or mainly with Cuneiform, except some small tracks or collaborations. I understand that one Cd a year is a lot and their support is fantastic. Thanks to who ever that Cuneiform excists and follow my work so well. For the moment i am doing 4 projects for the next 2 or three years and intensive touring. Just got home from Asia (Korea) after touring USA with Merzbow and Wolf Eyes. Going back to Asia (Japan) again, then Canada festivals and USA. Europe also, perhaps London, i have not played in London since 1993, so there is a kind occasion in march. 3 hours of a students help to show me the basics, then self taught because anyway in 1965 you cant do in any other way. So i heard a lot of guitarist mainly british blues, then came John Mayall, The Yardbirds finaly Clapton and the Cream era, in my humble opinion the best. I listened and tried to re-do and learning by ears only for hours and hours.

PROGNET DENMARK : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
RICHARD PINHAS : These days i listen to the new one from Eno - Heavy Loop "Small Craft On A Milk Sea". The tracks one and thirteen are some of the most beautyfull music i have ever heard. I got it from a young french girl named Lynn, who gave it to me just before i went to Asia last week. I also listen to a lot to Godspeed you black emperor, they are coming to france soon (in january) and i am a very big fan of all their music - they are one of the best bands for the years 200 and forward for me !!! Other artists i listen to a lot, are the magnificent Frank Zappa and older Brian Eno stuff. I listen to many unknown musicians as well that ask me for my opinion or the oppertunity to play with me, and sometimes i do. Also classical music is something i listen to, for example Scarlatti, Bach, Wagner (Ring + Parsifal). Some of the music of Johnny Cash and the french singer Bashung. The last days Captain beefheart... Peace... RIP.

PROGNET DENMARK : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
RICHARD PINHAS : In no particular order :
+ Miles DAVIS Strange brew and all the music from 1970-75 era.
+ Jimi Hendrix...From the first Hey Joe to the end of his career.
+ Fripp and Eno...first album (recorded at the same time as the first on by Heldon)
+ King Crimson Larks tongue in aspic and Red.
+ Scarlatti, Bach and Wagner
+ Stockhausen: Hymnen
+ Debussy and Ravel
+ John Mayall
+ The Peter green era of Fleetwood mac
+ Jeff Beck
+ The Doors...of Course
+ Frank Zappa
+ Bob Dylan
+ Alain Bashung (french singer)
+ Led Zeppelin
+ God speed u black emperor
+ Nirvana

PROGNET DENMARK : You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
RICHARD PINHAS : Thank you very much. I dont have any secrets, it is a process going on in my head and just work, work, work - every day. I cant stay without playing guitar (when i am abroad) more than 2 dys. When i am in Paris i play every day. I generally record music 2 or 3 months a year and i try to do experiments with other musicians, sound producers or alone. Music, reading writing and love - of course. Musical Process and production is a mystery, a magical mystery. Never forget that you anyways have to work a lot, practice guitar, create sounds, engineering etc. And your task in life is to give it to everybody, then people will give you a lot of love in return. But you have to be in the music - 2 possibilities :

You are in the process of doing music and you are inside - so you are productive.
You are not (then you have nothing to do in the Music system of production).

After all of this i have to question myself to change as soon as possible in my production. Right now i am thinking of the next solo cd, quiet without LOOPS for example and perhaps a return to synthsizers. Is it clear enough ??? Music is an emperic immanent plan of life, all my life - and remember that music is your best friend ever !!!

PROGNET DENMARK : Are you a full-time musician or is music your second job?
RICHARD PINHAS : Being a full time musician is not very well payed for. But it is my full time job and i make a living of it. Sometimes i write books and articles or do conferences in philosophy. I do not have a second job, the only thing for me is music. Only MUSIC is Real.

PROGNET DENMARK : You have on several ocasions worked with the king of noise Merzbow. How was it like to work with a big personality like him ?
RICHARD PINHAS : Masami Akita is now A real friend to me. He is a great Musician, the incredible NOISE movement leader of all time. I have deep respect for his way of doing sound, even if perhaps he is not a common "musician". Eno is not a "musician - Eno is a pure genius of sound. MERZBOW was a great encounter and the begining of a long history that started around 3 years ago in Tokyo. It is long story, the first time Masami came to the opening of the first concert there and we asked him to play with us for the encore. The second time we played together and decided to record in Tokyo. That resulted in "KEIO LINE" (double cd at Cuneiform, Tripple Vinyl at Dirter Records, UK). Then we played together in europe, germany i think and Paris and at last in D.C, USA at the Sonic fest. There we recorded live some new tracks and have triple cameras teams to video it. That will be the next album at Cuneiform : "Rhizomes - Live in USA,2010" from Merzbow and Richard Pinhas. It is an incredible CD, recorded live by Orion studio(Baltimore) in Washington DC, last september 2010, and mixed in Paris at Ramses. Some tracks from the Paris concert will figure on it. It is real TOP MUSIC. Because it only happended this day, only this DAY. Some big events are yet planned but i am not autorised to talk about untill next january, festivals in America and europe. Merzbow is a fantastic creator and i hope a close friend. We have total mutual respect for each other and a great friendship - Thats all folks!

PROGNET DENMARK : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
RICHARD PINHAS : I would of course suggest the newest one METAL/ CRYSTAL" But also METATRON and KEIO LINE are very GOOD. If you would like to get started with Heldon i would recommend "Interface", "Un Reve", "Consequence speciale" and "Stand by" which all are my favourites. Or maybe wait for my new collobaration with Merzbow "Rhizomes" which for me is a really amazing recording. It still do not understand, after 3 months, that this cd is one take from one concert.

PROGNET DENMARK : I have had the pleasure to listen to your latest two releases on Cuneiform Records. Could you tell us a little about those releases ?
RICHARD PINHAS : I Spent 2 years working on "Metal/Crystal", recording from WE material(michigan) and a paris concert Merzbow did with me. Then Recording in the studio in Paris and Alchemy - at the end i did not know where i was. Mixed it at Ramses with my old sound engineer Laurent Peyron. Then editing it at Heldon studios (my place now, nobody knows for how long???). Then losing almost everything because the brand new hard drive broke in one second, but 3 weeks of work to reorganize copies from the other secondary hard Drives. THEN i were miserable !!! I was not sure of the result - i let it stand 2 months, then hearing it again and was mesmerized. Was this my work ??? i was enthusiastic. I am a REAL BI-POLAR and treated as a Bi-polar. This explain that, perhaps, now i think it is pretty fair.
"Keio line" was a real adventure between Tokyo and Paris and a real link between Masami Akita and me. We talked very little, but decided to do music together. I stayed around 8 days in Tokyo, then did a big concert with the help of embassy peoples (thanks to them), then a second concert with Masami for the noise Scene - only by email and a lot of people came. We were after that in a very small noise studio, one hour by metro from Tokyo center and spent 2 days recording like in a live condition. Masami was so nice to me, taking care of me, I really thank him. It was a benediction to be both at the right place at the right time. Then Cuneiform were OK for the dobble Cd and Dirter (UK) for the vinyl edition. "Keio Line" was simple and very efficient, "Metal/Crystal" was hard and all in all an Adventure i wish to finish before turning along another page of my life (my young brother died in 17 days quite in my arm, my ex girl friend, commit A 99% suicide..). The new album with MERZBOW is yet Mixed, videoed and sent to Cuneiform and it will be out next march/april - "Rhizomes, Live in USA, 2010" RP/Merzbow. I am now working on so much different things. In about two years from now i have a new solo album "Devolution", then as solo it will be the last "Farewall" like the last vinyl of the CREAM. So after that you will write: Richard Pinhas 1951(Neuilly-France)- 2012 or 2015(TOKYO)...RIP

Orphaned Land interview.

2010-12-22T01:20:00.023-07:00

Day after day, in every news program on this planet, the Middle-East conflict is a major topic and it is one of the reasons the world we all live in is a world apart. For decades every attempt to make peace between Israel and the Arabian world has remained futile and the death toll keeps rising. Where politicians have failed, a mere metal band daringly labelling its style “Jewish Muslim Metal” or “Middle Eastern Progressive Metal” has actually achieved the unimaginable and united Israeli and Arabian people in spite of all their cultural, religious and political differences and conflicts!

Israel's ORPHANED LAND is probably the only band from this country that has managed to succeed at building up a huge following among Muslims and Arabian people. These fans communicate freely via the band’s social networking pages, some of them even proudly bearing ORPHANED LAND tattoos, even though that puts them at huge risk in their home countries! Unfortunately, the ongoing political and military struggles still prevent ORPHANED LAND from playing in the home countries of its Arabian fans and friends.

Interview with Matti Svatizky, Orphaned land's guitarist.

PROGNET DENMARK : How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
MATTI SVATIZKY : My personal adventure with music started when I was very young, at around the age of 7. I played the flut and the organ, but left it really quickly. Than at the age of 14 Started listening to punk rock and metal, and decided to play the guitar. I joined Orphaned Land and been working with the band ever since.

PROGNET DENMARK : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
MATTI SVATIZKY : I can't say that only one genre interests me. I like to hear whatever is good with no sound limitations. It could be Opeth, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd or even Madonna.

PROGNET DENMARK : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
MATTI SVATIZKY : I'll try to mention some of the most significant albums for me: Metallica - Master of Puppets, At The Gates - The red in the sky is ours, Dream Theatre - Images and Words, Pink Floyd - Wish you were here, Dead can dance - Into the labirynth, U2 - Achtung Baby, Iron Maiden - Number of the beast, Infected Mushroom - Classical Mushroom, plus there are lots of more albums of Israeli artists which I won't torment you with their complicated names.

PROGNET DENMARK : You are in my ears musicians moving in many different directions. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
MATTI SVATIZKY : Well, first of all, you might have got the idea that our musical tastes are diverse. I only gave you my lists which are very diverse, and the lists of the other members go in even wierder directions. We adopted the ability and courage (in the metal scene it's essential) to be open minded, and that is one of our strongest weapons, for better or for worse.

PROGNET DENMARK : Are you full-time musicians or is music your second job?
MATTI SVATIZKY : We are not full time musicians, and that means we all have still daytime jobs. Yossi gives lectures at colleges, Uri runs a metal cd store, Kobi is a cd distrobutor, and I just finished a degree in software engineering. We all try and manage to make a living and combine it with the touring and performing, which is not an easy job, and we hope that somewhere in the near future we will be able to rely on the band finacially 100%.

PROGNET DENMARK : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
MATTI SVATIZKY : First of all thank you very much for the compliment. When we come out to our merch booth at tours and people ask us which cd should they buy, we usually recommend the latest album, which is "The Neverending Way of Orwarrior". I would say it captures our essence nowadays better than the previous ones, but I would totally recomend the previous ones as well because they are just as good, in my opinion.

PROGNET DENMARK : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In what genre do you see yourself in and what are your opinions on genres in general?
MATTI SVATIZKY : First of all, our "father genre" is Metal. We are a metal band, we headbang and use very heavy distortions. Kobi often growls, so there are death metal elements as well. Our music is very melodic, and we also use complex rythms and note progressions and some people consider these as prog metal elements. On top of these we combine folk elements, which are our own "Medeterenian" and "Middle Eastern" folk elements. Genres are there, they exist if we like them or not. Genres are like races of people: we can't deny that they exist, but by no means one is better from another and each is beautiful in its way.

PROGNET DENMARK : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?
MATTI SVATIZKY : I'd say, first of all, keep an open mind. You can never know from which window insperation can come in. Second, especially in the prog rock world, you have to practice a lot, and also perform a lot.

PROGNET DENMARK : On your latest album Steven Wilson from porcupine tree (and others) was in the producers chair. Could you tell us a little about working with him ?
MATTI SVATIZKY : Actually, to be exact, Steven mixed the album and not fully produced it like it was initially planned. Steven is a great guy and a good friend and we enjoyed working with him very much. We are also great fans of his work, a fact that made the work with hin even moren thrilling.

PROGNET DENMARK : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your mighty han ?
MATTI SVATIZKY : We just finish filming a dvd which we will release somewhere at 2011. It was a very unique shows and we had very special guests on it like Steven Wilson and Greg Macintosh of Paradise Lost. We also hadba huge LED screen with video art which is related to the band's concept and lyrics. Other thab that we are planning to start and work on a new album very soon. We also have some new shows scheduled for 2011, so there's gonna be a lot of action.

David Kerman interview.

2010-12-19T13:32:00.012-07:00

David Kerman (born August 24, 1959), better known as Dave Kerman, is a United States experimental rock drummer and composer, best known as the founder and member of the Los Angeles avant-rock group 5uu's. He is also a member of the Belgian progressive rock band Present and the Israeli avant-rock band Ahvak. Kerman has been a member of the United States bands U Totem and Thinking Plague, and the Dutch band Blast. He has collaborated with several musicians, including Bob Drake, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith.

PROGNET DENMARK : How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
DAVID KERMAN : I am mostly self-taught, being weaned on Led Zeppelin and the Beatles in the 60's /70's garage culture of Torrance, California. I went to a Military Academy school as a child to take drum lessons, but the regimen was too much for me. And all that marching around at 5:30 AM was too taxing on my skinny little frame. I quit and, as a result, learned to hold drumsticks completely incorrectly, and began my lifelong fear of the twenty-six essential drumming rudiments. Later, I faked my way through school marching bands to get out of arithmetic and Spanish classes.

PROGNET DENMARK : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
DAVID KERMAN : I’ll probably listen to anything of quality. But, I like Musique Concrete, Grindcore, RIO, Latin Samba, Rembetika, Avant Garde and Contemporary Classical musics the most. Just about anything that’s presented in a thoughtful manner can inspire me, and I don’t really hold an allegiance to any form or style.

PROGNET DENMARK : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
DAVID KERMAN : Not in any order of preference, but some of my all-time faves are:CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: Trout Mask Replica, DENIS DUFOUR: 10 Portraits, MUMAKIL: Customized Warfare, XAVIER CUGAT: El Americano, NICO: The Marble Index, LED ZEPPELIN 1, THIS HEAT: Deceit, LUCIANO BERIO: Laborintus 2, JIMI HENDRIX: Are You Experienced ?, MARKOS VAMVAKARIS: Bazuki Pioneer, SOFIA GUBAIDULINA: Offertorium + Hommage to T.S. Elliot, MILES DAVIS: Bitches Brew, GAZA: I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die, HENRY COW: Western Culture, VAN DYKE PARKS: Song Cycle

PROGNET DENMARK : You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
DAVID KERMAN : There’s really no secret. In the old days I realized it was best not to pass up any credible opportunity that might arise; So, I ended up playing with a lot of different bands, and in a lot of different countries. This gave me the chance to travel, which led to the opportunity to live abroad (in France, Slovenia, Italy, Israel and now in Switzerland). Which, in turn, allowed me to meet more musicians, in more places, than I would have had I stayed around in Southern California. I assimilated enough different cultures to consider myself a “man without a country”, which might explain why my personal tastes are a bit esoteric, and all over the map. In the long run, I somehow got a reputation for being quick at memorizing difficult or complex music, which made me in demand a little bit, for the guys who write and perform that kind of stuff. Personally, I get ideas from just about anywhere, but hope there’s at least something clever or humorous in most of my work.

PROGNET DENMARK : Are you a full-time musician or is music your second job?
DAVID KERMAN : Besides being a drummer, I’m a composer, lyricist, producer, sometimes band-leader, tour organizer, concert promoter, music publisher, compact disc distributor and the President of a Record label. Most everything I do is connected to Music.

PROGNET DENMARK : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
DAVID KERMAN : “CRISIS IN CLAY” (5uu’s album) was a very fun record to make, and is really a musical assault on the senses. Bob Drake and I had a clear vision of where we wanted this to go with it, and it still, to this day, seems pretty no-holds-barred. Also, “ABANDONSHIP”(5uu’s album), which is almost the intrinsic opposite, sounds good to me, after all this time. For that one, Udi Koomran and I had a pretty clear understanding of how we should proceed to come to the desired end. I like them both equally. For stuff that I didn’t compose, both PRESENT’s “BARBARO NON TROPPO”, or AHVAK’s self-titled record, may be interesting for the uninitiated.

PROGNET DENMARK : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general?
DAVID KERMAN : Well, it’s commonly known that I hold the dubious honor of being the single most outspoken “Prog” musician AGAINST the notion of modern Progressive Rock. I believe Progressive Rock died as an art-form decades ago, and never became rejuvenated, nor replenished with any of the ground-breaking ethos that once made it interesting and unique. To my admittedly bias ears, today’s Prog bands almost universally choose to emulate their heroes, rather than further the musical terrain those people charted. And because nowadays most musicians cannot make a decent living playing this style of music, their day jobs will keep them in amateur status indefinitely in terms of instrumental technique. It’s a vicious cycle, and I look forward to the day the music dies. Sorry, but that’s the truth. We need to move on, really, in order to “progress”. But, as my own influences were from the original school of Progressive Rock (Henry Cow, Faust, Gentle Giant, National Health etc.), and because it would be fool-hearted of me to deny that I myself could not really break SO far out of the mold which greatly influenced me, I would have to confess that yes, the stigma of Progressive Rock or Experimental- Instrumental might best suit any legacy I might ever be offered.

PROGNET DENMARK : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?
DAVID KERMAN : I’m compelled to have this answer follow-up on your former question; I would merely suggest, mildly, that they be open-minded to other styles and forms of music, as opposed to becoming an “expert” in everything that falls under one banner. In my book, the original Progressive Rock bands from the 60’s and 70’s were innovative because their music began as a veritable hybrid of popular styles: Psychedelic, Jazz, Folk, Skiffle, Surf, Classical, Country Western etc. etc. These styles, and more, were mixed and mashed until an astounding degree of both empirical perspicacity and instrumental virtuosity were simultaneously achieved. But today’s Prog bands seem to cull ideas only from their favorites of the so-called “Golden” era of Progressive Rock, which is neither a progressive vocation, nor a way to better their music. Keeping an open set of ears might both offset the temptation to pay homage, and put something musically worthwhile into motion. You know, Prog is dead, long live prog, and all that stuff.

PROGNET DENMARK : Could you tell us a little about your many different projects ?
DAVID KERMAN : It’s fairly extensive catalog of recordings, made over many years’ time, so probably best is to see the discography at davekerman.net.

PROGNET DENMARK : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects?
DAVID KERMAN : Presently (2010-2011) I’m working with the Belgian group ARANIS, who just released their fourth album, the first with percussion, oddly enough. And two other Belgian groups that have merged, PRESENT and UNIVERS ZERO. Aranis will also be added to this line-up for a huge orchestration at the next Rock In Opposition Festival in France, September 2011. I also drum for Bob Drake’s CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, and we will make a live album in France next year. Lastly, I’m the touring drummer for the Swiss performance group, LES REINES PROCHAINES. Basically, I’m running around quite a lot !

Nick Didkovsky interview.

2010-12-19T13:31:00.029-07:00

Nick Didkovsky is a guitarist, composer, band leader, and software programmer. In 1983, he founded the avant-rock octet Doctor Nerve. He presently resides in New York City, where he composes, creates music software, and teaches computer music composition at New York University and Columbia University. Didkovsky's work with Doctor Nerve joins the furious energy of rock with intricate composition, some of which finds its origins in rich software systems of his own design. His non-didactic approach to combining human and machine creativity is his unique fingerprint in a musical world that pushes the boundaries of rock music, algorithmic composition, and contemporary music.

PROGNET DENMARK : How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : There was always a guitar around. My grandmother played piano, and I recall that from an early age. First instrument I really played around with a lot with was a smCCall tape recorder (called a "sound camera" back then), playing with sounds backwards, half speed, double speed, etc. Started playing guitar at the age of ten (I think), about a year after my mom decided to learn guitar. She followed a course on public television called "Folk Guitar with Laura Weber" So I watched her learning chords and songs for about a year before I decided I'd like to do the same thing. I think it's remarkable that a middle aged woman would start a new instrument from scratch. It was an extraordinarily powerful model for me. Babies are typically born into an adult world where expertise in adults perceived to somehow have gotten there magically. But to see an adult struggling with an F Major chord, cursing it, sticking with it, and then finally getting it after a few days of hard work ... well that made a strong impression on me as a kid.Took some guitar lessons here and there, was in a couple of rock bands in high school, Took some music theory and electronic music courses in college. Probably the strongest educational experience I had was the year I spent at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock NY (1980-81). There I was exposed to a wildly heterogeneous field of thinking and of music... bouncing off lots of people and ideas. Working up new pieces and getting them rehearsed and performed weekly. Truly a great experience. Probably the single teaching moment that most directly led to the existence of Doctor Nerve was a composition class taught by Baikida Carroll and Dave Holland. There was this one simple assignment of writing two musical lines that work together. I spent all night composing these lines and brought it to class the next day. After some fumbling, there was a moment when the room exploded with energy when these 30 student musicians got the riffs locked together. I remember running around the room, dodging in and out between people, just flipping out at how intense the whole thing was. I have a vivid memory of Dave Holland with an electric bass looking up at the blackboard where I'd written the lines... he had this beautiful smile as he was sight reading it. That look on his face went deep into me. I became very hungry to repeat this experience: heavy rhythm section, electric strings, and horns blasting out melodies. That was the beginning of the Doctor Nerve model in terms of instrumentation, musical form, and energy.

PROGNET DENMARK : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : I listen mostly to metal these days. I have a ridiculous amount of Sabbath concert recordings. I learn more about music from that band every time I listen to them. Lately I’ve been really digging into Bill Ward’s drumming style. He’s got such a strong jazz influence, and he made that band swing so hard. Incredible player, incredible chemistry in that band. My favorite young band is Lazarus A.D., a thrash band from Kenosha, WI. Lazarus deeply understands and has really held on to the extraordinary power of “the riff”… they compose great riffs and structure their tunes in a perfectly balanced way… the attention to detail is just glorious; love that band. Behemoth’s latest record “Evangelion” is monstrous – it’s a sonic artwork that stands above music.But right now my iTunes is on shuffle play and I am listening to Cornelius Cardew’s “Song and Dance” which is truly lovely.

PROGNET DENMARK : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : In no particular order:

Deep Purple – Made in Japan

Bela Bartok – Sonatas for violin and piano

Stravinsky – Rite of Spring (Boulez conducting Cleveland)

Art Bears - Winter Songs

Queen – Queen II

The Beatles – Meet the Beatles

Black Sabbath – Paranoid

Guitar Solos (Frith, Reichel, Bailey)

Cage/Tudor – Indeterminacy

Xenakis – Metastasis; Pithoprakta; Eonta

Jethro Tull – Minstrel in the Gallery

Pere Ubu – 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (EP)

Phill Niblock – music for film (live performances)

Lazarus A.D – Onslaught

Lamb of God – Sacrament

Public Image Ltd – Second Edition

Alice Cooper – Love it to Death

Kiss – Alive!

PROGNET DENMARK : You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : I find I get interested in something and then I obsess over it and dig in. If it lights something up in me then I go for it. So there’s no telling what it’s going to be. I might be working on a computer program that sonifies the Mandelbrot Set at one point in my life, and really drive that idea hard, explore it and get as deep into it as I can. Then I might get into transcribing Tony Iommi’s solos, and make YouTube lessons with detailed guitar transcriptions. There’s no big picture which I suppose is unfortunate from Careerist point of view (!). I bump into things by accident sometimes and it’ll light up something in me that I trust is worth pursuing and will make my life richer. When I think back to the beginnings of my now heavy involvement in computer music: that was spurred by an article on knot theory that my father mailed me in 1988. On the back of that article there was another article by Douglas Hofstadter about Prisoner’s Dilemma Game Theory. Hofstadter’s article was extremely inspiring, although it had nothing to do with music. It made me want to create a musical piece which was modeled on a particular kind of Prisoner’s Dilemma. And to do that piece, I needed a computer music system. And so I bought a computer (Commodore Amiga) and a music programming language (HMSL) and the obsession began… 20 years later I’ve created my own computer music language JMSL which is what I use to compose today, and teach students how to use it at NYU.So I can’t say I have a secret but re-reading this response I suppose the common thread is an openness to chance ideas and trusting my instincts: that if something is that deeply interesting to me, no matter how obscure, that pursuing it will almost certainly have value to some other people.

PROGNET DENMARK : Are you a full-time musician or is music your second job?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : It’s my second parallel life. I write software for a developmental neurobiology lab at a research university here in NYC.

PROGNET DENMARK : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : Thanks for the nice words. If that person were into high energy music I’d point them to Doctor Nerve “SKIN”. If they had a more contemplative “deep listening” vibe about them I’d recommend “Tube Mouth Bow String” or “Ice Cream Time.”

PROGNET DENMARK : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : Well I think genres reflect the way the human mind works. Our brains evolved to put things in categories as a matter of survival and understanding the world we live in. I think humans can’t help but categorize, but some healthily resist categorizing, because it can be so limiting. It’s better to try to describe music for what it is and how it’s being received, rather than the genre it’s in of course. But often genre is a good starting point for a description. I don’t have a big problem with genres as a quick conversation starter. The problem starts when the listener expects something else due to the genre description that predated the hearing of the work, and then complains that it’s not X enough or Y enough to fit the genre. There’s a truly insipid conversation online about the Doctor Nerve tune “Plague”; a conversation by educated people who should know better. One comment went something like, “I can’t get into the rock guitar because the horns are in the way, and I can’t get into the jazzy horns because the rock guitar is in the way.” I am paraphrasing here; I don’t remember the exact words, but it was a genre based argument and just so cringingly, painfully stupid and culturally retarded… but at least it serves as an excellent example how the devotion to genre interfered with at least one person’s ability to listen.

PROGNET DENMARK : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : Innovate don’t imitate. Trust yourself and don’t feel obliged to change your music because of some phantom voices in your head or some club that you want to belong to.

PROGNET DENMARK : Could you tell us a little about your many different projects ?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : I am looking forward to a premier of a guitar quartet next weekend by the DITHER Guitar Quartet. Wonderful young band of great players.Also we have this crazy $100 Guitar Project that really took off. ChuckO’Meara and I bought a crappy guitar for $100, as we were charmed by its no-name vibe and this single pickup that looked like an old radio. Within 48 hours we had 30 guitarists on board who wanted to join the project (!) E.everyone will have the guitar for a week and record anything they want with it. It’s so much fun. Keith Rowe just was over my apartment on Monday to record his track. It’s going to go through a lot of hands, including Henry Kaiser, Elliot Sharp, Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult), Ava Mendoza, Thomas Dimuzio, Fred Frith, Teisco Del Rey, the guys in Lazarus A.D., a rich list is fabulous people. Really a blast to be in the center of this storm.

PROGNET DENMARK : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects?

NICK DIDKOVSKY : Working on new Nerve tunes. We recorded about ½ an album’s worth of music last summer. Now I need to compose another half and get that cooking. Of course the $100 Guitar is generating a lot of energy for now – we’ll look forward to a double CD sometime next year maybe. My piece “Human Dog” for Electric Kompany and ETHEL String Quartet is going to be recorded along with “Rama Broom” which I wrote for Kathleen Supove. Discussing a release with Bridge Records. Nerve’s going to Zappanale next summer, which is a huge honor. Thanks for this opportunity to talk about my work!

Dennis Rea.

2010-09-08T11:12:00.019-06:00

Dennis Rea's adventurous guitar playing blends modern jazz, creative rock, experimental music, and world musical traditions into an approach that is uniquely his own, marked by haunting lyricism, enigmatic textures, agile improvisation, and the raw dynamism of rock. Over the years Dennis has led or been a key contributor to such innovative groups as Moraine, LAND, Iron Kim Style, Stackpole and many many more. His activities have spanned film, theater, radio, and modern dance, and he has appeared on more than two dozen recordings to date. Dennis' current and recent projects include instrumental avant-rock band Moraine, explosive improvisational jazz-rock quintet Iron Kim Style, processed thumb piano trio Tempered Steel, and Ting Bu Dong.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK had the pleasure to do the following interview with this great artist. Hope you enjoy reading it !!!

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: How did your adventures with music begin? Did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
DENNIS REA : I first started playing the guitar at age nine, so I’ve been at it for 44 years now (gasp) and counting. Anyone who’s heard my recent work will no doubt be surprised to learn that my first inspiration as a guitarist was Mike Nesmith of the Monkees. It later came out that the band members didn’t even play the instruments on their early albums—the Monkees sound was actually the work of a group of anonymous studio musicians. So much for role models…

For the first few years I took guitar lessons from a series of rather uninspiring teachers, which left me with a lasting distrust of orthodox musical education. In general, I found reading music to be a chore and soon took to playing by ear, a decision that has since proven to be both an advantage and a liability—an advantage in that it enabled me to find my own way as a musician and develop my own style, and to grow comfortable with improvisation; a disadvantage in that it is sometimes challenging sharing ideas with musicians who are more dependent on the printed score. So in the end I would say that I’m largely self-taught, and that includes listening to a very wide variety of music and reading a great deal about music history.

As a composer, I often write pieces that involve fairly complex interplay between the various instruments. Most of my composing is done in my head—hearing how the parts fit together in my ‘mind’s ear’ seems to come naturally to me. If necessary, I will write out the parts using standard notation for the convenience of the musicians I’m playing with, but I find this method rather laborious and prefer to communicate through a sort of musical onomatopoeia, learning by ear rather than deciphering symbols

My formative musical influences included the Beatles, Hendrix, The Who, and other foundational rock bands, but by an early age I had already acquired a taste for “weird” music. I was fortunate to be exposed to experimental composers such as John Cage and Luciano Berio when I was very young thanks to my uncle, a classical music enthusiast who dumped unwanted record club bonus LPs on my family. Hearing their works and especially György Ligeti’s psychotropic soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey proved to be formative events in my musical development, as I learned to accept “nonmusical” sounds without prejudice. As my musical tastes continued to evolve, I quickly grew bored with basic blues-based rock and put in long hours tinkering with dissonant chords and unusual time signatures, influenced by progressive rock innovators like King Crimson and Soft Machine. I identified strongly with these groups’ adventurousness and willingness to embrace new sounds. Around the same time my older brother introduced me to the modern jazz of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman, fueling my growing interest in improvisation. This was further reinforced through exposure to the British improvisers (Keith Tippett, Elton Dean, Harry Miller, et al.) who worked within the orbit of Crimson and the Softs.

As a teenager in the early 1970s I formed my first serious band, Zuir, with bassist Norm Peach and drummer Dan Zongrone, in my hometown of Utica, New York. With our lengthy explorations of psychedelic sound effects and odd rhythms, Zuir was quite the anomaly in Utica, where what I call “Budweiser rock” rock was the order of the day. While a bit amateurish in retrospect, Zuir’s music was nevertheless an important first step on the journey that led to what I’m doing today. Another formative experience was my membership in the Utica space music band Earthstar led by Craig Wuest, which recorded a series of LPs for Sky Records in Germany in the late 1970s.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
DENNIS REA : My listening takes in the gamut: 60s psychedelia, 70s progressive rock, early jazz-rock fusion, post-bop modern jazz, the ECM catalogue, free improvisation, contemporary classical, minimalism, field recordings, experimental (non-dance-oriented) electronic music, chance procedures, sound text, noise, Germany’s kosmische musik scene of the late 70s, and the traditional music of East Asia, Brazil, and North Africa in particular. In general I’m more captivated by instrumental than vocal music, though I have a special fondness for eccentric songwriters like Robert Wyatt, Annette Peacock, Nick Drake, and Roy Harper. It’s the tiresome solipsism and threadbare musical ideas of most singer-songwriters that puts me off. I’m also mindful of Brian Eno’s observation that words have the effect of limiting the possible interpretations of a given piece of music.

All of these various musical streams inevitably influence my own music, though I seldom set out consciously to emulate one genre/artist or another. One obvious exception is my latest release Views from Chicheng Precipice, an explicit tribute to the East Asian traditional music that inspired me when I was living in China and Taiwan from 1989-93. Iron Kim Style is clearly informed by jazz of the more adventurous sort. Many reviewers have likened Moraine’s Manifest Density to the prog-rock heyday of the 1970s, but that’s only partly the case—prog (particularly the RIO bands) is definitely in the mix, but so are many of the other musical inspirations cited above, from avant-jazz to modern chamber music. Then again, reviewers have also ascribed a lot of influences to Moraine that simply aren’t a factor—bands we’ve never heard of and such.

As a guitarist, my major influences include Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, Terje Rypdal, Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, Fred Frith, Egberto Gismonti, and Ben Monder.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
DENNIS REA : I can’t begin to narrow my life list down to 10-15, so I’ll list some of the records that were most important to my early development as a musician:

· Jimi Hendrix (any)
· Ars Nova: Ars Nova (the U.S. band, not the Japanese one)
· King Crimson: Lizard
· Pink Floyd: Ummagumma
· Soft Machine: Six
· György Ligeti: 2001 soundtrack
· Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
· Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds of Fire
· John Abercrombie: Timeless
· Ralph Towner: Solstice
· Egberto Gismonti: Dança das Cabeças
· Terje Rypdal: Whenever I Seem to Be Far Away
· Anthony Braxton: New York Fall 1974
· Stuart Dempster: In the Great Abbey of Clement VI
· Harry Partch: The World of Harry Partch

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
DENNIS REA : I don’t know that there’s anything so mysterious as a “secret” behind the work I create. What I can tell you is that my music is shaped as much by nonmusical inspirations as musical ones. I’m not single-mindedly fixated on music to the exclusion of all else, and insist on living a well-rounded life and exercising multiple interests. This can only be of benefit to the music in my view.

Probably my greatest inspiration is the natural world—physical geography, geology, wildlife… Moraine actually takes its name from a geological term for the debris deposited by a glacier, though interestingly the name was suggested no by me but by our former cellist Ruth Davidson. I also take inspiration from literature, from my travels, and from various world cultures, as in the Views from Chicheng Precipice project, which is informed by East Asian cultures in general and by Taoist and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhist ideas about humankind’s place in the natural order of things—though I wouldn’t identify myself as either Taoist or Buddhist.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Are you a full-time musician or is music your second job?
DENNIS REA : I have always had a day job alongside my musical commitments—in my case, as an editor of publications or as an instructional designer producing training materials. Frankly, I reject the widely held notion that being a ‘professional’ musician means having no other means of support. It’s more about an ongoing commitment to musical excellence, and putting one’s music in front of the public on a regular basis.

Here in Seattle, if one chooses to play unusual, noncommercial music, there really is no choice but to find another means of earning one’s livelihood. I can count the non-mainstream Seattle musicians who actually make a living from their music on the fingers of one hand—people like Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Michael Shrieve—and some of these people are heavily dependent on grants or teaching to fund their careers. A band like Moraine can realistically expect to play a local gig once every month or two; any more frequently than that and we’d quickly saturate the limited audience for this type of music. So in order to make a living wage playing music, I’d have to play more crowd-pleasing fare, or in cover bands, which I’m simply unwilling to do. I would much rather make my compromises in my work life than in my musical life; plus, it pays better and thereby enables me to fund my musical endeavors.

I’m not saying that I wouldn’t like to make music full-time if the opportunities were there and I was at liberty to play what I liked, but the best I can realistically hope for is the occasional short tour or festival appearance outside the Seattle area or abroad. I suppose I could join all the lemmings and move to New York City to try to ‘make it’ with the big names, but I strongly oppose the centralization of music into a handful of ‘important’ nodes, and would rather see greater commitment to the development of strong local and regional scenes. Plus, there are many other reasons why I choose to live in Seattle, beyond musical considerations—again, I have many different interests in life.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
DENNIS REA : That would really depend on the listener’s orientation. Obviously, a rock fan might have trouble with, say, Iron Kim Style, while the same would probably be true of a jazz fan with Moraine. That said, I’d probably recommend either Moraine’s Manifest Density (or ideally, our forthcoming CD with the current lineup) or LAND’s Road Movies, because of its compelling blend of different stylistic elements.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Is there a difference between recording experimental music and performing it live. It seems to me like a very different experience?
DENNIS REA : Absolutely. The obvious difference is that performance is a real-time undertaking, whereas the recording experience allows one to revise, edit, and reorder musical events. In my own output, good examples of the latter approach are the tracks “Three Views from Chicheng Precipice” and “Aviariations on ‘A Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix’” on Views from Chicheng Precipice, where I layered and shaped the music using overdubbing in a way that would be very difficult if not impossible to reproduce live. (However, other tracks on the CD, such as “Tangabata” were wholly improvised in real time.) This approach enabled me to carefully craft the pieces to achieve a desired outcome. But in other situations I’d rather not know what the musical outcome will be, hence my ongoing involvement in free improvisation, which brings its own joys and satisfactions. Iron Kim Style was the result of a sort of hybrid approach, where the entire album was improvised but in a studio setting, and we later selected the sections that we felt could stand coherently on their own.

One might say that ‘performing experimental music live’ is a bit of an oxymoron because it assumes that there is actually an audience for it ;) But seriously, for some types of experimental music, especially free improvisation, the live experience is often more satisfying than a recording because the audience is invited to experiencing the music unfolding moment by moment, a fascinating and all-involving experience that rarely translates to the recorded object.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: I have had the pleasure to listen to your release with Land. On some of the numbers I hear the sound of Miles Davis from his Bitches Brew/ In a Silent Way period. Was that a sound you were going for?
DENNIS REA : LAND was essentially the vision of its founder/leader, the electronic musician Jeff Greinke, though each of the musicians had a lot of freedom in contributing their own parts, and there was ample room for improvisation. I can understand the Miles Davis analogy but can’t say for sure whether Miles was a primary influence on Greinke, who was not very involved with jazz. I tend to think that the comparison arises because of Lesli Dalaba’s trumpet playing, just as it does for Iron Kim Style because of Bill Jones’s trumpet playing—so many reviewers hear a trumpet and automatically think, ‘Ah—Miles Davis!’ Personally I don’t hear much commonality between Lesli, Bill, and Miles’s trumpet playing apart from the fact that they all worked within the context of modern electric music. Still, we’re very flattered by the comparison.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/jazz part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general?
DENNIS REA : First of all, I don’t go into the process of composing with the conscious intent of mixing different styles; i.e., ‘What would happen if I mixed death metal with Brazilian choro music?’ What emerges is an organic distillation of all the music that has influenced me over the years, which I suppose is the definition of my particular musical personality. I don’t want to waste a lot of energy fighting ‘genre wars,’ nor am I very interested in the sort of ‘jump cut’ juxtaposition of musical genres practiced by the likes of John Zorn. As a rule I’m interested in music that flows naturally rather than forced mergers, and in my own music, melody typically dictates the form.

It’s a standard gripe of musicians that their music tends to be compartmentalized by critics and listeners alike. It is indeed frustrating being constrained by externally imposed definitions, and it can have the effect of alienating a part of your potential audience. For example, when Moraine played at the progressive rock festival NEARfest earlier this year, the organizers labeled us as ‘avant garde’ in the promotional materials. Compared to truly avant-garde artists, Moraine isn’t very experimental at all. But I heard reports of people avoiding our set simply because we’d been given the ‘avant-garde’ tag, so they expected something very noisy and forbidding, whereas they probably would have enjoyed much of what we played.

Genre labels do have their uses—how else are people going to locate the type of music they enjoy most?—but have become increasingly irrelevant in a world of dissolving boundaries. But if I have to place my music in some kind of bucket, I’m OK with calling it progressive jazz-rock. I don’t feel much affinity with symphonic prog or what I call “Dungeons ‘n’ Dragons” prog, but I can definitely relate to anything in the Soft Machine/Crimson/RIO axis, or Gentle Giant. As for fusion, I love the jazz-rock of the late 60s/early 70s, but not so much the slick stuff that followed.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?
DENNIS REA : One of my mottos is “music and money don’t mix.” If one goes into the endeavor of making uncompromising progressive or experimental music with any expectation of monetary gain, one is almost certain to be disappointed. Instead one should be prepared to take satisfaction in the simple of act of making music and collaborating with other musicians, and in the approval of like-minded listeners. That’s why I separate my music life from my work life, as it frees me from making unacceptable musical compromises and from the disappointment of unmet expectations.

Most creative musicians find that they sink far more of their own resources into their music projects than they’ll ever see returned, an unfortunate corollary of our contemporary ethos of ‘get something for nothing’ downloading. It’s foolish to think that anyone else will cover the costs of recording, manufacturing, and promoting your CDs anymore, so you’d better be prepared to shoulder these expenses yourself.

Other items of advice to instrumentalists:

· Learn how to play one note well, in all its myriad shadings, before plunging into complexity.
· Practice your instrument in complete darkness on occasion to sharpen your senses of hearing and touch.
· It’s far more difficult to play slowly well than to play with dazzling speed.
· Respect tradition, but don’t let it enslave you.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Could you tell us a little about all your different projects: Moraine, Iron Kim Style and your newest solo project?
DENNIS REA : Moraine is an instrumental quintet (guitar, violin, woodwinds, bass, drums) that grew out of an improvising duo I formed several years ago with cellist Ruth Davidson. Eventually we started working on compositions and decided to bring in additional players to fully realize the potential of the material. Ruth has since moved on to obtain an advanced degree in mathematics, and our original drummer, Jay Jaskot, moved to New York City in 2008. They were replaced by saxophone/flute player James DeJoie and drummer Stephen Cavit, completing a lineup that also features violinist Alicia DeJoie and bassist Kevin Millard. All of the band members compose music. I’m extremely happy with the musical chemistry of the current Moraine lineup.

Moraine never thought of itself as a ‘prog rock’ band, though progressive music is certainly in my genes, much more so than the other players. But once we linked up with MoonJune Records, a label with a reputation for releasing high-caliber progressive rock by new and veteran artists, we seem to have become a ‘prog’ band in the minds of many by default. One could just as easily term Moraine art rock, avant rock, post-rock, jazz-rock fusion, whatever. But we’re very pleased to have been embraced by a lot of prog-rock fans, and to have had the good fortune of taking part in the world’s foremost progressive rock festival, NEARfest, earlier this year.

Iron Kim Style is an instrumental quintet that plays wholly improvised jazz-rock. Apart from our new drummer, Tom Zgonc, who replaced the departed Jay Jaskot (also formerly of Moraine), the lineup has remained stable since the group’s inception: myself on 6-string electric guitar, Thaddaeus Brophy on 12-string electric guitar, Bill Jones on trumpet, and Ryan Berg on electric bass. While our music is completely improvised, it is unlike most specimens of free improvisation in that we have no qualms about playing melodically or using repeated rhythms, though we can get plenty abstract, too. Some general signposts for Iron Kim might be Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time, James “Blood” Ulmer, the Decoding Society, Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, and mid-period King Crimson at their most improvisatory.

My recent solo CD Views from Chicheng Precipice was a special project that I see as one of the two end products of the years I lived and performed music in the Far East, the other being my 2006 book Live at the Forbidden City: Musical Encounters in China and Taiwan. I conceived the project as a tribute to the East Asian traditional music I so enjoyed, but instead of trying to faithfully reproduce my musical sources, I chose to reinterpret them in fairly radical ways in terms of arrangements and instrumentation. It’s easily the most ambitious project I’ve undertaken to date, and much of the credit for its success goes to the 13 amazing musicians who contributed, including legendary trombone virtuoso Stuart Dempster and koto master Elizabeth Falconer.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Where do you see yourself in 5 years, still making music for the masses?
DENNIS REA : Most certainly, if I live that long ;) I’m happy to say that hooking up with MoonJune Records has been a life-changing experience for me in the best way. Though I’ve been continuously making music for nearly 40 years and have had the great good fortune of playing with some of the finest instrumentalists anywhere, my public profile has been relatively obscure until recently. It goes without saying that I’m extremely gratified at the mostly very positive responses my records have been getting. My hope is that the increased visibility will lead to more opportunities to perform in interesting places around the world and to collaborate with like-minded musicians, and that my present body of work will serve as a springboard for undertaking more special projects.

JAZZ/PROGNET DENMARK: Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects?
DENNIS REA : Several new releases are planned at this time. The next Moraine release will likely be a double CD/DVD package, with a studio CD of all new material featuring the current lineup, plus a DVD of our June 2010 NEARfest concert, also featuring the current lineup but with a blend of new and older material. Iron Kim Style also recently recorded a CD worth of new material, again entirely improvised. Both CDs will be released by MoonJune Records. I’m extremely pleased to have formed a relationship with MoonJune as the label has been incredibly supportive of my work; label head Leonardo Pavkovic is a fount of knowledge about all varieties of creative music and has unerringly good taste—his label is definitely one to watch.

Another forthcoming CD is by one of my more unusual projects, in which I don’t play guitar at all—Tempered Steel, a trio (with Seattle musicians Ffej and Frank Junk) that performs improvised music on amplified, electronically processed thumb pianos. I can assure you that it’s like no other thumb-piano music you’ve ever heard.

Many thanks for taking an interest in my music and for introducing my projects to your readership in Denmark, a country I’d love to visit again sometime. All the best to you and your readers!

http://www.dennisrea.com/
www.myspace.com/dennisrea

Purchase Dennis Rea's book and music online at:
http://astore.amazon.com/dennreaguitco-20

Soleil Zeuhl.

2010-04-11T00:54:00.005-06:00

Jazz/Prognet Denmark did a mini interview with the man behind the very exciting, record company called Soleil Zeuhl Mr. Alain Lebon. The small company has to date (april 2010) released 24 cd's with bands like the incredible One Shot, Eskaton, Rialzu, Neom, Xing Sa, Setna and many more.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Why the name Soleil Zeuhl ???

Alain Lebon : The label is dedicated to illustrate the influence Magma have/had on a certain part of the progressive/jazz scene. In French, the name is "Zeuhl sun". Zeuhl music is certainly difficult to define clearly.... but we try...

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What is the concept and the idea of the label ???
Alain Lebon : It begain as a fan, when in the early 80s I gathered tracks featuring a growling bass & hypnotic fender pianos. Later, over the years CD reviewers started to use the name Zeuhl as a generic name for a music style & so, step by step, the idea came to launch a label devoted to such musics & sounds.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How would you categorize the music coming from Soleil Zeuhl ???
Alain Lebon : Except for a few exceptions (for which the word Zeuhl was not used) - Olive Mess, Mix City, Murder in the Cathedral - all issues fall into the said Zeuhl category. When people not aware of progressive or jazz ask me this question, I usually reply it's electric jazz with a hint of rock & an influence of European XXth century composers (Bartok etc).

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If you weren't involved in music, what do you think you'd be doing ???
Alain Lebon : The label is NOT professional, it is impossible to make a living with it. I have a day job (bank) & I do my best for acting as a professional at evenings, weeks ends etc.
SZ is a non-profit organization. What was the last CD you bought, or what have you been listening to lately ???
The last CD I bought is an ELECTRIC ORANGE cd - a modern Krautrock band I heavily admire since a few years.
The last CD I listened to is POST IMAGE (a french band with an ex-UPPSALA member) "seven trips" - a fantastic CD mixing jazz & trip-hop, very modern & imaginative (recommended, notably, to fans of Niels Peter Molvaer).

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Is it not difficult getting through to the listeners with a label of your size ???
Alain Lebon : It is! There is a hard-core fan base for the label which allows its survey but selling outside this first circle of fans is difficult. Our CDs usually succeed but it needs several years of slow spreading before reaching 1.000 units sold.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you, what would they be ???
Alain Lebon : My greatest musicals emotions ever, happened with :
KING CRIMSON Red
MAGMA : Mekanik D K
CHROME : Half-machine lips move
Miles DAVIS : Agharta
PINK FLOYD Piper at the gates of dawn

Of course, over the years, many more have been important to me but I think none generated such an in initial shock that these 5. Maybe I could add DEVIL DOLL "sacrelegium" - more recently.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording from your label, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to the label's music ???
Alain Lebon : That would depend of his background before lending an ear towards Soleil Zeuhl. To someone listening to jazz I'd say ONE SHOT, to someone enjoying progressive I'd say XING-SA or RIALZU, to someone deeply into Magma I'd say NEOM...

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : You have just released the first recordings by Eskaton and One Shot in new remastered versions with bonus tracks. What can we expect in the future from Soleil Zeuhl ???
Alain Lebon : Nothing is sure yet. I work on a couple of projects but I don't know yet if these will really happen or not. The most positive point of not making a living with the label is there is no pressure for producing a lot of records & the frequence is not that important.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Finally, are there any closing thoughts you'd like to get out there ???
Alain Lebon : Support the independant, stay tuned & open! There are A LOT of good musics around (possibly more than ever) but most have a hell lot of difficulties for being visible. Curiosity is the key for jumping over the blind mainstream medias....

Øresund Space Collective.

2010-03-21T09:04:00.083-07:00

The Øresund Space Collective was formed in April 2004. The collective is a group of Danish, Swedish and American musicians that get together as often as possible for free form improvised space rock music. The flavour of the music is different with each session. The jams can often combine complex interplay between guitar and synthesizer as well intense drumming and bass playing. We enter into the genre of funk, jazz, reggae and space and stoner rock as we improvise our way along. The jam sessions alternate between Malmö and København across the Øresund bridge! The core of the collective features current and former members of the Danish bands Mantric Muse and Gas Giant as well as the Swedish bands Bland Bladen, Derango, and the Carpet Knights. Occasionally other musicians join as well from other Swedish band like the Sgt Sunshine, Siena Root, Drahk von Trip and Kaabel. The collective records all of the jam sessions and makes these available to fans via the web site in MP3 format. They currently have over 40 hours of material on the web site for free download.

You can follow the band and their past and future projects on the following adress http://www.oresundspacecollective.com/

Jazz/Prognet Denmark, had the oppertunity to do an interview with some of the band members of Øresund Space Collective in april 2010.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How did the adventure of Øresund Space Collective begin, how did you all meet and decided to start you awesome band playing space rock for the masses ???
Scott- Well, it started back in 2004, after I was let go from the Danish band Gas Giant, who did not want synthesizer anymore. I started to bring some jam sessions together with my friends in the Danish band Mantric Muse and the Swedish band, Bland Bladen. It was primarily the members from these two bands for the first few years but then in 2007, we started to expand into having members from more Swedish bands like Sgt. Sunshine, The Carpet Knights, Drahk von Trip, and Siena Root. In the last two years the Danish guys from Gas Giant and the Univerzals have been playing. We have over 20 people who have played in the collective now.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Could you try to describe the music you play ???
Scott- That is a very hard question. It think with our music it can generally be given the term totally improvised space rock but it is really whatever the listener decided that it is. For some people it is very psychedelic, and trippy, while for others, the music or each track are short or long journeys through a forest of sounds and emotions that we each give the music. We have a wide range of influences and play music for the moment and we accept both the rewards and limitations that this presents.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What music genres do you listen to yourself, and is there a certain kind of music that inspires you ???
Tobias- I listen to rock, space rock, hard rock, prog, psyk, trash-death metal, electro, afrobeat, latin etc. Mind music inspires me. Music that connects to my soul and makes my mind screaming with pleasure.
Scott- Like Tobias, I also listen to a lot of different styles of music and I also write record reviews of a huge range of stuff but my favourite music these days is stuff that challenges me so I like space and psychedelic rock bands that most and ones that have a bit a jazzy element as well. I love afrobeat and I am an old metal head from the 80’s as well but my tastes have evolved over time.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Scott- This is a very hard question to answer. I have been collecting music since 1979 and have a lot of favorites. Aerosmith- Aerosmith, is one of the first records that I bought with my own money when I was 11 and has a special place in my soul. Hawkwind- Warriors on the Edge of Time is another all time favourite of mine along with Bomber by Motorhead. Gas Giant- Pleasant Journey in Heavy Tunes is a record that I feel like became part of me due to my association with the band, even though I did not play on it. Scorpions- Fly to The Rainbow is another of my all time favourite records. Monster Magnet- Suerjudge, Pothead- Learn to Hypnotize, Kingston Wall- II, Ozric Tentacles- Erpland, and Pink Floyd- Animals. If you asked me on another day though, I would probably change a few of these.
Tobias- Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are you experienced AC/DC - Highway to Hell King Crimson - In the court of the Crimson King Hawkwind - Space Ritual TOOL - Undertow Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond Kyuss - Blues for the red sun.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording of your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction ???
Tobias- The Black Tomato.
Pär- The Black Tomato
Scott- It’s all about Delay. This is a double CD with 2½ hrs of music and contains all sides of what the collective was and is. The Black Tomato is also really amazing and highly recommended.

"For some people it is very psychedelic, and trippy, while for others, the music or each track are short or long journeys through a forest of sounds and emotions that we each give the music"

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years. Are there some of them that you see in particular as more important than others, or landmarks, in your production ???
Scott- I think each album speaks with it’s own voice and is a snap shot of a special time in space as we all came together in the studio and the magic happens. We generally record between 5 and 8 hrs of material each time we go into the studio, so what you hear on the CDs, is just the best snapshot so they are each their own landmark in time. The Black Tomato and Inside your Head were both mixed by an amazing Swedish metal producer, Henrik Udd, who we still work with today in the mastering of our CDs. He did an totally amazing job with these CDs so the sonic sound is truly amazing.
Tobias- The Black tomato.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How is it to be a musician in little Denmark, is there a live scene for the music you do ???
Scott- Lonely. It is very hard for a band like us to get gigs in regular venues. We have a small underground club called Dragens Hule, where we have played most of our gigs in Denmark. The audience is out there for sure as did manage to get a good crowd at the one gig we had a Loppen but it hard to land these gigs.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter ???
Tobias- Never compromise, let your mind speak and make sure it's loud.
Pär- Don't do it for the money, cause there is none to be found! Work hard, be open for criticism and use the feedback. Also us the FEEDBACK on stage.
Scott- Make music that satisfies you. Songs and musical expressions that make you happy. Don’t think about trends, what other people are doing. Explore your instrument, make it become part of you so you can express yourself. As Pär said, there is no money in music anymore, so you must do it for the love of music.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Are you inspired by some of the great masters of progressive music or who do you see as your inspiration ???
Tobias- Of course, I'm inspired by King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd etc.
Scott- It is impossible not to be inspired by these great bands. Back in the 60’s and 70’s it was possible to do something completely new and break all the rules that had been laid down by mainstream music but now it is much more difficult to find or create something "new" so you have a little of all the music you have absorbed to inspire you. Doug Walker (RIP) from Alien Planetscapes was a huge inspiration for me as he ran a space rock band from 25 years and they released over 100 cassette releases as a true underground pioneer, making improvised space music.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : On your website you can buy a series of cdr's called Picks in space volume 1-12. Could you tell us a little about the idea and the concept of these releases ???
Scott- These are private CD-rs that I burn on demand that are compilations of the best of our rehearsal room jams before we started playing live and going into the studio. I still think some of our best moments ever are on some of these CDs. The recordings are just a Minidisc or Edirol recorder with Core Sound Cardiod Microphones but they all have pretty good sound. You can also download most of these for free from our web site in MP3.

"If there was a planned direction it wouldn´t be OSC and it wouldn´t be free form improvisation"

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How is a typical day for the Øresund Space Collective in the studio ???
Scott- We usually book two days and the first half of the first day is setting up the gear and getting the sound good for everyone as we all play in one big room at the Black tornado Studio and we use a PA so everyone can hear the synthesizers and they don’t have to wear headphones. It is also more like a concert without an audience. Then we enjoy some beers, smokes and go in and jam and see what we come up with. Have a jam, sit in the control room and hear what it sounds like, have another drink or smoke and head back in for a fresh jam! And we do this until our time is up and then we pack out the gear, take the music home and try to find the coolest most intereresting, inspired pieces of music.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How do you manage to get the same excellent jam vibe at your live concerts as you have on your cd's ???
Tobias- Just trying to listen just as much as performing.
Pär- The challenge is rather to get the same vibe in studio as on stage, that is the tricky bit.
Scott- Live is something very different and depends on each situation as you can never predict what it will sound like on the stage (if there is a stage even) so we have to be very good at listening to each other and translating the energy of the audience into something positive. Some people are a maybe a little reserved live or nervous but they usually let go and we fly together in the OSC spaceship!

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Is it a problem having members living in different countries ???
Scott- Not really. In the past few years we have only been playing concerts and not really having jam sessions like in the old days. OSC is a collective and we are happy to play with like minded musicians from many different countries so if they are good and understand what we are doing, then they can join. Some tours, we have used local musicians in Finland or Germany or Norway, who are musical friends of ours and this has always worked out in a positive fashion. So, it is not really a problem since we are collective of different people and it is rarely the same members for more than one or two gigs or sessions.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : I have listened to all your studio records and I see you evolving from release to release. What direction do you see OSC going in the future ???
Scott- We will have a new studio session later this year and here we will bring in players that have never played in the studio with us, only in the live situation so I expect some new surprises but it will still be some sort of space rock adventure for sure! We will continue to be mainly a two or three guitar, bass, drums, and multiple synthesizer band. It was nice to experiment with saxophone and I loved Anders playing but I don’t see it as part of us on a continuous basis. We will experiment with other instruments like pedal steel, sitar (again), and violin in the future.
Tobias- To Space!
Pär- If there was a planned direction it wouldn´t be OSC and it wouldn´t be free form improvisation.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What can we expect in the future from OSC ???
Tobias- Psychedelic space rock in form of studio recording and live performances all over the world.

Øresund Space Collective : Slip into the vortex (Transubstans 060).
I have been privileged to listen to the next Øresund Space Collective release, who will be available to the public sometime in april 2010. The former releases by the fantastic ØSC, have been completely improvised in the studio and have all been excellent in this reviewers book. This time the guys from ØSC have teamed up with some new people playing saxophone, drums and bass giving them a more mature and complete sound, going a little away from the jammy sound that they have presented on their previous releases. Their earlier releases have been in the space rock category with obvious inspiration from the finnish masters of spacerock Hidria Spacefolk and the spacy releases from Gong. On this their newest release they are going in new directions towards a more progressive sound, which in my humble opinion is absolutelly excellent and a really really good way to go. If you decide to get your hands on "Slip into the vortex" (which i only can recommend that you do), you will be presented for 6 tracks with some new ideas and directions in the music, but still being true to their earlier releases and sound. My favourite track on the cd is the nearly 26 minutes long "Mothership machinery" which is a number that evolves and grows on you complete with slide guitar and saxophone - amazing. As you probably all ready have guessed i think this release is very good one and it should have its place in every progressive music fans collection, or every other music collection for that matter. I am looking very much forward to the next releases and the future of this amazing band. Take a trip into space with Øresund Space Collective, open your ears, and i will guarantee that you will not be disappointed !!!

Øresund Space Collective : Slip into the vortex (Transubstans 060).

2010-03-21T04:10:00.004-07:00

I have been privileged to listen to the next Øresund Space Collective release, who will be available to the public sometime in april 2010. The former releases by the fantastic ØSC, have been completely improvised in the studio and have all been excellent in this reviewers book. This time the guys from ØSC have teamed up with some new people playing saxophone, drums and bass giving them a more mature and complete sound, going a little away from the jammy sound that they have presented on their previous releases. Their earlier releases have been in the space rock category with obvious inspiration from the finnish masters of spacerock Hidria Spacefolk and the spacy releases from Gong. On this their newest release they are going in new directions towards a more progressive sound, which in my humble opinion is absolutelly excellent and a really really good way to go. If you decide to get your hands on "Slip into the vortex" (which i only can recommend that you do), you will be presented for 6 tracks with some new ideas and directions in the music, but still being true to their earlier releases and sound. My favourite track on the cd is the nearly 26 minutes long "Mothership machinery" which is a number that evolves and grows on you complete with slide guitar and saxophone - amazing. As you probably all ready have guessed i think this release is very good one and it should have its place in every progressive music fans collection, or every other music collection for that matter. I am looking very much forward to the next releases and the future of this amazing band. Take a trip into space with Øresund Space Collective, open your ears, and i will guarantee that you will not be disappointed !!!

From.uz

2010-03-18T05:29:00.006-07:00

FROMUZ was formed in the summer of 2004 in the city of Tashkent in Uzbekistan

There is no individual author or leader in the group. Each composition is born with common efforts, by the method of attempts and experiments, by the flight of fancy and emotions. Thus, one idea can “snowball” creatively through collaborative contribution. Decorated by everyone in his own way, finally it finds the form, which can already characterize the composition created in a firm style. May be this is the reason why there are a few themes in each composition, tempo and rhythm fluctuating unpredictably. Frequently the compositions sound not only rich, but also complex in their structure. However, the musicians do not compromise with themselves and audience, because they are bound by the striving to play good and clear music, going out from the depth of the soul, instead of the creation of light music for the masses.

I can only recommend that you check, this band and their fantastic music out. Their three releases are all higly recommended. Below I did a interview with several members of the band, enjoy.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How did your adventures with music begin, did you have any musical training or are you self taught ?
Igor Elizov: I finished music college, piano class. after college I played in various groups. By higher education I am doctor.
Albert: I do have professional actor's education, but I started play music since school. in Soviet Union almost al boys played guitar, so did I. all my life long I participated in various "projects", if I ay say so. the more I grew up he more interesting my way to professional music appeared.
Ali: I grew up in musical family, my childhood is connected to music. I have 4 steps: college (piano class), conservatory (drums class) and postgraduate study (drums class).
Vitaly: I have no musical training, I am in music since I was 9.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you ?
Igor: I listen to different music, no favorite. first I listen to SEPULTURA, and CHEMICALS BROTHERS next day. I was under influence by QUEEN in youth, now I am inspired by NEW AGE. VANGELIS is the most bright, to my view, my taste.
Ali: symphonic and instrumental music I listen to mostly, as I am lyrical person. I like jazz. and I am inspired by lyric type of music, for example PORCUPINE TREE, and DREAM THEATRE is my favorite music.
Vitaly: I prefer fusion type music and progressive as well. I adore MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE and CHARLY PARKER. This music inspires me a lot. and I like art rock from 70-s - GENESIS and GENTLE GIANT.
Albert: I do not have preferences, intellectual mostly: jazz, art roc pro-rock and the music influenced by. FRANK ZAPPA, TOM WAITS, KING CRIMSON, MILES DAVIS. and I like classic music very much.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ?
all: KING CRIMSON, "RED" ALBUM. PINK FLOYD, "ANIMALS" ALBUM. YES, "TALK" ALBUM. JETRO TULL, "AQUALUNG" ALBUM. JOHN MACLAUGHLIN, "QUA ALEGRIA" ALBUM. MILES DAVIS, "AURA" ALBUM. LED ZEPPELIN I.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one) ?
all: this is quite personal and it is al in-between us only. we have our secret music process, you get music.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Are you all full time musicians in FromUz or are music your second job ?
Igor: as I graduated medicine university, for 3 years I worked as doctor. 2006 after I left profession to music, so music is my main occupation, and I am not going to come back to medicine further more.
Albert: I am drama and cinema actor by professional education, I am in music for 15 years and deputy director of music part in theatre. so I consider music is mine second profession.
Vitaly: by education I am engineer constructor of roads and airports. but the profession has nothing in common with me. it's been a long time since I am in music, music is the main to my life.
Ali: I live in music, I have higher music education. I teach to music, music is my life.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music ?
all: HARY HELLER THEATRE, PARALLELS, 13TH AUGUST… and all the rest.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general ?
all: the musical critics may apply the music we play, we just play. composing music we don't analyze what we do, we are in process - this is it.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What is it like to be musicians in Uzbekistan, is there a music scene for your kind of music ?
all: rock music is less popular than pop music everywhere, in all the world. but the music should live, we have our fans, we are successful and our concerts are full of listeners. in out country there is a great number of roc group, and each of has its own listener. we represented our country in manna other places of the world and we are proud to.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start ?
all: as re music we play has its form, inside the frame in some there is a place for improvisation. on the concerts we play our music the way it was composed and recorded. improvisation depends on the mood and inspiration of each member of our group. the better we play on concerts, the more chance of improvisation elements might be. you may never know how improvisation shall be and the understanding as partners and team work appears. now we prepare to release the 4th album of FromUz QUARTUS ARTEFACTUS, which was recorded from live concert first and edited in studio. this album contains a lot of improvisation, it is the other side of FromUz.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter ?
all: it is grate to be beginners, you have the way to go. the most important is aim and development. listen to the music and don't lie to yourself, look forward and you shall win.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
all: we can not recall any worst experience yet, the funniest one might happen in Denmark. APPLAUSE AND LAUGH in audience!

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Where do you se yourself in 5 years, still making music for the masses ?
all: if you want to make God laugh tell him about your plans.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from the mighty FROMUZ ?
all: this year we plan 2 releases. DVD INSIDE 7TH STORY in summer and CD and DVD QUARTUS ARTEFACTUS in autumn. while the releases we start work over the next album, as the mentioned albums work is over. we have ideas and good music, a lot of plans. we plan to show our music to various listeners in all the world. a man has a lot of roads to go, this interview is our first crossroad with your magazine. we hope music we play shall be interesting for the readers of your magazine further more.

Markus Stauss & Fazzul Music.

2010-03-13T14:19:00.005-07:00

Markus Stauss was born on September 10, 1954 in Basle where he passes all steps to social incorporation from kindergarten (in Riehen) up to his Bachelor degree and the first semester at the Basle University, where he is taking history courses. He enrols in his obligatory military service at the French speaking Swiss-French border town Vallorbe in the Swiss Jura mountains. Follows his primary teacher diploma in Basle; he teaches there ever since, at present as an advanced level part time teacher, teaching music, math and some natural science.

He begins his own musical education in 1972, taking flute lessons with G. Marini (until 1975). Later he enrols in a music teaching education program for primary school level (1974-1976). The same year he takes up saxophone courses with R. Fisch, in 1977 changing to Ch. Bader, where in addition to the saxophone lessons he picks up the basics in theory of music. In 1991 he turns to Franziska Heiniger for recorder lessons in Medieval and Renaissance music. In a self taught manner he conducts studies in the development of Hard Rock, Free Jazz and Jazz Rock, as well as in that of medieval music.

At that time he starts his own and quite diversified music teaching activity as classroom teacher for music, is involved in developing teaching curricula for the midlevel student classes and also in continued education for music teachers, but also a saxophone teacher at Hug, Basle and in private. He is approaching his public also by sharing his historic and theoretical knowledge, lecturing about Hard Rock, Jazz Rock and Free Jazz.

Interview with Markus Stauss, march 2010.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : How did your adventures with music begin, did you have any musical training or are you self-taught?
Markus Stauss : 1970 - Unsatisfied of listening music only I bought a bamboo flute and started playing. No score no theory just improvising, inventing the music anew. In many ways this bamboo flute was a little limited, so I bought other flutes with different tuning and sound colour. After a while I began to play a "real" flute and took lessons for 3 years in classical music. Instead of practice the exercises and tunes for the flute lessons I improvised a lot with rock bands. Then I got in love with the sound of saxophones and bought my first alto sax. My flute teacher didn't understand the world anymore and I stopped the flute lessons. I took sax lessons (classical music) for one year and later some theory lessons in jazz. That was it; the rest was practicing and listening music of any kind. Oh, I almost forgot, 20 years ago I played recorder for a while and I had some lessons how to play medieval and renaissance music with this instrument.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What music genres do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you?
Markus Stauss : I listen what is called Avant-garde, medieval, rock of any kind, Jazz-Rock, some fusion as long it's not too sweet, free jazz, free improvised music. Aside this I listen music from musicians I once played with and music from MySpace friends they exchange CDs with me. Since my music (albums / bands / projects) gets compared with the music of bands I never heard about, I listen the music of these bands to hear what is all about and to know what the reviewers are talking about. This way I learned that this style is called "Prog" (with its sub genres). I don't like this term "Prog", it even sounds silly to me! At the end of the 60th we called it just "intelligent rock music that demands a good listen".

I get inspiration from visionary composers and monster players, the more these are aside of any mainstream the more it evokes my interest.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If you should mention 10-15 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be?
Markus Stauss : When I have a look at my collection of vinyl albums and CDs I recognize that there are +/- 75 composers, bands and musicians I don't want miss. From each of these I owe at least 2 – 3 albums I cannot decide which one is the best. This says that I am talking about 150 – 225 records. Under these circumstances I have to stretch the list to 25! I make a very "personal" selection strictly from the point of view "have meant something to me and my music AND STILL ARE MEANINGFUL" not regarding the importance these albums have for the (mainstream-) history of music. Could be there are some quite shocking items in this list:

1) Jimi Hendrix "Band of Gypsys" (LP Polydor 2480005)
2) The Doors "Absolutly Live" (2LP Elektra EKS 9002)
3) Frank Zappa "Hot Rats" (LP Reprise Records RS 6356)
4) Man "Do You Like It Here Now?" (LP United Artists UAS 29236)
5) Cream "Wheels of Fire" (2LP Polydor 2658 110)
6) Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera (LP Global Records 6306 901)
7) Wolfgang Dauner "Output" (LP ECM 1006)
8) Mahavishnu Orchestra "Birds of Fire" (LP CBS S 65321)
9) The Tony Williams Lifetime "(turn it over)" (CD reissue Verve 314 539 118-2)
10) The Tony Williams Lifetime "Emergency!" (CD reissue Verve 314 539 117-2)
11) Jan Garbarek – Arild Andersen – Edward Vesala "Triptykon" (LP ECM 1029)
12) Jan Garbarek – Bobo Stenson – Terje Rypdal – Arild Andersen – Jon Christensen "Sart" (LP ECM 1015)
13) Gato Barbieri "The Third World" (CD reissue RCA – BMG 7 4321 1257 582 european edition)
14) Albert Ayler "Witches & Devils" (LP Freedom FLP 40101 Polydor 2383 089)
15) Art Ensemble of Chicago "Nice Guys" (LP ECM 1126)
16) Jimmy Lyons / Sunny Murray "Jump up / What to do about" (2LP hat Hut Records TWENTYONE 2R21)
17) King Crimson "Beat" (LP EG diffuse par Polydor 2311 156)
18) Guillaume Dufay "Missa Caput", Clemencic Consort (LP harmonia mundi France HMA 996)
19) Dimthings & Jean Chaine, Ulterior Lux "Those Unforgetable Shaman" (LP Thingsflux Music TF – 504)
20) Ioculatores "Songs and Dances of the 13th to 15th Centuries" (CD Raumklang RK 9301)
21) Edgard Varèse "The Complete Works", Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, ASKO Ensemble, Riccardo Chailly (2CD DECCA 460 208-2)
22) Morton Feldman "the viola in my life" (CD reissue New World Records 80657-2)
23) Luigi Nono "Como una ola de fuerza y luz / … sofferte onde serene … / Contrappunto dialettico alla mente", Maurizio Pollini, Slavka Taskova, Nino Antonellini, Claudio Abbado (CD Deutsche Grammophon, 20th Century Classics 423 248-2
24) Fausto Romitelli "Professor Bad Trip", ictus (CD cypress records CYP 5620)
25) Harrison Birtwistle "Theseus Game / Earth Dances", Ensemble Modern, Martyn Brabbins & Pierre-André Valade, Ensemble Modern Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (CD Deutsche Grammophon 20-21 00289 477 0702)

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : You are in my ears a musician who is in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
Markus Stauss : Yes, when you have a look at this list of albums I mentioned right now as meaningful for me and my music, it's obvious that I must be in constant movement and going in many different directions. The adventure "music" becomes more and more exiting and when I look in different directions it makes me even more hungry to check things out: Adventurers like / with somnambulate certainty / penetrating massive thicket / digging hidden treasures / extracting fascinating preciousness is the motto since a long time yet.

I let the music flow in many directions by improvising a lot with my main instrument the tenor sax. This way I find patterns, scales, melodies, short riffs, ideas how to get structure into a tune, improvisation concepts et alii. I write down what sounds interesting to me and evaluate it by improvising again and some of the material gets enlarged e.g. a little riff may become a real melody. It's a long process until a new tune is born. Some fragments wait for years until, all of a sudden, something is moving forwards and from time to time I throw many notes into the waste-paper basket to create more space. When the major part of a composition or and improvisation concept is finished, I begin to think about which band could play this.

IMPORTANT: the basis of my music is this:
A) Sound, tone colour of different qualities and the subjective perceptions
B) Textures, patterns, stratum overlays (stratifications). These occur during
a) composition, b) improvisation, c) interaction of composition & improvisation and d) dissociation, produced by diverging playing instructions
C) Energies in different states of matter, changes of these states, the emergence of new energies just because of these changes.
Going into different directions I never think in categories of music genres. All twists and turns you hear in my music, e.g. let a mood flow or cut it abruptly, happen with the intention to change "energy", "textures" and "sound colours" in many different ways. They are never eclectic citations of styles. The often-used expression "stylistic crossover" relates to sound occurrences that explicitly belong to a style, the change to another sound occurrence may be perceived as a change in style; stylistic featuring is happening in the listener’s head, they are listening habitudes.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Are you a full time musician are music your second job ?
Markus Stauss : I work a 70% day job teaching music and mathematics. This gives me the independence to develop my music without regard for commercial success.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music?
Markus Stauss : The best starter is SPALTKLANG "Surprise" because it contains material (riffs, melodies, tunes) from a long period: 1978 until 2003. All this material has undergone a radical treatment during 2003. I incorporated new musical material into the compositions, expanded the arrangements polytonally, changed improvisation concepts and structures of the selected tunes to developed complete new compositions. Therefore all tunes appear almost completely unrecognisable from any existing or non-existing “original” version. This is a technique I like very much and I work in a similar way on the compositions for my other projects too.
SPALTKLANG "Surprise" evoked great enthusiasm; unfortunately it is almost out of print, few copies left here and there.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/jazz part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general?
Markus Stauss : Concerning the "style discussion" I refer to what I said before about the many different directions in my music and what I call "the basis of my music". Of course most people think in different styles to have a starting point to discuss music with each other. Regarding this, yes, to put me in the progressive/rock/jazz part of the music world is OK to get an idea how my music could probably sound.
As I said before, personally I have not interest in genre names at all. I make distinctions into "music that evokes my interest" and "music that evokes boredom". Other distinctions I use are "improvised music", "written music", music for big or small ensembles, ethnic music, music that demands to be called "art", music played with instruments we associate with "rock", "jazz" and "classical". When I started playing, we only had the distinctions "pop", "rock", "jazz" and "classical" an it worked. Why to create new terms and expressions that only add to the general confusion? Which confusion you may ask? Just this: the genre expression "progressive/rock/jazz" (what I understand as "prog and its subgenres") opens a wide field: post rock, avant rock, free rock, classical prog, jam rock, AOR, RIO, Canterbury, retro prog, chamber rock, jazz-rock, fusion, art pop, punk jazz … Enough confusion or did I miss some expressions?

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?
Markus Stauss : This differs from concert to concert and from record to record as well. It depends on the musicians I play with. A band with improvisers will improvise more than a band with mainly classical academic musicians or rockers used to play every tune the way it has to be played to satisfy the listeners' expectations. To name my current projects: ZAUSS is 95% improvised, the music of TZGIV is 70% improvised (maybe less) and SPALTKLANG is 70 % composed (more or less, it depends on the album or the set we play at a concert).

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter?
Markus Stauss : If they can afford to do it about economical reasons: Be yourself and lick nobody's ass. Stretch out to play with good players, become a composer or work with interesting composers.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Could you tell us a little about all you different projects?
Markus Stauss : SPALTKLANG was born in 2001 when I had the idea to create with modern instruments what in medieval times was called a "broken consort" (Spaltklang – "split sound" is the German word for it) - a band composed of wind (saxes) and pluck instruments (Stephan Brunner: electric bass) and strings (Olivier Vogt: viola and violin) including a percussion unit (Rémy Sträuli: drums). This ensemble was to play music by ÜBERFALL and ECHOES (Stauss-Anliker-Kayser-Vogt) which never have been recorded previously as well as to play the original score of compositions they have been performed in a “low budget 3 – piece version” until now only. In the meanwhile the new albums (the 3rd "Lontano" and the 4th "en Suite") contain new compositions instead of remakes of older material. It's the project we play mostly composed music with some splashes of improvisations.

NEOLITHICUM: In 2004 I released an album with this title, playing bass saxophone solo & extras. The extras were VERY old electronic devices: a Korg digital delay SDD 3000 and an Akai sampler S 612 (one of the first samplers ever made) which I played with a Yamaha WX 11 digital horn (from which I did not to use the Yamaha sounds). In 2005 I extended this project with Francesco Zago (leader of YUGEN) to become NEOLITHICUM DUO. Aside of playing guitar Francesco took the part of the extras by looping my sax as well as his guitar and I didn't play the extras anymore. In the meanwhile NEOLITHICUM is myself playing the bass saxophone solo without any devices.

ZAUSS is the new name for NEOLITHICUM DUO about the reason that our duo sounds different now: We begun to play mainly free improvisations and I play other saxes too aside the bass saxophone. Sometimes I even play soprano sax exclusively as you may hear on our album "neulich neben der Grenze". And we invite guest musicians from time to time.

TRANK ZAPPA GRAPPA IN VARESE? (TZGIV) is a Belgian / Swiss ensemble featuring Michel Delville (The Wrong Object, douBt, etc), Damien Campion (The Friendly Dogs, Belch', Ma petite robe rouge, etc) and Laurent Delchambre (The Wrong Object, The Friendly Dogs, etc). We play tunes of mine that work fine when we open them up with extended, mainly collective improvisations. It's a rather wild music and in a review on our album "More Light" I could read what sounds very appropriate to me: " ... The compositions are difficult to confine to any single genre. Diverse influences (ranging from modern jazz and esoteric rock to medieval strains) crash and collide to form curious structures of dazzling charisma. The general mood is modern, though, while the vivacity of the performance spawns a breathless appreciation. If sound could generate light, this music would need to be appreciated wearing sunglasses."

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
Markus Stauss : Funny: It was at a ÜBERFALL concert. The band started the second set in a illegal underground club, playing a long and grooving intro, while I still was talking with someone in the audience. This guy didn't stop talking to me, even when I got the cue to enter the stage he followed me talking and talking about saxophones without a break. All of a sudden he recognized that he stays on stage, still talking to me while I was playing already. Then he was frightened and surprised and he left the stage. The audience loved that funny situation.
Worst: A gig with an ensemble mixed up with all kind of musicians, improvisers, academic musicians and others. One of the musicians wrote a minimal music piece for this ensemble. While we were playing the composer lost the orientation in his tune, he forgot how to conduct his own tune, his cues were unclear … this way the tune stretched out to become a 10 minute piece instead of 4 minutes, very embarrassing, maybe the composer was drunk.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Where do you see yourself in 5 years, still making music for the masses?
Markus Stauss : I continue with what I am doing. Making music I don't think in terms of "how many years", not regarding how many people listen my music. There are long time fans that wait hungry for every new release and more and more people begin to discover and estimate my music. Just for these I compose and improvise music.

Jazz/Prognet Denmark : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from your many projects?
Markus Stauss : 1) I work on a new project with Francesco Zago related to ZAUSS, nevertheless it will contain some world novelties. We checked some new compositions, fragments and ideas for improvisations some weeks ago with Paolo Botta (vintage keyboards) and Valerio Cipollone (bass clarinet, soprano sax). I want enrich this ensemble with bass and drums and probably with other instruments. Of course the whole thing should become available on an album, played live in the studio, no cheating as many prog bands do (!!!). The schedule is not fix so far.

2) At these days I work on my participation for the next album of YUGEN and for the first album of Yugen's keyboard player Paolo Botta. On both albums I'll play bass, contralto and tenor sax.

3) Thinking forward to some gigs and new tunes with TZGIV.

4) I have some ideas for small ensembles, duo and / or trio, playing improvised music with little composed fragments. Maybe a rebirth of ULTERIOR LUX …

5) Let's see what's going on with FINNEGANS WAKE and the collaboration with Henry Krutzen.

6) Keeping Fazzul Music alive to make sure that some of these ideas will get adequate released.

Markus Stauss, Basel 13. 03. 2010

Robin Taylor.

2010-02-19T15:47:00.019-07:00

Jazznet Denmark did an interview with composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound manipulator, arranger, producer and record label owner and self taught progressive musician Robin Taylor, in the middle of february 2010. You can follow Mr. Taylor and his many on going projects on the following adress : http://www.progressor.net/robin-taylor/

Jazznet Denmark : How did your adventures with music begin, did you have any musical training or are you self taught ?
Robin Taylor : I have listened to music as long as I can remember. At my 8th birthday (I think) I was given my first Beatles record, and I became a fan right away. I felt very attracted to 'electric' music and had this dream about becoming a musician myself one day. My first 'real' instrument was a cheap electric guitar, that I had for my 12th birthday. I never had any teachers; just figured it out myself, learning by doing and listening to records.

Jazznet Denmark : What music genres do you listen to yourself, and is there a certain kind of music that inspires you ?
Robin Taylor : I've listened to many kinds of music: popular music, hard rock, psychedelic, progressive, modern jazz, fusion, classical composers - you name it. I'm inspired by anything I've heard.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ?
Robin Taylor : Tough question... well, if I was going to pick 10 albums, that have meant a lot to me, I'd probably say:

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper
King Crimson: In The Wake of Poseidon
Cream: Disraeli Gears
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Tarkus
Mike Oldfield: Hergest Ridge
Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds of Fire
Weather Report: Tale Spinning
Secret Oyster: Sea Son
Gentle Giant: In a Glass House
Dimitri Shostakovitch: Symphony No. 5

I could easily mention another ten.

Jazznet Denmark : To my ears you are a group of musicians who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)?
Robin Taylor : My mind has always been bursting with ideas; I don't have a 'secret method', when I compose; I just go through the library in my head - made up from listening to thousands and thousands of records. There's always an echo of something I've heard, that I'd like to do my own version of; refine to something personal - no matter what direction it's in - and I believe, you can always hear that I'm responsible for it.

Jazznet Denmark : Are you a full time musician or are all your different projects your second job ?
Robin Taylor : I'm not a full time musician; you can't do these sorts of things and make a living from them (in Denmark you can't, that's for sure). Some of the others are playing full time, but they have to earn their bread and butter by working with commercial artists in other genres.

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording of your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music ?
Robin Taylor : That's also a difficult question - depending on personal tastes. If you're looking for something not too far out, I'd recommend 'Oyster's Apprentice' or 'Soundwall' by Taylor's Universe. Or the Art Cinema (selftitled) album. If you're more of a free jazz (avant garde) aficionado, I'd advice you to check out 'File Under Extreme' by Taylor's Free Universe.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong to the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general ?
Robin Taylor : You're probably right, when using the term 'progressive' on my music, and probably not. Progressive Rock has become a 'genre' with many directions: symphonic, metal, avant garde and so and so on. I'd like to see 'progressive' more as a movement, than a genre; bands and artists with different stylistic backgrounds working together, creating new musical forms - or that's how it all started (back in the early 70's). Today there's a lot of so-called progressive bands, who don't experiment at all; they just copy a way of playing, that made fame decades ago. To me that's not 'progressive', so maybe the term has lost its meaning. It's always restricting when you put labels on music that can't be labeled (because of its diversity). I wish we could use the word 'fusion', because that's what this kind of music really is: a fusion of many genres - but that term has a meaning of its own today (electric smooth jazz).

Jazznet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years, mainly on your own label, Marvel of Beauty. Are there some of them that you see in particular as more important than others, or landmarks, in your massive production ?
Robin Taylor : Hmm... Typically I lose interest, every time an album is completed (I get fed up in the process), but looking back there's a few that I like to think of: 'Pork' (from the early years) and 'Oyster's Apprentice' (both by Taylor's Universe). I would probably add two of my solo albums: 'Deutsche Schule' and 'Isle of Black' - yeah, and Art Cinema (my first vocal album) is pretty cool, I think.

Jazznet Denmark : Of many you have two projects. One called Taylor's Free Universe, the other called Taylor's Universe. Could you try to explain the difference between those, is one of them completely planned before start while the other is not ?
Robin Taylor : After a couple of minimalistic solo albums I wanted to do an album with much more of a 'band sound'. That led to Taylor's Universe - my studio group. In general the music of TU is very structured, but everything is possible - even moments of pure improvisation. After some years of working with saxophone ace, Karsten Vogel, he persuaded me to form a live band, and that became Taylor's Free Universe. The idea was to get some people together and just have a go. No written material, no rehearsals - we just brought in our gear and started playing, whether it was on stage or in the recording studio. The result was quite odd and sometimes really exciting. We played festivals and made quite a few records (even got nominated for a Danish Music Awards Jazz), but it was a struggle to get gigs. The band folded in 2005 (after five years in service), and I returned to studio work.

Jazznet Denmark : How is it to be a musician in little Denmark, is there a live scene for the music you do ?
Robin Taylor : No, the situation is absolutely hopeless.

Jazznet Denmark : When I listen to your music, I can hear some of the same ideas I hear when I listen to King Crimson and Robert Fripp. Are you inspired by him or am I way off ?
Robin Taylor : You're quite right; I'm a big fan of Crimson/Fripp - especially for what they/he did in the 70's.

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians, who want to make it in the progressive music world or any world for that matter ?
Robin Taylor : Be yourself. To me originality is the most important thing. And if you can't come up with something of your own, don't play music. We have enough copycats around already.

Jazznet Denmark : Where do you se yourself in 5 years, still making music for the masses ?
Robin Taylor : The point is, I have never made music for the 'masses'; the things I'm doing are too far away from 'mainstream', and if you're not a mainstream (commercial) artist, you can't expect a huge following. My music is a 'minority' thing - unfortunately - but I am being honest to my art, and that's very important to me.

Jazznet Denmark : Finally, what are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from the mighty Robin Taylor ?
Robin Taylor : I haven't got any actual plans for the moment. My latest album was released just before Christmas (we're in February now), but I suppose I will return to the recording studios when spring comes (my energies are a little low this time of year). I've got a few ideas that might turn into a new Taylor's Universe album. We'll see.

TFU : Manipulated by Taylor (Marvel of Beauty)
I have to admit, that this cd at first did not appeal to me, but after repeated listenings, it has grown on me and left me absolutely speechless. Taylor's Free Universe are besides Robin Taylor himself on guitar, loops and keyboards, the incredible Danish saxofonist Karsten Vogel (who you will find on numerous other releases from Taylor) on soprano, alto and tenor saxophones, Klavs Hovman on electrified double bass and loops, Pierre Tassone on processed violin, grand piano and bells, and finally Lars Juul on drums and electronics.The 10 tracks on this cd are all recorded at a live gig at Copenhagen JazzHouse on September 15th in 2005. To my knowledge, most of the music by TFU is freely improvised, and it is a real treat to listen to the way these 5 musicians interact with each other, giving their fellow musicians the space needed to create amazing music. Taylor is always a fantastic musician and alongside Vogel and Tassone, he is the perfect front figure for this collective of creative musicians. The result is very convincing, showing how great players they all are, either when taking the lead from time to time, or - more important - when working as a collective in this incredible outburst of improvisation. If you are a fan of free jazz or free music, you got to give yourself the chance to listen to this collective - it is truly a bomb!

Art Cinema : Art Cinema (Marvel of Beauty MOBCD 019).
Art Cinema is one of the latest releases, from Danish multi-instrumentalist and composer Robin Taylor. This time he teams up with musicians such as: guitarists Michael Denner (who was one of the members of the Danish metal band Mercyful Fate) and Jon Hemmersam, saxophonist Carsten Sindvald, bassist Flemming Muus Tranberg, drummer Bjarne T. Holm, the vocalists Jytte Lindberg and Louise Nipper, and the amazing violinist, Pierre Tassone. Art Cinema brings you a mix of various music styles - including pop, electronic, metal, jazz and much much more. The music of Art Cinema is song based; sophisticated melodic tunes with a dark, icy cold mood on most of the tracks. The album consists of 7 tracks, all excellent compositions, and if I should choose some favourites, it would be the opener, "White Frozen", the King Crimson influenced, "Crimson Night", and the closing track, "Last Day of Summer", which is an amazing track with great solos. Art Cinema is probably one of the most accessible releases through Taylor's massive career (this is his 25th release) and it is therefore a great introduction to the man and his music. I like this album a lot and I recommend, that you give it a listen - I guarantee, that you will not be disappointed! My only complaint is about the length of the album; 34 minutes is too short. I could easily have digested much more. Highly recommended !!!

Robin Taylor : Deutsche Schule (Marvel of Beauty MOBCD 017).
Deutsche Schule is a Robin Taylor release from 2006, containing music inspired from some of the freakier 'krautrock' artists of the 70s, as it says on the inlay of the cd. I have never been much of a fan of krautrock, so maybe this is why this release does not appeal to me. Don't get me wrong; the music is very well performed by Taylor and his partners in crime (Karsten Vogel, Louise Nipper and Rasmus Grosell), but to my ears it is not all that interessting. This project shows, that Taylor is a very wide ranging musician who plays many styles of music. So the bottom line is, if you like the music of those strange German artists of the 70's, then buy this cd - if not, go and look up the many other Robin Taylor releases that are available out there. The choice is yours.

X Position volume 1 and 2 are both compilation albums from the amazing Robin Taylor; albums combining previous unreleased recordings from his long career. Volume 1 concists of 8 tracks, from various recording sessions in the past, that for different reasons never were completed in the first place - plus a couple of live tracks. The material was recorded either in his own name, as Taylor's Universe or as Taylor's Free Universe. Volume 2 has got 10 tracks of very early recordings (from an abandonned album project back in 1985), here available also for the first time - in completed form. Both cd's have some really exciting music, but I have to be honest about the fact, that this is not the right place to start for new listeners, who'd like to check out the magic of Taylor's music. Some of it is not easily digested and will demand repeated listenings and a very open mind, before the music makes sense to you. These releases are first of all for the fans, who have already been around Taylor's many facets in music - and wanting more. I nevertheless find these cd's truly excellent and highly recommended, but start some other place in his huge catalog. There are many other albums available by this excellent musician, and those by Taylor's Universe will surely make a better starting point.

Music by mail.

2010-01-23T23:13:00.004-07:00

In a town called Ringe in Denmark, there lies a record shop that goes by the name Music By Mail. A record shop who is run by, the musician Pierre Tassone. In Pierre's little shop you can find everything your heart desires in many musical genres such as progressive, jazz, rock and so much more. Please give the shops webpage a visit and look for yourself, you will not be dissappointed. The adress is www.musicbymail.dk. Below you can find a little interview i did with Pierre - Enjoy.

Jazznet Denmark : Can you tell us a little about how it all began with Music by Mail ???
Pierre Tassone : Well actually, in 1988 when Music By Mail was created, the focus was only on music educationals (solo transcriptions, methods, play-along) and it happened at the same time when Sher Music launched the New Real Books. There was a gap to fill there and musicians were not always able to get from the established publishers what they wanted; they were told many lies about faxes breaking, no answers from USA, etc... So I decided to jump on the wagon and give the musicians a real possibility of getting their hands on those products. After a few years, this opened new interests, queries, questions and contacts. Having always been playing music and being myself a music consumer, I decided to enlarge the concept and integrate music CDs from hardly distributed small labels all over the world. This is a huge task and had a big snowball effect, bringing connection to more labels, CDs, then DVD'er .... you get the picture, now!

Jazznet Denmark : What is the concept and the idea of the record shop ???
Pierre Tassone : In short: to work closely with independant record labels which are putting up artistic value before commercial interests! There is a lot of fantastic music made on this planet and I want as many as possible to know that such music exists and can be brought in their living room! With time going and experience growing, the concept has been broadened to a few major improvements like working on an artist's back catalog so that those coming late also can discover the debut album of a band, even if it was released years ago (which on the normal market means death and deletion! ah ah ah!). Another improvement was to include offers on historically important releases; this happens mostly in jazz with labels like Blue Note or Impulse.

Jazznet Denmark : How and when did you yourself get in contact with progressive music ???
Pierre Tassone : I started playing progressive music in France in the late 70's, being member of a few local bands. At that time I was living in Cannes, not far from the Italian border and together with a friend, we also worked for a music monthly French magazine called "Rock en Stock" and were some of the first to write about and review Italian progressive rock with obligatory bands like Banco, PFM, Area, Le Orme, etc...

Jazznet Denmark : Progressive music, and music in general, are going in many different directions these days. Do you see it as a “mistake” that all kind of genres are mixed up, and that the borders are flowing and sometimes non-excistant ???
Pierre Tassone : Quite the opposite! I see the stylistical explosion as the living proof of life, creativity and sane curiosity. Dogmatism is the crook! You have it in jazz, prog, everywhere and it fossilizes music! Actually, it's funny, my renewed interest in prog happened at the beginning of the 90's. During the 80's I was mostly studying, listening to and working with jazz; it started amazingly with Weather Report (already in the mid 70's) and from them, I went backwards straight to be-bop and took from there the long journey forward to assimilate all phases and shapes of jazz. But as the 90's began, jazz was - taken globally - kind of stagnating; revisionists like Wynton Marsalis made a much discussed fracture in the definition of jazz and I suddenly started to find more pushing forces in the prog fields, even if I still was (and is today) listening to jazz. Since then, jazz has found again a very strong basis, especially in Europe and prog kept up growing again. Today, you can find prog bands leaning to jazz or jazzmen bringing prog in. Fantastic!

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you, what would they be ???
Pierre Tassone : Holy shit! This would probably shift every day or depend on my mental mind, what's happening in the world, when in the day or night and so on. I'll try to stick to those recurrently coming back or filling my thoughts (even if I don't listen to them :) ... ). Here you go, no special order: John Coltrane: Love Supreme / Deus Ex Machina: Equilibrismo Da Insofferenza / Gentle Giant: Octopus & Free Hand / Zawinul's Syndicate: Faces & Places / Cabezas De Cera: the DVD and Metalmúsica / PFM: Per Un Amico + Passpartú / Hatfield & The North: both / National Health: Of Queues & Cures / Magma: S/T / Soft Machine (so many first choices) / Terje Rypdal: Odissey .... but there are so many more, really!

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording as a introduction to progressive music, which one(s) would you recommend ???
Pierre Tassone : Probably one of those which started and defined it all, so one gets the historical perspective ... so maybe the first King Crimson, which in a way is unavoidable, at start or later! but you know, it really depends on who I'm talking to! If I know some of the person's background, what they listened to before reaching prog... then I may come with something VERY different!

Jazznet Denmark : As a record shop owner I know you listen to a lot of different music. Could you give us, in your opinion, a couple of bands that are going to be the next big thing, something that we should look out for ???
Pierre Tassone : Being the next big thing depends on the ears of the listener and doesn't mean necessarily *good to all* if you refer to mass appeal without the extra musical quality! So, it is really 100% subjective, you know. If you ask me, that's only my personal point of view, so let's see ... huum ... in classical music, you are buried way before you finally become the next big thing .... tough question ... Cabezas De Cera may have already topped but they deserve more yet and I'm sure they will become a point of reference, a milestone in prog.... no, you see, the market is so much fragmented that a product's life like a CD release is more and more narrowed to a big breath at the time of the release and then .... the next is already popping up and so on. We don't get time enough to digest and somehow we don't take time to go deep enough, that's sad! It's damned difficult to see anything for sure in your crystal ball! A band like Fromuz from Uzbekistan may have this potential! A band like Finnegans Wake is also still growing, even if they already have 5 releases behind. A new one is coming in January, in collaborarion with saxophonist Markus Stauss (from Spaltklang, Ulterior Lux, Yugen ...). It will be much different from what they've done to date and may surprise quite a few! Thieves' Kitchen from England have also some potential and a large audience attraction, if they keep on moving. But if the next big thing means to you style breakers or new trendsetters .... I'm afraid they're not ready or still too hidden yet!

Unbeltipo.

2010-01-11T05:26:00.013-07:00

I have the last couple of months, spent a lot of time in front of my speakers listening to various artists and groups from Japan. There is something about the Japanese musicians that appeals to me big time and gets my attention. Their intensity, the power and the nerve they play and compose their music with, is in my ears nothing but amazing and very, very interesting. My "journey" into the Japanese progressive music has brought me far and wide. I have listened to amongst others the following bands and personalities with great pleasure: Acid Mothers Temple, Hoppy Kamiyama, Ruins, Koenjihyakkei, Korekyojinn, Bondage Fruit, KBB, Altered States, Yoshida Tatsuya, Tipographica and Unbeltipo just to name a few of them. One of the bands that caught my special attention and interest and also blew me completely away was the latter band UNBELTIPO.

Unbeltipo comes from the remains of the fantastic defunct band Tipographica, who were a band that existed from 1986 to 1998 and played experimental jazz-rock with strong inspiration from Frank Zappa and his sometimes strange twisted ,but always amazing music.

The man behind Unbeltipo is the Japanese guitarist Tsuneo Imahori who composes, produces and arranges all of the bands music. Unbeltipo mainly plays in the trio format with guitar, bass and drums. On the first release Imahori played with various different musicians, but on the last four he has created a main core version of the band with himself on guitars, Mitsuru Nasuno on bass and Yasuo Sano on drums. Imahori has among many different activities written and recorded various soundtracks for Japanese animated films and has been a guest musician on various releases by other artists. Unbeltipo plays a fantastic mix of experimental jazz / prog / rock with electronic elements. They are a band completely committed to playing instrumental music, with lots of complexity and crooked thoughts, that should get any fan of progressive music clapping their hands.

Unbeltipo has to date released 5 albums, each of them wildly exciting and an interesting listening :

Unbeltipo - 1999 (Sistema Record)
Joujoushka - 2004 (Out One Disc)
Live 2006 - 2006 (Sistema Record)
Live 2007 - 2007 (Sistema Record)
Pheasanthism - 2007 (Out One Disc)

One of the very few places where you can buy the cd's from this amazing band is at Pierre Tassone's great webshop Music by mail, who can be found at the following adress www.musicbymail.dk

Finnegans wake.

2009-12-03T12:51:00.002-07:00

1. How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by any teachers or are you self taught ???
I started music with mouthharp, as my father is a very good player of> it. Then I went to the Academy of Music in Belgium and started to> learn> percussion. When I went to the university I had to stop this because I> couldn't put my drums inside my small student room. So I started the> trombone and the saxophone. But studying both instrument was a bit> complicated and I ended up choosing the sax. I went back to the> Academy> to continue my study of the instrument and theorical stuffs. Then I> went to some jazz clinics where I studied harmony. After that I> studied> various ethnic instruments, such as balafon, ken, chanai, etc... In> the> end I started the piano, as an autodidact, as a wonderful tool for> composition matters.

2. Where did the name Finnegans Wake come from and does it have a deeper meaning ???
FW is the name of the 'magnus opus' of James Joyce and we chose the> name to honour this great XXth century novel. It is also the name of> an> old irish song and also the subject of a seminar of the french> psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. All three meanings mattered!> > > > 3. How did the adventure of Finnegans Wake begin, how did you meet and decided to start you awesome band ???> > > > During the eighties, I played a lot with a jazz septet, in Belgium,> called Lost Exit. After the band stopped, I stayed some years without> playing and then, suddenly, I had the idea of recording some tracks,> as> new directions were coming into my head. By chance, I met Alain> Lemaître one evening in a restaurant and he told me that he had> started> a recording studio in his house... So we decided to give it a try.> Then> I called my old friend Jean-louis Aucremanne, with whom I had already> played some gigs in duets piano/sax. And that was it... We made the> first CD.> > > > 4. What music do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you???> > > > I listen to every kind of stuff, from garage rock to contemporary> avant-garde classical music, passing thru irish folk music, free jazz,> opera, heavy metal, hard bop, renaissance music, and whatever...> > > > 5. If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be???> > > > - Henry Cow: In Praise of learning> > - Miles Davis: Jack Johnson> > - Olivier Messiaen: Quattuor pour la fin des temps> > - Rock Bottom: Robert Wyatt> > - Maurice Ravel: pièces pour piano> > - Herbie Hancock: Crossings> > > > 6. Are you all full time musicians in Rational Diet or is music your second job ???> > > > Music is my second job. Today, it is impossible to earn a living with> that kind of music. Very few can. You cannot count anymore with record> sales as the download is now the rule.> > > > 7. What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Finnegans wake ???> > > > The next FW will be ready in the beginning of 2010 and will inaugurate> a new phase in the band history. We left the old writing formulas to> experimentate with other compositional structures and we'll see how> those things will grow...> > > > 8. If a new listener were> about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you> recommend as the best introduction to your music???> > > > Hard question as the projects I've done are quite different from each> other. I would say that if the person likes classical music, she could> start with the "Che Vuoi?" piano pieces CD or the double "Play La> Chance" chamber music project; if she likes prog rock, it would be> FW's> "Yellow" or "Green"; if she likes chamber rock, FW's "Pictures", "4th"> or "Blue", if she likes electronic music, Xeno's (one of my pseudos)> "Them", and if she likes more adventurous stuff, FW's new one that> will> be available on Fazzul record label, "The Bird and the Sky above".> > > > 9. At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?> > > > Everything is written. We tried some alternative writings, leaving> more space to the instrumentist, with the new project...> > > > > > 10. What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians?> > > > Divide his activities in as many different directions possible.> > > > 11. What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?> > > > The worst was when I had to play at a party, years ago, and this party> was really full of alcool. it lasted for hours before we could get on> stage and when that happened, I was so drunk that after blowing one> note in the saxophone, I knew that it wouldn't work that night. So got> off the stage and put the instrument back in his suitcase and went to> sleep on the spot.> > > > The funniest was when we played with Lost Exit in a kind of> agriculture> fair and the audience was composed by people that really didn't dig> any> jazz. So we were there playing and could see the faces of the people> in> the audience with giant interrogation marks above their heads. It was> funny and, above all, surrealistic!> > > >

Rational Diet.

2009-12-03T12:48:00.003-07:00

Jazznet Denmark : Where did the name Rational Diet come from and does it have a deeper meaning ???
Rational Diet : Talking about the name-"Rational Diet", we must confess: it means nothing. It was found by the band using the method of selection/assortment, looking in a dictionary and laughing in year 1998. No any mystic sense was included in it. We are indifferent to symbols and words.

Jazznet Denmark : How did the adventure of Rational Diet begin, how did you meet and decided to start you awesome band ???
Rational Diet : We was young(17-18 years students of local music college), we wanted to shock the province public using new music. We met in nonconformist cinema club "Air" leaded by one of the RD member. It was behind the "Iron Curtain" in pre-internet times. In that times in such a small city as our Brest(300.000 inhabitants) almost all peoples didn’t listen and didn’t wanted to listen to the complex progressive music. We could not "kept the silence" knowing RIO/minimalism/aleatoric/etc. We played at the cinemas and exhibitions, schools and museums but these concerts were not serious it was the shows a-la circus. After 1 year of the musical accompany the old movies and lectures of the street madman we reduced our social activity and focused on our music. So, in autumn of 1998 was ready our first "serious" piece –"From the grey notebook".

Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you???
Rational Diet : About music we listen to. Variously . Some of us don’t want to listen anything but academic music (as old as modern), some of us may tolerate or even love RIO or Canterbury scene. We try to be severe, and to prefer the silence rather than an empty music. There are an evident tendency : rock music (as progressive as not progressive) drops out from our TOP LIST gradually. Is it possible to find music we listen to in our compositions? Differently. For example Olga Podgaiskaja do like the works of Arvo Part and Palestrina. But: you may find Palestrina’s influences in her compositions and can not detect the Part’s elements.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be???
Rational Diet : 10 records for 8 person it’s too little ,but let’s try. (Messiaen "Turangalila", Stravinsky "Persephone", Henry Cow "Unrest", Univers Zero "Heresie", Arvo Part "Fratres " , Steve Reich "Different trains", Shostakovich "Quartet n.8" …. )

Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track on your releases. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)???
Rational Diet : About movement. We knew what we want to play 5 -10 years ago (variously for each member). But in early years of the band we could not realize it with the satisfying results. For example "ariel’s last dream" was written in 2002 but we made the satisfying record of this piece only in 2007. The skills, the techniques, human factor allows us to express themselves today more precisely than yesterday. We don’t change the directions in our creature. The movement of the form of our music is constant.
May be the secret is simple and common for any artist : your work can’t be the "product of a stingy heart" (as Isaac Babel said). It’s a great pleasure, but it’s not a game. It costs a lot for us. You must to "invest", to sublimate something into it generously. What can push into this process? Such an excitators as a movie you saw or a book you read doesn’t work good. It must be something from real life and it must "touch" you really (Byelorussian society and state is rich in the excitators). And of course you must know how to build this complex musical body(training and training) . You should be careful with erudition: you must have it, but it may as help you, as disturb.
Every RD’s piece has an author (one from 8tet) but also has co-authors (the rest of 8tet).

Jazznet Denmark : Are you all full time musicians in Rational Diet or is music your second job ???
Rational Diet : Rational Diet is our main creative "matter". A kind of the obsession. We spend the biggest part of our free time just for it. But officially RD it’s only a hobby , because all of us have to spend a lot of hours per day at their job only in order to survive( anyway in sphere of culture/education: as musician, teacher , soundman…).

Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Rational Diet ???
Rational Diet : Plans are simple . To work, to create , don’t stop, with no compromise . There are a lot of pieces in mind. We must realize it the best way, rejecting all the empty and alien elements. It doesn’t matter how many time it will costs us and will it be sold or not. Actual plans are: to finish new album. Some demos from it you may listen at myspace/rationaldiet. We work on it during the last 1,5 year. It’s recorded by 75%. We may let ourselves to "stretch" this work, because we do it in own studio(very unpretending, but own).

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music???
Rational Diet : We advise "At Work". Why? It’s a solid work. The are the minimum of the hollow places. It was the first our record satisfied us. RD actual sound (including the contribution of the new members) is demonstrated just on this record. It was recorded live-in-studio (the skeleton part ), so it preserves the energy and emotionality and transmits it the listener.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general???
Rational Diet : You see, Henrik. It’s often when we are accepted as avant-prog rockers. But it’s not truth. All our pieces(made since year 2000) are written for chamber ensemble(strings/reeds/ piano/guitar/ voice). We are in such situation because: our band is divided on two parts living in various cities: main (classic) one--in city Minsk and rock division (drums/bass) –in Brest. So…every new opus is created , rehearsed and performed initially as a piece for chamber 5tet. And only at the stage of recording (studio together with rock wing are in Brest)-- when our drummer compose the drum line-- such new piece acquires the features of something looking like rock. But it doesn’t change the essence of the music.
So, the question about the genre of our music is still open.
As for me, it’s not good symptom, if the results of creature(in music/literature/cinema/theatre..) are ideally fit the requirements of some genre. A creative person (if it’s not a job for money) should develop own style and not look back at the rules of some genre.

Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?
Rational Diet : We reduce the improvisation in our music as possible. We reserve a little space for intuitive music in a couple of pieces. But sometime we play whole concerts consisting of improvisation. Such gigs are the sound design for movie or exhibition…and we don’t treat it seriously.

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians?
Rational Diet : Don’t try to sell yourself. Nobody will buy you , but you’ll loose your time and may be yourself.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
Rational Diet : We may remind such a comedy… 5 years ago approx. we played a gig in Minsk. Suddenly our keyboards "died". The only way we found was to sing by a choir the score of piano and organ. It was in a luxury club. And in the eyes of decent public it was the insult, it was taboo. Shouting: "Unheard audacity!" they kicked us away. It was rather funny story, or may be sad…

Upsilon Acrux.

2009-10-25T08:53:00.007-07:00

Jazznet Denmark : How did the adventure of Upsilon Acrux begin, how did you meet and decided to start you awesome band ???
Upsilon Acrux : Well this was in the late 90's, we were all living in San Diego county and desperate to play some interesting music. We'd all been in some lame bands , by we I mean Cameron Presley and myself, we'd known each other since high school. We were really into MBV and Polvo and King Crimson and was just getting into Krautrock, we had nothing till we met Jesse then things started to work out. I've always believed that if you don't have a great drummer ..as a rock band w/ out a singer you are shit out of luck.

Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to and is there some kind of music that inspires you ???
Upsilon Acrux : Lately my favorite thing is Conlon Nancarrow and Aphex Twin, usually I have 2 performers that I'm obsessed w/ and make mix cds of along w/ a ton of other things for inspiration, like recorded conversation and korean murder movies and my dog for the last album along w/ the Meters and Xenakis mixed cds, and before that for Galapagos Momentum it was Beefheart and Van Halen + Japanese Horror films and pop art. But I always come back to the majors, Coltrane, Ornette, KC, Magma, This Heat, Fahey, Bailey etc...

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Upsilon Acrux : That's hard... off the top of my head in no particular order..
Henry Cow - Western Culture
King Crimson - Lark's Tongue in Aspic
John Coltrane - Interstellar Space.. really all of them
Ornette Coleman - Shape of Jazz
This Heat - Deceit
Faust - Munich and Elsewhere
Neu - Neu2
Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun
Conlon Nancarrow- Lost Works
Takemura - Scope

Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one) ???
Upsilon Acrux : I'd like to think that the longer we go the more refined our ideas will become, more singular and less like the stuff we've heard. I think like most people that do things that people think are out there, there's a humanistic theme an emotional center that people who aren't digging for will never see. A recent example would be Synecdoche, New York which a lot of people see as abstract or too clever or whatever, but I think it's just the most realistic look at the mindset of an artist and what artistic people go thru when creation is involved.

Our last album was influenced by a lot of different things but the long song in general was about my dog and most of it was written while walking him, it was just about me losing my best friend and how much i loved him... but people make it what they want to make it.
There's no secret, these songs are my life, and the other band members' life. There is always ambition behind what we're trying to accomplish but at the end of day it's our diary nothing more.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Upsilon Acrux - a live album perhaps ???
Upsilon Acrux : Funny you should say that, we're recording a live record and filming it as well, maybe we'll get a collection of old stuff and make it worth people's while. After that, who really knows.

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your music ???
Upsilon Acrux : I guess it depends on what they like.. but here's my general rule, if I say the name of our band and you look at me like "what?" you probably won't like it, if you're more like "really!" then the odds are good you'll find something good in there.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that and what are your opinions on that genre and genres in general ???
Upsilon Acrux : I understand the need for genres for people who need to be organized and it helps people and bands gather steam if they're in a genre that's popular. I used to think there was 2 kinds of music, good and bad and I was only interested in doing good. but now I try to see the good in all music like my man Coltrane who rarely had anything bad to say about anyone. I'm better than no one and we're all peers so I've thrown my stupid pedestal away. My aim is simple , say what's in my heart in a way you've not heard and along the way hopefully even if it's a second or 2, some unprecedented music, some music that's 100% me. We'll see if it ever happens.
If you ask me, I'd say more or less we're a rock band w/ some leanings towards some obscure music but most of our songs payoff like rock songs and we don't do a lot of improv and I believe the experimenting should be finished by the time you reach a stage except for the top 1% but that probably works w/ all art and artist.

Jazznet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years, both on the Cuneiform label and others. Is there some of them in particular, you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others ???
Upsilon Acrux : I guess as far as production goes, I would say the new one is by far the best. The recording on the first record is quite good as well. The second one I did myself so it's rat-ty w/ some sparks here and there. The 3rd people really like but 1/2 of it sounds really trebly and the other 1/2 was taken from sessions from the first album. The 4th should've been the one and I think it's real clean but could use some boost here and there. Galapagos could use more drums for sure and low end and probably some editing as well. As far as landmarks.. shit, maybe Volucris because it's such a weird mix, having an entire drumset on each side completely separate from each other, we might come back to that actually. I was proud of taking that stance.

Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before start ?
Upsilon Acrux : There are energy sections where there is freedom for noise etc.. but that's built into the song so it's planned but the sounds are not. On the new record though there is a drum solo and that goes as long as Chris wants it to go.

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians ?
Upsilon Acrux : Make money, play music that pays, this is a lonely path and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. And anyone who's wants to go down this path wouldn't be looking for advice from anyone.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience ?
Upsilon Acrux : I guess the worst would be playing for no one, or 5 people, that sucks and it's hard to build any kind of momentum though it has happened. The best.. I guess most the european tour has been the best, getting encores nearly every night, playing for an entire audience that has never seen us and getting their honest reaction. Touring w/ the Locust is my american highlight, they're amazing as a band and as people plus they bring in kids that want to fuck shit up and open minded people, that's among my favorite audiences to play to. Nothing like coming out playing a little guitar intro and then just total chaos.. giant pits.. to our music?? crazy.

Riza Arshad.

2009-10-21T02:07:00.003-06:00

Jazznet Denmark : How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by any teachers or are you self taught ???
Riza Arshad : I started my piano lesson (classical) at age of 6, but only took a year and stop for another 3 years. I begun to play again at age of 10 playing my own compositions. I started to enjoy writing song since. At age of 12 was my first encounter to jazz music. Then I learned it through 3 different tutors until I met one of the most influential jazz musicians in my country - Indra Lesmana.

Jazznet Denmark : Improvised and experimental music is these days a very different size to classify and put in any boxes, since the boundaries are very flowing. Where do you see it going in the future and what do you think is going to be the next big thing ???
Riza Arshad : the way I look at it is this kind of music is still gripped initially as part of intellectual form of arts, since the development of music is 'wildly' grown as so many talented musicians appear in the music industry where that makes people in general tend to not really pay attention to put whatever comes out to certain box of genre or style. As the music nowadays has forming like as deep as an ocean - that would be selected by nature which is coming up to the surface. Cross - culture form of music seems becoming the next influential thing if I may not tell it will becoming big.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Riza Arshad :
yes - relayer + tales from the topograhic oceans.
emerson lake and palmer trilogy
LedZeppelin 3 and 4
Miles Davis Bitches Brew
John Coltrane LOVE SUPREME
any early Keith Jarrett records
Weather Report Jaco era
Ornette Coleman/Pat Metheny Song X

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one(s) would you recommend as the best introduction to your music ???
Riza Arshad : Trance/Mission

Jazznet Denmark : How would you categorize your music ???
Riza Arshad : an etno cross jazz progressive

Jazznet Denmark : Are you inspired by some of the great masters of jazz like Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Keith Jarrett and John Coltrane or who do you see as your inspiration ???
Riza Arshad : yes, definitely. You can name anyone of those cats - i like them all :)

Jazznet Denmark : What are you doing right now and what are your future plans for your music ???
Riza Arshad : keep writing, rehearsing with my buddies in simakD and others I like as much as possible while keep on searching new aire in my music

Jazznet Denmark : Are there any of your releases you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others???
Riza Arshad : Demi Masa is one of my favorite, so does Trance/Mission

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians ???
Riza Arshad : keep their ears open, playinng and writing good music

Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience ???
Riza Arshad : 'the name simakDialog' is resembles to a local tv program for a certain period of time. So many of people back home who don't know the band would think our performance as a 'total tv program talks' with no music :)

Jazznet Denmark : The first time i listened to the music of SimakDialog i was completely blown away, as i never heard something like it before. Is that a reaction you often hear from new followers of your music ???
Riza Arshad : Uh - that's a compliment, thank you :)For good music listeners - yes..some don't like it - even they won't listen to it anymore :)

Djam Karet.

2009-10-07T05:23:00.015-06:00

Jazznet Denmark had in September 2009, the oppertunity to do a interview with the guitarist Gayle Ellett of the amazing progressive band Djam Karet. The result can be seen below.

Jazznet Denmark : What does the name Djam Karet mean and how did you come up with a name like that ???
Gayle Ellett : The name Djam Karet is an indoneasian phrase, and it means “the hour that stretches” or “eleastic time”. For us, it is a good name because we started out only playing totally improvised music, and each tune we played was usually 45 to 60 minutes long, but it would always appear to us like the tunes were only maybe 20 minutes long. Time goes by quickly when you are having fun! Chuck Oken, our drummer, found that phrase in a book by Harlan Ellison, that he was reading. Also, we do not play mainsteam music and we are not trying to appeal to a wide audience, so having a strange name that is hard to pronounce, has not been a problem for us.

Jazznet Denmark : How did the adventure of Djam Karet begin, how did you meet some 25 years ago and decided to start you awesome band???
Gayle Ellett : Chuck Oken (our drummer) and I went to the same college in Claremont, California, near Los Angeles. Mike Henderson (guitars) and Henry Osborne (bass) both lived in Claremont. Before we formed Djam Karet, many of us had played together before, in previous bands. We formed Djam Karet in order to play totally improvised music. For the first few years, all of our rehearsals and performances were totally improvised. That really taught us how to listen well, which is one of the most important skills you need in music. Over the years, we slowly added in more structure. And over the past 25 years, we have released 15 CDs and numerous EPs.

Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you???
Gayle Ellett : Like many people, I listen to a wide range of music and find inspiration in many styles. I very much love Swedish Death Metal, European ShoeGaze, Traditional World folk music, Fusion, Surf music, and other styles. So it is a hard question to answer.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be???
Gayle Ellett : I was a teenager in the 1970’s, so the music of that era is important to me. I really loved listening to, and learning from, albums such as The Allman Brothers “Live At Fillmore East”, Mahavishnu Orchestra “Visions Of The Emerald Beyond”, Yes “Close To The Edge”, Gentle Giant “The Power And The Glory”, Pink Floyd “Dark Side Of The Moon”, King Crimson “In The Court Of The Crimson King”, ZZ Top “Tres Hombres”, ELP “Brain Salad Surgery”, etc.

Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)???
Gayle Ellett : Our secret is that we are free to play whatever styles we want to, because we are not trying to be popular, or sell CDs. We just make the music we want to hear, and if some people want to buy it on CD, then we press up CDs. If enough sell, then we’ll have money to press up more CDs. But if no one ever bought our CDs, we would still make music and record in the studio, because we are trying very hard to make great recordings like the masters from the past. We don’t care about pleasing our fans. So when we release an Electronic CD like “Suspenion & Displacement” or “Collaborator” we know that many of our fans will not like it. But we don’t care about that. We are trying to make ourselves happy, not our fans or the public at large. So we are free to do what we want to. It is a great thing!

Jazznet Denmark : Are you all full time musicians or is Djam Karet your second job?
Gayle Ellett : I am a full time musician, I make music for TV shows and films, and currently I have my music airing on 14 different TV networks here in the States. The other guys have regular day jobs: one owns a CD store, one is retired, one is an art designer, and one works at a retail store. But all of us also play and record with other music groups as well.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Djam Karet???
Gayle Ellett : I am not sure what our future will hold for us. But we are recording in our studio right now, and so I am sure there will be a new CD soon, within a year I think.

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music???
Gayle Ellett : I would recommend the most current release, “Recollection Harvest”. We recorded it quite well, and I am very happy with how it turned out. It covers a lot of ground, and shows many of the different aspects of our sound.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general???
Gayle Ellett : We don’t clearly fall right in the middle of any genres. And that is common amoung “Art” bands. Unlike nearly all other groups who are making CDs to sell, we are trying to make recorded music as an art form, not a commercial product. If we wanted our CDs to sell, we would hire a singer, and play songs that are much shorter, and that fall right into a specific genre. So I don’t really know what genre we play in, but some people call it “Art Rock” which is more of a concept, then a “sound”. There are many “Art Rock” groups like Magma, Univers Zero, Steve Tibbetts, etc. So, I would say yes, we do use many elements of Progressive Rock and Experimental/Electronic/Soundtrack music in our group, but also Jazz, Surf, Metal, Folk and other elements as well. Basically, I don’t really know what style we play in, because we are so free to play and create whatever we want to. So I leave that up to others to decide.

Jazznet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years, both on the Cuneiform label and also self-released. Are there some of them that you see in particular as more important than others, or landmarks, in your production???
Gayle Ellett : People seem to really like “The Devouring”. It is seen by many as an important album. And when we released two CDs at the same time, in two totally different music styles: “Burning The Hard City” and “Suspention & Displacement” that showed people that we are interested in a wide range of styles. Also some of our CDs are totally improvised like “No Commercial Potential”. Those are the ones I would mention.

Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?
Gayle Ellett : On most of our CDs, the music is very planned out. We are trying to create a flowing and groovey and jam-based feel, but in an organized way. Each instrument is recorded one at a time and layered up into the final version you hear on the CD. So it is very organized. On the other hand, our first few years were spent playing totally improvised music, and many of the ideas that are on our CDs were originally found through recording our regular jam sessions that we still do, and the listening to find parts that we can later expand into tune ideas. And we also have two totally improvised releases “No Commercial Potential” and “Still No Commercial Potential”

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians?
Gayle Ellett : Work hard, work hard, work hard, work hard, and when you are done…work harder. Don’t wait for a record deal that is never going to come (and if it did, you wouldn’t be happy with the terms and conditions anyway) so instead form your own mini-label and record and release your own CDs. Buy ProTools or Digital Performer, and after you’ve made a few CDs, you’ll start to make good ones. If you spend a year just playing at performances, at the end of the year you won’t have much money or publicity or press exposure. But if you spent a year making a CD, then you have something that you can send out to magazines for review, and radio and TV shows for exposure. This is what we do, and it has worked out really well. We rarely play live, mostly we just record. Currently I play in five different bands, all in different styles, and I play a different instrument in each group. That really helps me learn and grow as a musician. And it is really fun too!

Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
Gayle Ellett : We do not perform very often. In fact the performances that we just did a few weeks ago were the first live shows by Djam Karet in 7 years! We just got back from headlining the Crescendo Festival in France. The audience really loved our music, and you could see people crying while we played, because they loved it so much. That was incredible. I’ve never had any bad experiences playing live, but I do have some stage-fright, so I don’t really like playing live anyway, I get VERY nervous. Our music is deliberately hard to play on purpose, so playing our music live is really hard for me. I’ve played live in other bands where an audience member would jump up on the stage and start playing an instrument that they brought with them to the gig, and we had to physically throw them off the stage. It wasn’t funny at the time, but it sounds rather funny now, looking back at it! In closing, I’d like to say many thanks for giving me the chance to talk about our music and for giving our group some exposure. We greatly appreciate it!

Gutbucket : A Modest proposal (Cuneiform Records Rune 281).

2009-10-04T01:51:00.004-06:00

Gutbucket er et progressivt punk rock outfit, der blev dannet tilbage i 1999 og det album som denne anmeldelse drejer sig om er deres fjerde og nyeste "A Modest proposal", udgivet i 2009. Gutbucket består af de 4 musikere Ty Citerman på guitarer, Adam D. Gold på trommer og vibrafon, Eric Rockwin på bas guitarer og diverse keyboards (blandt andet wurlitzer og hammond) samt Ken Thomson på diverse saxofoner (alt og baryton), klarinetter og keyboards. Gutbucket spiller med en frihed, nerve, energi og fanden i voldskhed der efterlader en helt forpustet og stakåndet. Sammenspillet mellem musikerne, på dette deres nyeste udgivelse er helt fantastisk og bemærkelsesværdig. Lyden er beskidt og rå i sit udtryk, med masser af detaljer i lydbilledet. De 10 numre som udgør denne cd, er optaget i 2008 og blev optaget på en uge i Terrarium Studios i Minneapolis. Jeg kan kun anbefale at man investerer i denne cd, der er af meget høj klasse og ikke lige umiddelbart ligner noget jeg har hørt før. Her er en af de udgivelser der vokser for hver gennemlytning og ikke slipper dig lige med det samme, men som med garanti vil finde sin vej til afspilleren gang på gang.

Elliott Sharp.

2009-09-30T00:45:00.003-06:00

Jazznet Denmark : How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by any teachers or are you self taught ???
Elliott Sharp : Possibly the beginning was as a baby being serenaded by my grandmother banging pots and pans to get me to eat. I began piano lessons at age 6 and quickly developed quite a bit of proficiency to the point that I played Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody Nr. 2 at at age 8 at Carnegie Recital Hall in a concert of my teacher's students. I liked the piano music but hated the strict practice routine on top of my schoolwork and soon after the recital developed asthma which quite nearly killed me. I've always attributed it to my piano regimen. After leaving hospital, I switched to clarinet which I studied in school until 1968 when I turned 17 and got my first electric guitar. I was self-taught on guitar starting with psychedelic rock and electric blues and immediatley expanding into sonic noise and improvisation. Later at Bard College, I studied jazz and ethnomusicology with Roswell Rudd and composition with Elie Yarden and Benjamin Boretz and began teaching myself saxophone and soon after, bass clarinet. While pursuing a Master's Degree in Buffalo, I had further studies with composers Lejaren Hiller and Morton Feldman and cultural critic Charles Keil.

Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to and is there some kind of music that inspires you ???
Elliott Sharp : I seem to only have time to listen to music these days in airplanes and trains. Lately, my playlist includes but is not limited to Skip James, Thelonious Monk, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, Morton Feldman: Coptic Light, Sonny Rollins: Way Out West, Charlemagne Palestine: Strummed Music, Robert Pete Williams. I find inspiration in singing to and with our 4-year old twins.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Elliott Sharp : Iannis Xenakis: Electroacoustic Music, Banda Polyphony, Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures, Karlheinz Stockhausen: Kontakte; Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues; Aka Pygmies; Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland; John Coltrane: Interstellar Space; Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz; Miles Davis: On the Corner; Art Ensemble of Chicago: Les Stances A Sophie. This is just a small sampling!!

Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track and from release to release. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one) ???
Elliott Sharp : I do have a core way of hearing and composing music in my inner ear but the outward manifestation varies greatly from project to project. This is partially because I have a wide range of interests and inspiration, not only music itself (and this aspect goes widely across "genres") but including math and sciences, literature, film, visual and conceptual arts. Most of my composing is done while walking between places or while lying awake in the middle of the night, looking out the window of a plane or train. I try to hear it all in my inner ear and then transcribe into notation or to an instrument when I have a chance in my studio. In addition, just the nature of making a living as a composer requires that I be flexible and be able to apply my approach to various forms. I do enjoy the craft of working in different zones and still have it sound with my identity - this in itself can be inspiring.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from you and your projects ???
Elliott Sharp : New releases on the way are the solo 8-string guitarbass "Octal: Book Two" on Cleanfeed; the new Carbon "Void Coordinates" on Intakt; and "Music For Spectropia", the soundtrack for this sci-fi film on Neos. For Spectropia I composed a huge amount of music for my 'Thirty-One Band with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Anthony Coleman, Duane Eubanks, Art Baron, Curtis Fowlkes, Steve Swell, David Hofstra, and Don McKenzie plus the Sirius String Quartet and singer Debbie Harry on one track. It ranges from a twisted sort of Duke Ellington-meets-Edgar Varese big band jazz to wildly distorted guitars and computer processing and grooves.

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music ???
Elliott Sharp : It's quite hard to say but if I was to point to something that is very close to my core, I would recommend Orchestra Carbon "SyndaKit", the "Velocity of Hue" solo acoustic guitar CD, or "String Quartets: 2002-2007."

Jazznet Denmark : I myself see your music as interessting, exciting and captivating listening. But i have to admit that i can easily imagine it having a kind of frightening and scary effect, because of its sometimes extreme character, on some people. Is that something you have heard before and what are your thoughts about it ???
Elliott Sharp : I've tried to stop thinking about it because it happens so much over the years. One gets typecast and that's dangerous, especially in the United States where listeners are quite cowardly and the press is even worse, controlled by the "music industry" and just trying to sell what's being promoted. Even if I'm doing a concert with my blues-band Terraplane or my solo acoustic guitar, both of which are quite accessible and "easy" in my opinion, the American press usually says something to the effect of "not for the faint of heart" and then frightens listeners away. I guarantee that if I somehow ended up on an established label with promotional money, they would stop calling my music difficult. Coming of age musically in the 1960's, Top 40 radio had lots of great and extreme rock that no one was scared of - it was part of our culture - and the spirit of experimentation was everywhere, from rock to jaz to the classical world. Things remain much more open in Europe where I'm accepted more or less as a composer, as a "jazz' musician, as an improviser, as a rocker.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the advantgarde/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that and what are your opinions on that genre and genres in general ???
Elliott Sharp : I don't like genre and its use to classify music and especially to classify a composer. That said, I do recognize how certain people and music definitely easily fit into such classifications. When I'm employed as a composer-for-hire or guitarist-for-hire to create music for commercials or film, sometimes I'm asked to fit into those realms and i enjoy doing it and trying to plug my creativity into that bandwidth. On my own, the music is part of my core beliefs and exists outside any set of frames - I suppose "avantgarde etc" is as good as any other name, but I actually prefer "other" or "adult contemporary."

Jazznet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years. Is there some of them in particular, you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others ???
Elliott Sharp : The more personal projects have always been the most important to me: the solo recordings, Carbon, Orchestra Carbon, the string quartets, and lately, the orchestral recordings.

Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before start ?
Elliott Sharp : It varies. Some concerts are absolutely meant to be completely improvised: a conversation between friends (though I like when improvisation has the sense of inevitablility of well-composed music - conversely, i like my composed music to have the unpredictability of an exciting improvisation.) Concerts of my through-composed music are completely constructed beforehand. My solo performances are usually a balance between composed core elements and structures and their improvised manifestation. I also very much like working algorithmically to create compositions that vary greatly from performance to performance but still retain their characteristic identity. There are a number of these but a few of the more well-known are SyndaKit, Quarks Swim Free, and the string quartets Hammer Anvil Stirrup and Seize Seas Seeth Seen. All of my records are well-planned in advance except for recordings of completely improvised music which are left quite open in their original creation but are then prepared for release quite critically.

Jazznet Denmark : Improvised music is these days a very different size to classify and put in any boxes, since the boundaries are very flowing. Where do you see it going in the future and what do you think is going to be the next big thing ???
Elliott Sharp : "Next big thing" implies taking over by the forces of marketing. While that would make a few people wealthy and possibly happy, it would most likely be to the detriment of most. People forget that "improvsation" is not a genre or a style of music but a musical approach that is found in most of the world's music. I had been involved in various flavors of improvised music for a number of years when I first moved to NYC in 1979 and met a number of musicians who were practitioners of "free music" or "free improvised music" and whom I found to be as rigid as any jazz snobs and who were determined to impose the "rules of free improvisation" on musical interaction. My reaction was to continue working with any and all truly open-minded players.

Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians ?
Elliott Sharp : Go on a vision quest until you find the music of your inner ear then figure out how to manifest it with power and joy. Do not be discouraged or allow bitterness to take hold. Do not worry about selling it but if you do, get a good price!

Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience ?
Elliott Sharp : Perhaps the funniest experience was performing with Carbon in 1983 at a punk squat in Munich. We were blasting away when one of my bandmates started pointing her finger in my face. After some minutes, I finally understood that she meant for me to turn around and I saw that there was a huge squad of police trying to shut the concert down. The worst was when i broke a string within the first minute of a set in front of 3000 people at a jazz festival in Holland in 1988. Changing that string seemed to take 30 minutes even though it was only about 45 seconds.

Jazznet Denmark : Where do you see your self Mr. Elliott Sharp in 5-10 years, still making music ???
Elliott Sharp : I've no choice but to continue doing what I do. I'm very interested in creating music-theater and opera at the moment and just presented my work Binibon at The Kitchen in NYC (about the murder of the Binibon cafe's night manager by Norman Mailer-protege Jack Henry Abbott in 1981) and am starting work on "Port Bou", an opera about the last day of Walter Benjamin's life in 1940, trapped at the border between France and Spain as he was trying to escape the Nazis. I've been thinking about this work for a number of years, hearing it inside, and now plan to get it out into the world. I also have a few more orchestra pieces to write in the next few years as well as an overdubbed multi-guitar composition.

Beppe Crovella.

2009-09-28T06:56:00.007-06:00

Jazznet : How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by any teachers or are you self taught ???
Beppe Crovella : I was born in haouse quite full of. My father (who died 6 years ago) was a violinist and my faher was and is a pianist,They weren’t professional player, but simply for the simple reason that they had their job together, but musically both had a deeply emotional way of playing And basically I feel that there’s been a certain consonance between us, an harmony that still alive between me and my brother.Both were half self taught, while I’ve beem completely self taught except when one day my brother told me which weere major and minor scales and relative chords and left hand bass.From then on, almost my whole life I’ve always followed a kind of internal rule that when i needed something technically, that was needed to espress my moods I would have studied it.I studied a lot, but even with the inevitables mistakes that appears in the path of a self taught student , i reached my tone, that hasnt’ been the result fo acertain school or academic approach but It has been more like a sculpture that I’ve modelled in my life and I’m still modelling, helped and guided by emotions.

Jazznet : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Beppe Crovella : Difficul, difficult question!. I have some thousandt of record but there are some special dozens that are the best, but I want to give you some special CDs, some that i could listen to everyday for months always getting fresh and (really) new emotions.

BEATLES - SGT. PEPPER’s
COLTRANE – LOVE SUPREME
STRAVINSLY – Le SACRED DU PRINTEMPS
VANILLA FUDGE - 1
GENTLE GIANT – ACQUIRING THE TASTE
BRIAN AUGER; J DRISCOLL & THE TRINITY – STREETNOISE
ROLLING STONES – AFTERMATH
YES – CLOSE O THE EDGE
BEACH BOYS – PET SOUNDS
MILES DAVIS – BITCHES BREW
but also SCHUMANN, SCHUMANN!
HANCOCK ELP’s TARKUS
COLOSSEUM VALENTNE’S SUITE
WEATHER REPORT
HEAVY WEATHER
MAHAWISHNU
BIRDS OF FIRE
CHICK COREA –PIANO IMPROVISATION VOL 1
J HENDRIX ELECTRIC LADYLAND
But also MONk, BACk, ZAPPA, BARTOK; PROCOL HARUM, YARDBIRDS; KING CRIMSON, THICK AS A BRICK, ... too many too many ... LED ZEPPELIN, KEITH JARRETT; BOOKER T. oh My God how many “Saints” I have to thank!!!

Jazznet : You have released numerous recordings over the years. Is there some of them in particular, you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others ???
Beppe Crovella : PIANOVAGANDO , the piano album, KINGS OF CLUBS, my HAMMOND ALBUM, TILT, FIRST LIVE IN JAPAN, BELZONI and 33 by arti & mestieri, WHAT’S RATTLIN ON THE MOON (that I’ve completed today, for MOON JUNE RECORDS, a portrait of the music of Mike Ratledge, and 2 albums I’m completing now, SOULFUL TRAFFIC and KEYBOARDS’ TILT, keyboard trio and vocals rendition of the classic TILT.and ....the exciting future.

Jazznet : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before start ???
Beppe Crovella : A good question, indeed, it depends, sometimes it’s fully improvised as with my trio, C3 and sometimes is well structured like with arti & mestieri or with my R & B band, but even when structured a lot of nuances and subtle and dense interpretation factors make it new and different.In other words sometimes it’s improvisonially perfprmed compositions and sometimes are compositionally improvised tunes.

Jazznet : What are you doing now, and what will be the next release from you and your projects???
Beppe Crovella : While doing the interviwe I’m listening in headphoes to my last CD “What’s rattlin’ì on the moon”, on eof the many listenings I’m doing before send it to USA for printing.In a few days I’ìll compelte the master of SOULFUL TRAFFIC and then I’ll add last keyboard and I’ll mix KEYBOARDS’ TILTIn a not distant hotizon there’s PIRAMIDI , the new arti & mestieri.

Jazznet : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one(s) would you recommend as the best introduction to your music ???
Beppe Crovella : The first tune that has come to my mind and I want to tell you this one, is “In ITALY” from ”33”

Jazznet : Do you have any plans of coming to Denmark to play some concerts in the future ???
Beppe Crovella : I haven’t any plan at the moment but in this moment I’m dreaming of playing there in Copenaghen in 2010.So we will verufy in a few months the success of this dreaming:

Jazznet : What music do you yourself listen to and is there some kind of music that inspires you ???
Beppe Crovella : I’ll tell you. I like to defini my self a Quiet Rebel, my personal definition of a Fres spirit, so, I don’t know what ‘ll be listening tomorrow, i could be Morricone, or Walter Crlos, Deep Purple or Kinks,Boulez or Terry Riley, the moment will suggest the music!

Jazznet : Where do you see yourself, Mr. Beppe Crovella in 5-10 years, still making music for the masses ???
Beppe Crovella : In my dream I see myself all over the world in these 5-10 years and also in the following ones, walkin an imaginary infinite path.

Jazznet : What’s your best advice for young aspiring Jazz musicians ???
Beppe Crovella : Don’t follow whar the other say, no matter how many they are , but listen to everything as each one of them was the most important person in the world and at the end: “FOLLOW YOUR HEART!”

Jazznet : Soon you have a new album out on Moonjune Records called "What's rattlin' on the moon ?" with your own personal versions of some of the music of Mike Ratledge and also some of your own compositions. How did that project come to life ???
Beppe Crovella : One night Leonardo Pavkoviv, of Moon June, had this idea and in 2 seconds I’ve made it mine, it was a happy inspiration he had.

Jazznet : You are a long time member of the great band Arti & Mestieri. Could you tell us a little about the history of the band and the excellent musicians you play with ???
Beppe Crovella : We started in 1974 with the idea of putting together our different experiences and different moods and different tastes,Normally bands comes from some tastes but with nu it was a bit different.Another poit was that we shouldn’t recall other bands or artists specifically.The result was then in our first Italian tour with PFM, in some reviews, journalits saw Miles Davis as reference, other saw Procol Harum.Out first stage was marvellous and we mas Tilt that became an acknowledge historical item without realizing that,I’ts difficult to concentratethe story in a few words, “33” is the most complete one, with a lof of sketches.I’ve just told some ideas that can make more clear our original intentions.One Word about our musicians, everyone that has played with arti & mestieri or is in the band has never been considered an added element to the band but a real “arti”, following a certain kind of evolution that every band has had in its life, so not a “aprring partner” but a full time main acotr like tha “older” member”.that’ arti & mestieri!

Vijay Iyer.

2009-09-15T06:19:00.009-06:00

Jazznet : How did your adventures with music begin. Did you have any training by any teachers or are you self taught ???
Vijay Iyer : I started on (European) classical violin lessons when I was three years old. I started playing piano by ear a few years later. I never had any explicit training on piano, but I spent a lot of time in formal musical situations - violin lessons, orchestra and string quartet rehearsals, and so forth. When I was a teenager I started playing in a rock band, and then I got into our school's jazz ensemble on piano and vibraphone. But I still had a lot to learn. I took some theory classes and checked out a lot of records from our local library. Things just built little by little from there. Later I learned a lot in professional situations, playing standards at jam sessions or with singers in clubs.

Jazznet : Improvised music is these days a very different size to classify and put in any boxes, since the boundaries are very flowing. Where do you see it going in the future and what do you think is going to be the next big thing ???
Vijay Iyer : It's difficult for me to think too much about trends in creative music, since it's such a rare thing on planet earth. But I'm interested in artists who move across boundaries in their collaborations at a high level. It's not just about claiming that you're influenced by some style; do you actually have credibility and respect in that community? This is what I strive for, and I'm inspired by others who do it better. People like Kariem Riggins, Jamire Williams, and Robert Glasper have high-level activity in jazz and in hip-hop; my colleagues Steve Lehman and Tyshawn Sorey move fluidly between creative jazz and modern classical composition; trumpeter Amir ElSaffar has become one of the great performers of Iraqi traditional vocal and santoor music, and has also played trumpet extensively with Cecil Taylor. One of my mentors and friends, trombonist and multidisciplinary artist George Lewis is not only a visionary composer and improviser and computer musician; he is also one of the most important academics in music scholarship today. That level of achievement creates new possibilities for hybridity and creative mobility.

Jazznet : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be ???
Vijay Iyer :
Andrew Hill, Smokestack
Prince, Purple Rain
Jimi Hendrix, Band of Gypsys
Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music
Duke Ellington, Money Jungle
Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Drums of India
Steve Coleman, Black Science
John Coltrane, Transition
Cecil Taylor, GardenM.I.A., Kala
Nina Simone, Anthology
Abida Perveen, The Incomparable Abida Perveen
Ramnad Krishnan, Vidwan
Alice Coltrane, Universal Consciousness
Sun Ra, St. Louis Blues / Solo Piano
Randy Weston, Blues to Africa
Art Ensemble of Chicago, Fanfare for the Warriors

Sorry, I couldn't stop at 5! The list could easily be ten times as long.

Jazznet : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one(s) would you recommend as the best introduction to your music ?
Vijay Iyer : It depends on that person's interests. I think that the new album Historicity is a good start since it's the closest thing to a jazz record I've ever done. There's a lot of pure joy in the ensemble playing. Alternatively, Reimagining and Tragicomic are well-received quartet albums that represent my compositional perspective well. And In What Language?, my first collaboration with poet Mike Ladd, is stylistically wide-ranging and brings a lot of aspects of my music together under one larger, compelling human narrative.

Jazznet : How would you categorize your music ?
Vijay Iyer : I hope it's categorized as good music. I like to think in terms of the best filmmakers. When Martin Scorsese makes historical dramas like Age of Innocence, or Gangs of New York, or biographical works like Kundun or The Aviator, it becomes obvious that he transcends genre. He's not just a guy who makes movies about gangsters. He is concerned with the drama of human action, and the art of storytelling. So are the best composers, the best improvisers, the best writers and artists. It's not often useful for me to think in terms of genre. Although I am most visible in the jazz world, I have friends and collaborators in all areas of music and I just do the best I can in any given situation.

Jazznet : Are you inspired by some of the great masters of jazz like Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Keith Jarrett and John Coltrane or who do you see as your inspiration ?
Vijay Iyer : Thelonious Monk is my biggest inspiration. Everything I do is in some way a reflection of his greatness. In the same pianistic "school" I'm influenced by Andrew Hill, Randy Weston, Geri Allen, Herbie Nichols, Ahmad Jamal, Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and McCoy Tyner. I am also deeply inspired by John Coltrane, who was one of the great visionaries in initiating contact with Indian music. And I would also name the AACM artists who have taught me so much, like Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Wadada Leo Smith, and Amina Claudine Myers, all of whom I've been fortunate to work with. Of course I am also inspired by a lot of music not directly associated with jazz: a lot of Indian classical music, African music, European classical music, and a wide range of rock, hip-hop, soul, and electronica.

Jazznet : What are you doing right now and what are your future plans for your music ?
Vijay Iyer : I have a lot of activity coming up in the next several months - a lot of work with my trio after the album release, and also a lot of collaborations, including a new joint project with Mike Ladd, more new music for Raw Materials and Fieldwork, and also some solo piano tours. Alongside this work I have some collaborations with filmmakers and choreographers in the years to come. I'm going to keep doing everything I can to learn and grow as an artist, to reflect the world around me, and to document the process as well as I am able.

Jazznet : You have contributed on many records. Are there some of them in particular, you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others?
Vijay Iyer : As for my sideman work, it's all been a great learning experience. I'm never totally satisfied with my playing but I hope that I grow stronger from each experience. The projects I've done with elders such as Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Amiri Baraka, and Steve Coleman were each challenging and exciting in their own ways, and all very important to me. I'm also glad I've been able to document my playing with my peers such as Rudresh, Rez Abbasi, Michael Dessen, Liberty Ellman, and Steve Lehman. And the production work in jazz, rock, hip-hop and electronica has expanded my understanding of what is possible with music.

Jazznet : What's your best advice for young aspiring Jazz musicians ?
Vijay Iyer : Challenge yourself: create music that's too hard to play, and then see what happens when you try. Learn the history of the music well, and seek out the knowledge of the elders. Don't strive for fame and fortune; strive for authenticity and uniqueness. Collaborate as much as you can with people outside of your area of music and outside of your "comfort zone." Remember to stay connected to the rest of the world.

Jazznet : On many of your releases you are working together with the magnificent saxplayer Rudresh Mahanthappa. Could you tell us about how you two got to know each other and how/why you started working together ???
Vijay Iyer : We were introduced in 1995 by Steve Coleman, who was at the time both my employer and (briefly) Rudresh's teacher. At the time there were no other American jazz artists of Indian descent, because our community's overall population was (and is) still growing. We found that we were both asking similar questions as artists - basically, who are we and what is our relationship to music, to history, to our heritage? - so it felt like a good idea to collaborate. Our work together has tried to answer some of those questions. It so happened that we were compatible musically and as people, too - that was a bonus!

Jazznet : On your records you play in the trio, duo, quartet etc format. Which one is your favourite ???
Vijay Iyer : Of these formats perhaps the quartet has the most variety in texture and orchestration, so it's very satisfying to compose for, and I'm very proud of the compositional statement that is set forth in my quartet. But I love the other formats for other reasons. I've really enjoyed playing with my trio over the last year, because it's at a point where it feels very natural now. We have a deep rapport that's developed over many years, and we keep surprising each other. It's very intuitive and fluid, and very grounded. I also like playing duo with Rudresh, for the same reasons, but I have to work harder in that configuration - there are only two of us!

Jazznet : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before start ?
Vijay Iyer : I am a composer, but of course I compose for improvisers. So, as in a sport like basketball, the basic rules and roles are well established beforehand, but the details of what happens when are unpredictable and dependent on the real-time decisions of all the players.

Jazznet : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience ?
Vijay Iyer : One time in May 2007, Rudresh and I had a very difficult day of travel to arrive at a festival in Coutances, on the northwest corner of France. We were supposed to play two 30-minute sets inside a temporary structure erected in the beautiful town square. But not long after we started our first set, some extremely loud wedding bells started ringing from the town's very large, very old cathedral, just a hundred meters away. After all, it was a saturday afternoon in May, a fine time to get married! Since it was a semi-outdoor venue, the ringing churchbells completely obliterated the duo's sound. We decided to stop our first set early and try again an hour later. And then, during our second set, the same exact thing happened, for someone else's wedding!!!

Jazznet : Where do you see your self Mr. Vijay Iyer in 5-10 years, still making music ???
Vijay Iyer : I certainly hope so. As long as I am here and there's a place for music on the planet, I intend to keep doing this. I may choose to explore other kinds of work in my life as well - in particular, perhaps, a return to research in music perception and cognition. But the creation and performance of music for a wide range of contexts is what sustains me as a person and keeps me connected to the world.

Copernicus.

2009-09-08T01:13:00.029-06:00

Photos by Fernando Natalici.

Jazznet Denmark, had the oppertunity to do an interview with the amazing poet/artist/writer/performer COPERNICUS in the beginning of september 2009.

Jazznet Denmark : How did you get in contact with the 13 musicians who contributes on your newest release "Dissapperance" and was it hard to find someone who would fit into your thoughts and visions ???
Copernicus : For "disappearance," Pierce Turner and I decided to record after being inspired to record by Leonardo Pavkovic. Pierce maintains relationships with musicians that he knows and he took charge of organizing the musicians. Matty Fillou, Cesar Argagundi, and Marvin Wright were brought in by me though the entire credit for choosing, organizing and directing the musicians belongs to Pierce Turner. Thomas Hamlin, Fred Parcells, Larry Kirwan, and Mike Fazio are all long time Copernicus musicians.

Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to and is there some kind of music that inspires you ???
Copernicus : I have a pretty good record collection, but rarely sit back and listen to music. I am ignorant about music. I think ideas and do vocals. My ignorance about music makes me highly qualified to mix Copernicus music so that it turns out to be original. Dedicated listening to the music of other artists can only lead to becoming like them. For originality, ignorance is a strength. I could not copy another musician even if I wanted to. Pierce Turner once asked me that wasn’t I afraid to walk down the street and hear a bird singing? The danger would be that I might go and copy the bird’s song. I answered that it was dangerous to listen to a bird singing and I did not want to copy a bird’s music and since then, I have ear plugs in my ears when I walk down the street.

Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you, your lyrics and music, what would they be ???
Copernicus : I would say that the only interesting records that I have ever heard are the 12 albums of Copernicus. People compare Copernicus to artists that I have never heard. Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart. I never listened to these people and probably never will.

Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track on your releases. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one) ???
Copernicus : I do not create the music. The musicians create the music. I mix the music after it is recorded and I pick the pieces to be mixed. In one recording session, we might record 45 pieces of music one after another. In this last session, we recorded 24 pieces of music in 4 hours. I picked 7 pieces for the album. (Honestly, I believe that there is another great album lurking in the recordings of the last recording session on November 2, 2009 at Water Music and I am going to make an effort to find that album.) The only secret is to see between the rough lines of what has been recorded the potentiality of a great piece.

Jazznet Denmark : Before you went in the studio to record "Dissapperance" did you have any ideas, of what you would like the music who accompanies your lyrics to sound like or was it completely improvised and out of your hands ???
Copernicus : I do not think of music before a recording session. I think about philosophical themes. I do not believe that even the musicians think about the music beforehand. Everything just springs up at the moment. Remember, improvisation is not an easy art form. First, you have to have faith in the process. The more experience you have can possibly help you, but experience is not a guarantee just a possible aid. We will spontaneously ask a musician to begin the piece and he or she will start something and then the musicians and I, the vocalist, will attach ourselves to that foundation. Noone is in control. Everybody is free. Just pure chaotic beauty and fun. I would not do it any other way.

Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from you and your projects ???
Copernicus : We will re-release Nothing Exists and Victim of the Sky, the first two Copernicus albums now only on LP, in January, 2010. Somewhere along the line as soon as possible, I will either release another new cd from the last recording session or from a previous recording session with some Harlem musicians that I had not respected properly in the past.

Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording with your music. Which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music ???
Copernicus : Copernicus should be experienced only in the order of the creation of each album with the awareness that there is an evolution going on in the artist and to experience that evolution you should only listen to the records in the order that they were created. Namely the records should be experienced in the following order:

Nothing Exists (1985)
Victim of the Sky (1986)
Deeper (1989)
Null (1990)
No Borderline (1993)
Immediate Eternity (2001)
La Eternidad Inmediata (2001)
Immediate Eternity II (2005)
La Eternidad Inmediata II (2005)
Die Sofortige Ewigkeit II (2005)
L'Éternité Immédiate II (2005)
disappearance (2009)

In addition, after listening to No Borderline, they should read Copernicus’ book, Immediate Eternity, published in 2001. It can also be read in Spanish.
By listening to the records out of chronological order, a listener can get confused and do not experience the actual evolution of the artist in his philosophical ideas and artistic skill. The list of recordings above represents 24 years of struggle and sacrifice and really every youth should totally understand the process and struggle to which Copernicus has put himself.

Jazznet Denmark : I myself see your music as interessting, exciting and captivating listening. But i have to admit that i can easily imagine it having a kind of frightening and scary effect on some people. Is that something you have heard before and what are your thoughts about it ???
Copernicus : I just did an interview at a college radio station and the interviewer asked the same question. If a person is living in a world of false illusion with no knowledge or caring for the reality of the subatomic, that person is living in a distorted dream bubble and the revolutionary statements of Copernicus will frighten this person and should frighten this person. Facing the reality of the subatomic as it destroys the Disneyland of the world of the bare human senses is traumatic. A person can face the reality of the subatomic or he or she can turn on the television set and not face it. To be or not to be. That is the question. What is the true definition of a man and of a woman? Does a person’s self respect mean that he or she will not face or at least try to understand a reality that is put before them that may have importance? Does a person just turn his or her back, giggle, and snort? Consciousness of the subatomic is a reality that humanity has to face or remain living according to the perceptions of the bare senses. Defining reality with the bare senses is what humanity has done since coming down from the trees and it is wrong. If you care about reality, you must acquire the proper tools to understand reality and be strong in your convictions. The subatomic is a real place and must be part of the human consciousness.

Jazznet Denmark : I have read somewhere that you are a former Roman catholic and now a free thinker with no religion. Why did you leave the catholic world ??? Are you now a non-believer ???
Copernicus : I have a notebook in which I wrote when I was 17 years old about my love for Jesus. I also have another notebook when I was 21 in which I wrote about my doubts about Jesus. From the nuns in elementary school to the monks in secondary school and then to the atheists in the University, the teachers dominated my thinking at every turn. And then I was free of them all and traveled the world to find my own interpretation of what was real. Being free of teachers, I became my own teacher with no trust in any teacher. I trusted myself and still trust only myself today.
At the age of 36, and after an excruciating 15 year search of the planet (documented in the piece, Let Me Rest in Nothing Exists), I discovered the atom, applied it to my philosophy and came out with the idea that nothing exists including myself, an idea that I have not heard anyone else talk about in the entire history of humanity. Today, for me, the Catholic Church is and has always been a criminal mafia exploiting the ignorance of humanity for its own material wealth. I left that world because I was searching for Truth not crime and exploitation of the illiterate.

Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the advantgarde part of the music world. Do you agree with that and what are your opinions on that genre and genres in general ???
Copernicus : Major record companies have dominated the output of artists for such a long time and have used music to just make money. Music was to make money not to tell the Truth as the artist sees the Truth. These companies could have taken some of their profits and cultivated new music, but they did not. Now the public has rejected the junk that they have created junk that reaches to the lowest level of human intelligence. True art challenges you and makes you reach and gives you what you cannot find anywhere else. Copernicus is not avant garde. Avant garde is just a term of prejudice to keep people away. Copernicus is just a normal human saying stuff that matters to people and other animals with normal musicians making sounds.

Jazznet Denmark : When you write the lyrics to a new project, how is the process ??? do you go away to a deserted place all alone and write or something like that ???
Copernicus : Writing is only a process of discipline. If you are going to write, you should write every day at a given hour in a given place with no distractions. With discipline, every writing project will do well. It took me 3 years to write Immediate Eternity. Most of the writing was done at my computer in New York, but 20% of the writing was done on my mountain in Ecuador. Most of the lyrics of the albums have come from the top of my head spontaneously with a few exceptions.

Jazznet Denmark : You have released numerous recordings over the years. Is there some of them in particular, you see as more important or landmarks in your production than others ???
Copernicus : I really like Nothing Exists but like a good father, I love all of my children equally and think that they all have equal importance in their own time frame.

Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before start ?
Copernicus : Originally, both lyrics and music were all created on stage, but when we were faced with our tour of Europe, we began to rehearse. Today, my concerts have a great deal more planning, though improvisation is always an important factor in everything that Copernicus does.

Jazznet Denmark : Your release "Immidiate eternity" has been released in 4 different versions, one in english, one in german, one in french and one in spanish. Besides that it was released as a 200 page book in two languages, german and english. Could you tell us a little about that massive project, how it got made and why the many versions ???
Copernicus : Immediate Eternity- The sixth Copernicus album. Released 2001. Recorded in Ecuador with Ecuadorian musicians. We now see a more secure optimistic Copernicus still caring for humanity but finding fault with human lack of respect for the atomic view of reality and finding fault in humanity's damaging of the environment. Copernicus has now grown deeper in his attack on the concept of identity and, prophetically and frighteningly, paints a planet where human ignorance turns humanity, itself, back into atoms. Inspiration for this recording session came from the manuscript of Immediate Eternity, published in English and Spanish also in 2001.

La eternidad inmediata- The seventh Copernicus album. Released 2001. This is Immediate Eternity above translated into Spanish with the vocal recorded over the same music as Immediate Eternity.

Immediate Eternity II- The eighth Copernicus album. Released 2005. With the release of la eternidad inmediata in Ecuador, Copernicus and the musicians of the album proceeded to perform 25 concerts all over Ecuador with a concert that was very faithful to the original album. The concerts were always done in Spanish. With recording costs very low in Ecuador,
Copernicus decided to re-record the original Immediate Eternity after the 25 concerts. He recorded the album in Spanish because he had never performed the concert in English and to this day would have to prepare to perform this concert in English and then he redid the vocal in English and called the album, Immediate Eternity II, since the lyrics and music were very similar to the original.

La eternidad inmediata II- the ninth Copernicus album. Released 2005. With the release of la eternidad inmediata in Ecuador, Copernicus and the musicians of the album proceeded to perform 25 concerts all over Ecuador with a concert that was very faithful to the original album. The concerts were always done in Spanish. With recording costs very low in Ecuador, Copernicus decided to re-record the original la eternidad inmediata after the 25 concerts and called the album la eternidad inmediata II.

L'eternite immediate II- This is the tenth Copernicus album. Released 2005. With the release of la eternidad inmediata in Ecuador, Copernicus and the musicians of the album proceeded to perform 25 concerts all over Ecuador with a concert that was very faithful to the original album. The concerts were always done in Spanish. With recording costs very low in Ecuador, Copernicus decided to re-record the original la eternidad inmediata after the 25 concerts in Spanish. He then had the lyrics translated to French in Guayaquil and re-did the vocal in French over the music of la eternidad inmediata II and called the album, l'eternite immediate II.

Die Sofortige Ewigkeit II- This is the eleventh Copernicus album. Released 2005.
With the release of la eternidad inmediata in Ecuador, Copernicus and the musicians of the album proceeded to perform 25 concerts all over Ecuador with a concert that was very faithful to the original album. The concerts were always done in Spanish. With recording costs very low in Ecuador, Copernicus decided to re-record the original la eternidad inmediata after the 25 concerts in Spanish. He then had the lyrics translated to German in Guayaquil and re-did the vocal in German over the music of la eternidad inmediata II and called the album, Die Sofortige Ewigkeit II.

The book, Immediate Eternity- published in 2001 in New York. This book takes up the space of Copernicus time from 1993 to 2001 though in 1998, there was a major recording session in New York with Harlem musicians. This album was never released but will be released in the near future. The book inspired six Copernicus albums and helped advance his thinking to a place where spontaneous performance could not go. Immediate Eternity is the next intellectual step after 1993's NO BORDERLINE CD.

The book, la eternidad inmediata- This is the book, Immediate Eternity, translated faithfully into Spanish under Copernicus' supervision and published in Ecuador and the United States in 2001.

Copernicus : Disappearance (Nevermore/MoonJune Records).
Lad mig starte med at sige at denne cd er en af de udgivelser, der ikke sætter sig fast i ens bevisthed lige med det samme. Den kræver gentagne gennemlytninger for rigtig at bide sig fast. Jeg har lyttet til denne cd adskillelige gange og den har ikke helt fået 100% fat endnu, men den er helt sikkert på vej. Copernicus – eller Joseph Smalkovitz som han rigtig hedder – er manden bag teksterne som holder til i den mørke og dystre afdeling af registeret, tekster som til tider virker lidt mystiske, sære og ikke lige til at gennemskue. Numrene varierer i længde fra omkring 6 til 21 minutter, med titler som "Atomic New Orleans", "Poor homo sapiens", "Humanity created the illusion of itself" og "Revolution!!". Copernicus tager sig af vokal og keyboards og bliver bakket op af et erfarent hold af musikere fra den eksperimenterende scene i New York, hvor af mange af dem har spillet sammen med Copernicus i flere år. Instrumenterne der bliver spillet på er blandt meget andet guitar, trombone, violin, tuba, trommer, piano, keyboards, saxofoner, bas og percussions. Copernicus’ vokal er i nogen få passager stille, rolig, næsten afdæmpet men i de fleste tilfælde er den aggressiv, brutal og nærmest klaustrofobisk. Musikken der akkompanerer Copernicus særegne vokal, er fuldstændig improviseret. Da musikerne mødte op i studiet var der ingen nodeark eller retningslinier af nogen art. De vidste ikke hvordan musikken ville ende med at blive, det i sig selv gør denne udgivelse for en interessant en af slagsen for denne anmelder. Musikken indeholder inspiration fra flere forskellige musik genrer, der iblandt klassisk, jazz og advandtgarde musik. Denne cd er tusindvis af kilometer, fra al den ligegyldige metervare musik der findes derude og ligner ikke ret meget af det jeg har hørt før. Så tag chancen og invester dine penge i Copernicus, måske fanger det dig, måske gør det ikke. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

More reviews coming soon.....

Henry Cow : Box 1 - The Road volumes 1-5, Box 2 - The Road volumes 6-10 & Box 3 - The Studio volumes 1-5 (ReR Megacorp).

2009-09-01T02:14:00.022-06:00

Henry Cow var et engelsk progressivt rock band der blev dannet på Cambridge University, England tilbage i 1968. De var aktive i små 10 år, fra 1968 til 1978 og udgav i denne periode 5 studie albums og spillede en masse koncerter rundt omkring i verden. Gruppen blev dannet af multiinstrumentalisten Fred Frith, der mestrede en lang række forskellige instrumenter, blandt andet guitar og violin og Tim Hodkinson som spillede på diverse blæseinstrumenter og keyboards. Henry Cow havde gennem årene skiftende besætning, dog med flere vigtige musikere der udgjorde grundstammen i bandet, der i blandt trommeslageren Cris Cutler og bassunisten Lindsay Cooper, der spillede side om side med Frith og Hodkinson.

Mange har gennem tiden regnet med at Henry Cow var opkaldt efter den amerikanske komponist Henry Cowell, men dette er kategorisk altid blevet benægtet af bandets medlemmer. Ifølge Hodkinson var navnet Henry Cow "in the air" tilbage i 1968, og det blev valgt uden forbindelse til noget. Henry Cow har altid været svær at klassifisere da de altid har været meget eksperimenterende, med mange forskellige stilarter blandet ind imellem hinanden der iblandt jazz, rock, klassisk musik og advandtgarde med masser af frie improvisationer ind over.

Nu er musikken så blevet genudgivet, i anledningen af gruppens 40 års jubilæum og resultatet er tre massive bokse med alt det Henry Cow man kan forlange. 14 cd'er plus en dvd burde være nok til at tilfredsstille selv den mest hungrende Henry Cow fanatiker. Inden jeg kom i besiddelse af disse tre bokse kendte jeg kun sporadisk til Henry Cow, idet jeg havde hørt nogen af deres udgivelser igennem årene men aldrig havde gået helt i dybden med deres musik, men det skulle ændre sig.

Den sidste boks i rækken (Box 3) indeholder de 5 studie albums "Leg end", "Unrest", "Desperate straights", "In praise of learning" og "Western culture", alle i nye remasterede udgaver med fremragende lydkvalitet. Det var den boks jeg valgte at starte med, da jeg tænkte at det nok var en god ide at høre hvad de formåede i studiet inden jeg kastede mig over live optagelserne. De 5 studie albums er spændende og interessant lytning, der virkelig kræver at du som lytter koncentrerer og fokuserer 100% på det du hører. Det her er absolut ikke baggrundsmusik, man sætter på mens man kører en tur med støvsugeren. De 5 cd'er er fyldt med eksperimenterende sammenspil og skæve kompositioner en massé, der virkelig er "out there" sagt på den mest positive måde. Efter en uges tid med musikken fra de 5 studie albums (jeg havde besluttet mig til at tage en Henry Cow cd, om dagen for ligesom at kunne konsumere det hele) var tiden inde til at give mig i kast med de to live bokse.

Den første boks (Box 1) indeholder 5 cd'er med live optagelser fra perioden 1968 til omkring 1975, optaget flere forskellige steder i verden blandt andet Hamburg, Trondheim og nogen BBC sessions. Den anden boks (Box 2) indeholder optagelser fra blandt andet Stockholm, Göteborg og Bremen samt en fantastisk live dvd med den eneste oficelle og profesionelle koncertoptagelse med bandet. Alt materialet i de to bokse har aldrig været udgivet før, hvilket gør disse udgivelser interessante både for nybegynderen til Henry Cow og den garvede lytter. I begge live boksene er der sindsygt informative og bjergtagende læsning i form af to 60 siders bøger med informationer om optagelserne, kommentarer fra de medvirkende, diskografier og meget meget mere.

De to live bokse indeholder materiale, der er MEGET forskelligt fra studie optagelserne. Det er til tider svært at høre at det er nogen af de samme numre, der findes i live boksene og studie boksen. Forskelligheden er enorm, mens der på studie optagelserne spilles efter planlagte termer (til dels), kaster de sig på numrene fra live boksene sig i ud i den ene vilde (ukontrollerede) eksperimentelle skæve improvisation efter den anden.

Disse 3 bokssæt med deres 14 cd'er og 1 dvd, kan ikke anbefales nok. Det er en massiv udgivelse og et helt fantastisk arbejde der lægger bag. Man er ikke et øjeblik i tvivl om at, meningen med disse bokse er at samle det ypperste i denne fantastiske gruppes hisorie. Efter min mening lykkedes denne vision til fulde. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Another Timbre.

2009-08-31T01:56:00.001-06:00

Another Timbre er et nyt cd selskab der udsendte deres første stak cd'er i efteråret 2007, med et mål at tilbyde lytteren det bedste indenfor improvisation og avantgarde klassisk musik og de mange hybrider og cross overs mellem disse to. Selskabet blev startet af en fan gennem længere tid, af ny og spændende musik Simon Reynell som har arbejdet med tv i 25 år som producer, de sidste 12 år har han mest beskæftiget sig med lydoptagelser til dokumentar film. Hans beslutning med at starte sit eget selskab, blev taget både ud fra et professionelt og personligt grundlag. Han var ikke længere tilfreds med sit arbejde indenfor tv branchen og savnede en ny kreativ udfordring at give sig i kast med. Da han så arvede en større sum penge fra en tante, var beslutningen om at starte Another Timbre ikke svær at træffe. Omkring dette tidspunkt Reynell deltog i Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival i 2006. Han kontaktede efter en af koncerterne John Butcher og spurgte om der var nogen planer om at udgive musikken han lige havde været vidne til, da Butcher svarede nej så Reynell sin chance - og selskabets første udgivelse var en realitet. Selskabet intention er at udgive fantastiske og uventede samarbejder mellem mange af de ledende figurer indenfor avantgarde musikken, for eksempel John Butcher, John Tilbury, Evan Parker, Axel Dorner, Phil Minton og Thomas Lehn. Udover disse allerede etablerede kunstnere lægges der også vægt på de ikke så veletablerede navne på den nye musik scene i europa og resten af verden, bland andet de franske pianister Sophie Agnel og Frederic Blondy, den engelske violinist Angharad Davies, den københavn baserede inside-pianist Tisha Mukarji, den libanesiske klarinetist Bechir Saade og Samantha Rebello, en ung fløjtenist fra London hvis musik aldrig har været udgivet før. Another Timbre's mål er at matche improvisatører af forskellige stilarter og generationer og de fleste af deres udgivelser vil være kombinationer af musikere der aldrig har optaget sammen før. På denne måde håber selskabet at kunne holde lytteren på tæerne, og forhåbentlig overraske hver gang med deres udgivelser. Optagelserne vil være af meget høj kvalitet og forsøge at stimulere interessen for en af de mest spændende og livlige, men mindst kendte sider af den moderne musik.

Special offer til Jazznet Denmark's læsere :Hvis du som læser af Jazznet Denmark skulle få lyst til at erhverve dig nogen af selskabets udgivelser, har Simon Reynell fra Another Timbre lavet dette tilbud :Alle Jazznet Denmark læsere som bestiller direkte gennem Another Timbre's hjemmeside, vil få et afslag på prisen på 2 pund på hver cd. Hvis du mailer Simon Reynell på følgende email adresse info@anothertimbre.com og inkluderer koden "imara2" i mailen, vil du kunne købe udgivelserne for 6 pund stykket plus porto istedet for 8 pund stykket plus porto. Jazznet Denmark anbefaler at benytte sig af dette fordelagtige tilbud.

Anmeldelser.

John Butcher - Xavier Charles - Axel Dörner : Tempestuous (Another Timbre at01).
Titlen på denne improvisation, som er optaget på Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival i 2006, refererer til vejrets ramlen og skramlen på vinduer på den kirke hvor koncerten fandt sted. De medvirkende var John Bucher på tenor- og sorpansaxofoner, Xavier Charles på klarinet og Axel Dorner på trompet. De medvirkende musikere er seriøst innovativt tænkende og visionære, musikere der ikke er bange for at tage chancer, eller begive sig ud af de kringlede og snørklede veje der hører improvisationsmusikken til - resultatet er en yderst spændende og interessant lytte oplevelse, der vil holde din opmærksomhed fanget på denne trios utrolige sammenspil og interaktion. De implicerede musikere følger hinandens afstikkere ud i musikken, der er intet der lyder som om det ikke var meningen det skulle lyde sådan - alt er uhyre nøje overvejet og gennemført. Denne udgivelse er virkelig noget ud over det sædvanlige, sjældent har jeg hørt noget så spændende, anderledes og nytænkende som det er tilfældet med de 7 numre med en total spilletid på omkring 51 minutter.

Sophie Agnel/Phil Minton : Tasting (Another Timbre at02).Seks mageløse improvisationer for piano og stemme, fremført af Sophie Agnel og den fantastiske stemme artist Phil Minton. Minton grynter, gisper, skriger, gurgler, hvisker og growler så det er en ren fryd og bliver perfekt komplementeret af Agnel's præcise og delikate anslag på pianoet som den perfekte kontrast til de til tider vilde udbrud. Komplekse og kringlede kompositioner er hvad disse to spændende kunstnere bevæger sig igennem, med imponerende resultater. Det er altid med en hvis spænding jeg lægger en ny cd med Minton's tilstedeværelse i afspilleren, for hvor langt ud kommer han denne gang. Han er i sandhed en af de største improvisatører der findes idag, og at another timbre har fået fat i ham til en af sine udgivelser må i den grad siges at være et scoop af de helt store. sammen med de andre udgivelser på another timbre formår denne cd at holde lytteren fanget og gættende. En yderst fascinerende og interessant udgivelse som fanger en fuldstændig, med sin perfekte sammenblanding af det rå og det smukke. De seks numre uden titel er optaget i Poitiers i juni måned 2006.

Rhodri Davies/Matt Davis/Samantha Rebello/Bechir Saade : Hum (Another Timbre at04).
Denne kvartet består af Rhodri Davies på harpe og diverse objekter, Matt Davis på trompet og elektronik, Samantha Rebello på fløjte og Bechir Saade på basklarinet og improvisationen "Hum" er optaget i London's Red Rose i juni 2007. Cd'en består af fem numre som er et krævende angreb på dine sanser og de termer du har vurderet musik udfra indtil nu. Alle de medvirkende gør sit til at denne improvisation fremstår, som et gennemført stykke musik og derfor er det også svært at fremhæve nogen af de medvirkende frem for de andre. Dog skal nævnes Matt Davis og hans overlegne evne til at få de elektroniske lydcollager og diverse lyde til at indgå som en bærende del af musikken, man fristes næsten til at sige som et instrument. Intensisteten, nærheden og interaktionen på denne cd er uovertruffen og noget af det mest interessante jeg har lagt mit trænede jazzøre til i lang tid. Her er et unikt og sublimt ensemble, der fortjener den bedste anbefaling på grund af de kreative og kunstnerisk overlegne musikere, der supplerer hinanden helt fantastisk i samspil og modspil.

Angharad Davies/Tisha Mukarji : Endspace (Another Timbre at05).Smukt violin spil blandet med delikate berøringer af pianoets krop og strenge, kunne være overskriften der introducerede denne udgivelse for lytteren. Andharad Davies er ved at etablere sig som en af de fineste instrumentalister på scenen i London og er en meget efterspurgt improvisatør. Hun har tidligere udgivet cd'er på blandt andet Absinth, Creative Sources og Emanem records. Den i danmark herboende, nærmere bestemt i københavn, Tisha Mukarji arbejder på denne udgivelse kun inde i sit Hornung piano fra det 19. århundrede. Denne fine duo som her er fanget første gang på cd blev optaget på Goldsmith's college i London 2007. De 5 numre som udgør denne udgivelse er en smuk blanding af forsigtighed og afdæmpethed. De to musikeres intense spil på hver deres respektive instrumenter, gør denne cd til en oplevelse udover det sædvanlige. Der er en god variation i numrene, med fornem kreativitet og der vil afsløres nye lag for hver gang du lytter til denne cd. Som det er tilfældet med de andre udgivelser fra Another Timbre, er det her musik der kræver din fulde opmærksomhed.

Max Eastley/Graham Halliwell/Evan Parker/Mark Wastell : A Life saved by a spider and two doves (Another Timbre at06).
Denne cd indeholder tre længere improvisationer med en uventet sammensætning af innovative musikere, Evan Parker på sopran saxofon, Max Eastley på sit hjemmebyggede instrument - arc, Graham Halliwell på elektronik og Mark Wastell på metal percussions og indisk harmonium. En yderst spændende krydsning af forskellige generationer og forskellige måder at spille musik på. Optagelserne blev foretaget i en kirke i det nordlige London i september 2007 og var det første møde mellem disse musikere, som siden hen har forsat deres samarbejde som gruppe. Parker er mere dæmpet og stilfærdig end han plejer at være og i dette tilfælde, matcher han perfekt de andre musikere i skabelsen af de langsomt udviklende lyd landskaber. Endeløse strømme af lyde som kolliderer ind og ud i hinanden i komplekse og interessante udladninger, lægger til grund for denne mageløse udgivelse som garanteret ikke lyder som noget du har hørt før - en smuk og fascinerende kombination af musikere og instrumenter. Titlen "A Life Saved by a Spider and Two Doves " stammer fra den japanske middelalder.

Frédéric Blondy/Thomas Lehn : Obdo (Another Timbre at07).
En helt speciel sammenblanding af akustiske og elektroniske lyde fremført af to af europas dygtigste improvisatører, er hvad man bliver præsenteret for på denne udgivelse. Pianisten Frederic Blondy's spil bliver transformeret gennem lydtroldmanden Thomas Lehn's analoge synthesizer, med yderst spændende resultat. Lyden fra pianoet bliver ført gennem synthesizeren, samtidig med at lyden fra pianoet bliver ført ind i synthesizerens input indgang, og på den måde forstyrrer og influerer på det der kommer ud af højtaleren - og det er optaget live. Lyden på disse optagelser er meget afmålt og kontrolleret, dog altid med en vis spænding lurende under det hele. De to numre (et på omkring 13 og et på 37 minutter) er taget fra tre koncerter i Frankring mellem 2003 og 2006 og det hele er mastered af Thomas Lehn. Musikken på denne cd er ikke som det man hører hver dag, det er meget specielt og en krævende oplevelse at lytte sig igennem, men som altid når det gælder improvisation holder det 100%. Man er på intet tidspunkt i tvivl om at de medvirkende musikere er ekstremt bevidst om det de laver.

Clive Bell/Bechir Saade : An Acoount of my hut (Another Timbre at08).
Nyeste udslip fra another timbre er en duo optagelse med de 2 instrumenter man ikke lige hører hver dag - shakuhachi'en og ney'en. Begge af instrumenterne hører til i fløjtefamilien - et er fra Japan og det andet er fra mellemøsten. I hænderne på de to meget drevne improvisatører Clive Bell og Bechir Saade, fremkommer der et imponerende lydbillede med stor variation i lyden. Syv numre der ikke vil falde i alle lytteres smag, da denne cd er en krævende, rå og svær lille sag at lytte sig igennem. Men som det altid er tilfældet er der i improvisations verden så meget gemt i rillerne, hvis man bare går til optagelserne med et åbent sind og en god portion tålmodighed. Denne udgivelse er absolut ikke for enhver, da den henvender sig til den mere krævende og avancerede lytter der leder efter noget spændende, nytænkende og fremadsynet musik som ikke umiddelbart ligner noget af det man ellers har til at stå i reolen. Men vær forberedt på at du skal give den et par gennemlytninger før den hænger fast, måske endda indtil flere, men denne cd absolut det hårde arbejde værd.

Interview med Simon Reynell, Another Timbre maj 2008.
Jazznet : Can you tell us a little about how it all began and the people behind Another Timbre ???
Simon Reynell : I'm really the only person behind the label. Starting the label came from a combination of two things: (1) my kids growing up & starting to leave home, giving me more free time, (2) becoming increasingly dissatisfied with my day job (as a freelance sound recordist in television documentaries). I felt that standards in UK tv were falling, and my work no longer satisfied me creatively. I needed to do something else, and had daydreamed about running a label. I still need tv work to earn a living, but run the label in my spare time.

Jazznet : Why the name Another Timbre ???
Simon Reynell : I've become a fan of experimental musicas a teenager back in the early 70's, and the music that has excited me most appeals not through the more usual aspects of melody or rhythm, but through the exploration of timbres. That preference has been pretty consistent for over 30 years, so the label name acknowledges this interest in timbre, as well as the fact that the music has always been and will always be 'alternative' - hence 'another timbre'.

Jazznet : What is the concept and the idea of the label ???
Simon Reynell : Simply to publish and make available examples of the music that I love.

"I needed to do something else, and had daydreamed about running a label"

Jazznet : How would you categorize the music coming from Another Timbre ???
Simon Reynell : Labels and categories are always difficult, but I tend to think of the music I want to promote as coming from a confluence of two primary sources: (1) the 'free improvisation' which emerged from the extremes of free jazz in the 60's and 70's, and (2) the avant garde edge of contemporary classical music from Webern onwards through Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Luigi Nono, Iannis Xenakis, Helmut Lachenmann etc. I seem to be most interested in music where these two traditions come together. This overlaps with what has been called 'electro-acoustic improvisation' (or eai, as exemplified on the output of labels such as 'Erstwhile', 'for4ears', 'Potlatch' etc), but for me I think the avant garde classical tradition pushes it a bit broader than that.

Jazznet : How do you get hold of the artists, releasing music on Another Timbre ???
Simon Reynell : I simply ring people up or email them. Generally there is so little recognition of this music that people are happy when approached, even though they will probably make no money from it. The fact that the music is so marginal is regrettable in lots of ways, but one good side-effect is that you don't have nearly as many big egos as you would if there was much more fame and money involved. Most of the musicians I've dealt with have been really nice people.

Jazznet : Are you yourself involved in the whole process of releasing the music, I am thinking about covers, artwork, recording or do the artist have a completely free hand ???
Simon Reynell : It depends from case to case. As concerns music, now that the label is up and running, musicians sometimes send me recordings which they've already done. If I like it a lot, then I may release it. (This was pretty much how Thomas Lehn & Frédéric Blondy's disc 'obdo' came about, though I did persuade them to add on the first shorter track) Other times I approach people whose music I particularly like, and we discuss who they might record with. In these cases I sometimes do the recording & mastering myself (which is obviously useful, as I don't have the resources to buy in studio facilities or engineers). As concerns packaging, I took a decision very early on that I would do this as cheaply as possible, and save all my limited resources for the audio side. Hence the discs are packaged in standard plastic jewelcases rather than lovely card covers or digi-packs. Ideally this would be different, but I'm sure it's right to put what money I have into the music side. If musicians have strong ideas about cover design, I happily hand this over to them as that area doesn't interest me much. I use my son (for free!) to do whatever design work needs doing after the musicians have had their say, and to maintain some sort of continuity of style.

"The fact that the music is so marginal is regrettable in lots of ways, but one good side-effect is that you don't have nearly as many big egos as you would if there was much more fame and money involved"

Jazznet : Is it not difficult getting through to the listeners with a label of your size ???
Simon Reynell : Yes, it's extremely difficult to reach listeners, especially as I have no advertising budget. Also in these days of music-sharing websites and illegal downloading, the label doesn't necessarily receive any income from a good percentage of the people who do listen to it. So financially it's tough. I have to subsidise every disc, and just keep costs as low as possible. Virtually every sector of the music industry is struggling in terms of distribution and retail at the moment. Fortunately I didn't start the label expecting to make any money. Over time I hope the label will build a good reputation so that the small audience for this music that is dotted around the globe will at least respect it.

Jazznet : How and when did you get in contact with improvised music ???
Simon Reynell : I discovered improvised music as a teenager in the early 70's, at more or less the same time that I started listening to avant garde classical music. I had been listening a lot to Frank Zappa, but found that after several listens I started to like the weird in-betweeny bits more than the songs themselves. So when I heard the early LP's of Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and Hugh Davies, I was pretty much an instant convert. I think the general music scene was more fluid and less compartmentalised in those days anyway, certainly in relation to what was called 'underground music' (which would probably now translate as 'indie'). There was a fair bit of experimenting going on in rock, let alone jazz, and I was immediately drawn to the more hardcore end of it through my fascination with timbres and relative disinterest in melody. That was also a time when the classical avant garde began experimenting with improvisation, and I remember really getting into Stockhausen's "intuitive music", which was improvised from very short texts that he wrote. I borrowed the boxed set of his 'From the Seven Days' from the local library, transferred it to reel-to-reel tape, and listened to it till I knew every last sound. Strangely my interest in jazz came later than this. I came to it 'backwards' through the avant garde, after listening to players such as Peter Brötzmann, Antony Braxton and Steve Lacy.

Jazznet : Improvised music is these days very difficult to classify and put in any boxes, since the boundaries are very flowing. Where do you see it going in the future ???
Simon Reynell : I've no idea how it will develop, and that's partly why I find it such an interesting area. It's like a river that will break into different tributaries, some of which will then recombine in different ways. I can't imagine that improvised music will ever become commercially successful, but I've no doubt that it will continue and that new players will continue to emerge. As I've said, I myself am particularly interested in its meeting with the traditions of the classical avant garde, but there are many different directions within improv as a whole, and that plurality is a good thing.

Jazznet : How much is improvised and how much is planned before start of recording session, on the releases from your interesting label ???
Simon Reynell : On most improv sessions there is no discussion or planning beforehand, even when (as with several of the 'another timbre' discs) the musicians are playing together as a group for the first time. However it's a small world and the musicians will know each other's work even if they've never played together before. The discussions come afterwards when the musicians listen back to the recordings and begin to select pieces (or parts of pieces) that they think worked well. As I'm discovering, this process of decision-making can be 'interesting' and extended. As a producer my general policy is to say quite clearly and loudly what I feel, but ultimately to leave the selections to the musicians.

"Over time I hope the label will build a good reputation so that the small audience for this music that is dotted around the globe will at least respect it"

Jazznet : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you, what would they be ???
Simon Reynell : I've already referred to Stockhausen's 'From the Seven Days', which was very formative for me as a late teenager. Likewise from that era, I'd pick out Derek Bailey's solo disc 'Lot 74' (which sadly has never been re-issued as a cd). From the classical side I'd also pick out Luigi Nono's late music, which was a revelation to me, and would recommend the recording of 'Quando Stanno Morendo' on the col legno label. More recently there's a German composer called Jakob Ullmann who I very much like, and hope to produce a disc with. His 'Catalogue of Sounds' on the edition-rz label is beautiful. In terms of improv (and excluding the 'another timbre' catalogue), I love the pianist John Tilbury's solo 'Barcelona' on the Rossbin label. 'Horizontals White' on the Emanem label is another favourite and contains several of my favourite UK improvisers (Chris Burn, John Butcher, Rhodri Davies, John Russell, Matt Hutchinson & Mark Wastell). Recently there's a disc come out on the Sofa label which I wish I'd produced. It's by a group called Muta (Ingar Zach, Rhodri Davies & Alessandra Rombolá). And finally in jazz I've worked my way back to Miles Davis' 'In a Silent Way', which reminds me that melody can be beautiful as well…

Jazznet : If a new listener was about to buy his first recording from your label, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to the label's music ???
Simon Reynell : If the listener was from a classical background I'd recommend Frank Denyer's 'Music for Shakuhachi'. For someone from a jazz background I'd recommend 'A Life Saved by a Spider and Two Doves', with Evan Parker, Max Eastley, Graham Halliwell & Mark Wastell. But for those already into improv, I'd recommend 'Hum' by Rhodri Davies, Matt Davis, Samantha Rebello & Bechir Saade. For me this one ticks a lot of boxes in that it's a new combination of players from different backgrounds and different generations, but they came together beautifully in the recording session.

Jazznet : What can we expect in the future from Another Timbre ???
Simon Reynell : For the time being I'll continue to issue batches of three or four discs every three or four months, mostly of music at this confluence of the traditions of free improvisation and the classical avant garde. The next batch in July contains some contemporary piano pieces played by John Tilbury, a beautiful disc of structured improvisations that Ingar Zach sent to me, played by him, Alessandra Rombolá and Esteban Algora, and one that is very close to my heart called 'for hugh davies'. On this disc I took some old solo improvisations by Hugh Davies (who died of cancer three years ago) and played them back to a trio of musicians (Adam Bohman, Lee Patterson & Mark Wastell) who then improvised around his solos. It was a bit of a risk and could easily have gone wrong, but in the event it makes a beautiful homage to and celebration of Hugh's music. In the longer term I've no idea if cd's have a future. It's quite possible that with such a small audience, at some point 'another timbre' will have to change so that we issue downloads and cdr's rather than cd's as the economics is always against us.

Jazznet : What about the new generations of musicians. Who do you admire as soloists and/or composers ???
Simon Reynell : Apart from the musicians I've already worked with or mentioned above, some newer/younger players who I'd love to work with are the violinist Mathieu Werchowski, the oboist Kyle Bruckmann, the guitarist Annette Krebs, and inside-pianist Andrea Neumann, plus a whole pool of improvisers in the UK who have emerged from Eddie Prevost's improvisation workshop at Goldsmith's College in London (Seymour Wright, Sebastian Lexer, Jamie Coleman, Jerry Wigens, John Lely to name just a few).

Artikelarkiv.

2009-08-30T13:17:00.055-06:00

Esoteric.
Richard Pinhas.
David Kerman.
Orphaned Land.
Nick Didkovsky.
Dennis Rea.
Soleil Zeuhl.
Øresund Space Collective.
Robin Taylor.
Unbeltipo.
Markus Stauss & Fazzul Music.
Upsilon Acrux.
Rational Diet.
Elliott Sharp.
Riza Arshad.
Beppe Crovella.
Vijay Iyer.
Moonjune Records.
Copernicus.
Mysterium Project.
Kevin Norton.
Gebhard Ullmann.
Drip Audio.
Dennis Gonzalez.
Lou Grassi.
Chris Kelsey.
Satoko Fujii.
David S. Ware.
Another Timbre.
Greg Burk.
Michael Jefry Stevens.
ILK Records.
Ken Vandermark.
Ayler Records.
Anthony Braxton.
Albert Ayler - free jazzens konge.
Kvindelige sangere i jazzmusikken.
John Zorn - et forsøg på et overblik.
Miles Davis bokssæt.
Jimmy Lyons.
Dansk Vintage jazz.
Barefoot Records.
Big Band jazz - før og nu.
Jazzland records.
Coltrane og spirituel udvikling del 1.
Coltrane og spirituel udvikling del 2.
Åke Bjurhamn.

Anmelderarkiv.

2009-08-29T13:52:00.000-06:00

Anmeldelser fra perioden 1950-1959.....
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Anmeldelser fra perioden 1990-1999.....
Anmeldelser fra perioden 2000-.....

Big Band jazz - før og nu.

2009-08-29T13:13:00.005-06:00

Big band jazz er en underlig størrelse inden for jazzen, enten så elsker man det eller også hader man det - meningerne er mange og forskellige. Et big band orkester er, som navnet siger, et større sammenrend af musikere, i de fleste tilfælde er der mellem 15 og 20 medlemmer, der hovedsageligt beskæftiger sig med swing genren. Et big band består af sektioner med flere musikere : rytmesektion bestående af trommer, bas, piano og guitar, messing-blæsersektion bestående af trompeter og basuner og en træblæsersektion bestående af saxofoner i alle dens mange udformninger, klarinetter og fløjter. Da lønningene for musikere er steget gennem de sidste år, er der ikke så mange big bands i jazzmusikken som der var tidligere. I Danmark er vi dog så heldige at have nogen stykker, blandt andre Klüvers big band, DR's big band og Monday night big band med Niels Jørgen Steen i spidsen. Af udenlandske big bands som har gjort sig bemærket gennem tiden kan nævnes Duke Ellington's orkester,Count Basie's big band, Glenn Miller's orkester, Woody Herman's orkester, Maynard Ferguson, Mingus big band og mange mange flere. I denne artikel vil vi kigge lidt på nogen forskellige big bands og nogen af deres udgivelser.Nedenfor vil vi komme med anmeldelser af forskellige big band udgivelser. Med tiden vil der blive tilføjet nye udgivelser til artiklen, så kig forbi fra tid til anden.

Clarke Boland Big Band : All smiles, More smiles og Fellini 712.Kenny Clarke var en amerikansk trommeslager der tilbage i 1951 havde været med til at starte The Modern jazz quartet og i mange år havde fungeret som hustrommeslager for Savoy records. I 1956 flyttede Clarke til Frankrig, hvor han spillede med besøgende amerikanske musikere, blandt andre Bud Powell. I 1961 fandt han sammen musikalsk med den belgisk fødte pianist og komponist Francy Boland og dannede et all-star big band med base i Europa, en ide der var opstået hos den italienske producer Gigi Campi. Dette fænomenale big band bestod af musikere fra Amerika, England, Tyskland, Østrig og Sverige og inkluderede nogen af de fineste musikere fra post bop æraen. Bandet holdt sammen i hele 11 imponerende år, på trods af finansielle forhindringer, musikernes egoer og tilholdssteder, alt sammen ting som man kunne forvente ville give problemer i den opgave det var at holde et all-star internationalt foretagende kørende, men ikke her. 3 albums er genudgivet fra det tyske MPS label i deres Most perfect sound edition i super lydkvalitet, remastered i 24 bit lydkvalitet. Udgivelserne det drejer sig om er "All smiles" optaget den 13. og 14. maj 1968, "More smiles" optaget den 28. maj 1969 og "Fellini 712" optaget 2. og 3. decmeber 1968. "All smiles" og "More smiles" minder meget om hinanden og kunne lige så godt være udgivet som et dobbeltalbum, begge giver sig i kast med velkendte standards som "My favorite things", "Love for sale", "My heart belongs to daddy", "Bei dir war es imme so schön" og "Let's face the music and dance". De medvirkende musikere , blandt andet Sahib Shihab, Tony Coe, Dusko Goykovich, Ronnie Scott, Jimmy Woode og Benny Bailey, der var og er legender indenfor europæisk og amerikansk jazz, spiller røven ud af bukserne, man kan tydelig høre at de virkelig har haft det sjovt under disse sessions hvor humoren er tydelig at finde i musikken. Alle numrene på disse to albums er desværre ret korte men de svinger hårdt som bare pokker og viser et big band der var på toppen af deres kreativitet. "Fellini 712" er i modsætning til de to tidligere nævnte en suite, delt op i tre længere stykker- "Rosati At Popolo Square", "Tween Dusk & Dawn In Via Urbana" og "Villa Radieuse", alle komponeret af Francy Boland som tydeligvis her er inspireret af Duke Ellington og hans senere kompositioner. Alle tre numre er gode og svinger med et eksotisk groove som får ens fod til at vippe i takt med musikken og får en i godt humør. Der er god plads til at solisterne, Tony Coe, Sahib Shihab, Benny Bailey og Idrees Sulieman, kan boltre og udfolde sig på disse numre og det gør de i stor stil så det er en ren fornøjelse. Alle tre albums er totalt forrygende, og viser et big band, som svingede for hårdt og legede sig igennem det hele med god plads til hinandens evner og musikalske eskapader. Hvis du ikke har tænkt dig at anskaffe dig dem alle tre (alle er ude på nice-price) vil min anbefaling gå på de to første "All smiles" og "More smiles" som er helt fantastiske og nok lidt nemmere tilgængelige end "Fellini 712", som kræver lidt mere tid før den hænger ved. Konklussionen er at hvis du interesserer dig bare en lille smule for big band jazz, så er du simpelthen nød til at anskaffe dig disse albums, de er intet mindre end fantastiske. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Charles Tolliver big band : with love.Det er ikke så tit at der kommer en helt ny big band cd på gaden, og allerede af denne grund er det værd at bide mærke I dette udspil fra Tolliver. Det er heller ikke så tit at en musiker debuterer i eget navn mere end 40 år efter at have medvirket på sin første pladeindspilning, så også på denne måde er Tollivers plade speciel. Han indspillede første gang med Jackie McClean's udspil fra 1964, It's time, og har siden spillet trompet på en række forskellige udgivelser, men her altså for første gang i eget navn. Kender man ikke noget til Big band musik er dette i og for sig et udmærket sted at starte. Selv om de fleste af numrene er nye og skrevet af Tolliver selv, er der tale om rimelig traditionel big band musik. Dette skriver jeg ikke som en kritik. Tværtimod, for Cd'en her er bestemt lytteværdig, og for folk der allerede er vilde med big band musik vil dette være et kærkomment supplement til samlingen. Victor Lewis passer trommerne, Cecil McBee bassen og Robert Glasper og Stanley Cowell skiftes til at spille piano. Herudover medvirker der som sig hør og bør et hav af blæsere. Her er både big band musik i både højt og medium tempo, og det bliver bare bedre og bedre jo længere man kommer ind på cd'en. Den eneste decideret ballade stemning man finder på denne cd er i den på godt og ondt bemærkelsesværdige 9 minutter lange version af Monk's klassiker 'Round Midnight. Her bliver big band musik for fuld udblæsning blandet med en gennemspilning af temaet i en stille og følsom ballade-version der ligger tættere på Miles Davis' fortolkning af dette nummer, end noget andet. Nummeret kommer derfor i sin helhed til at fremstå nærmest skizofrent. Tolliver skriver selv i noterne om dette: "Thelonius's magnificent composition is for me one of THE quintessentials of our music; my arrangement sums up my love for it." Our music er vel en reference til jazzen som helhed og måske er den meget tumultariske behandling af dette nummer et symbol på den meget store mangfoldighed man finder I jazz'en. Jeg ved det ikke. Personligt synes jeg det er modigt, men ikke specielt vellykket. De forskellige dele af nummeret hænger simpelthen ikke tilstrækkelig godt sammen i mine ører. Men bortset fra dette og en lydkvalitet, som man godt kunne have gjort lidt mere ud af (særligt eftersom cd'en er udkommet på Blue Note, der med sine RVG genudgivelser, gør meget ud af lydkvaliteten) så er det tale om et meget anbefalelsesværdigt album. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

Kvindelige sangere i jazzmusikken.

2009-08-29T13:13:00.004-06:00

Findes der noget bedre end en lækker blød kvindelig vokal der får dine højtalere til at bløde af vellyd ??? Det skulle selvfølgelig lige være en vild og ukontrolleret saxofon solo fra free jazzens mester Albert Ayler der udsætter dine sanser for et sandt bombardament af aggresive toner, men bare rolig det er ikke det jeg vil koncentrere mig om i denne artikel. Nej, her drejer det sig om den fantastiske skabning : kvinden, og hendes virke indenfor jazzmusikken. I denne artikel vil jeg lave en lille præsentation af nogen af de nyere kvindelige jazz vokalister i form af anmeldelser af nogen af deres seneste udgivelser. Jeg vil fokusere på forholdsvise nye udgivelser der er udkommet indenfor de seneste par år og derfor ikke komme omkring ældre kunstnere som Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, Shirley Horn og så videre i denne omgang. Disse store fantastiske kunstnere, som i den grad er essentielle og har været medvirkende til at jazzen ser ud som den gør i dag, vil måske på et senere tidspunkt blive indlemmet i denne artikel. Det er min tanke at med tiden, når der kommer nye udgivelser med diverse kvindelige kunstnere, vil disse blive anmeldt og tilføjet denne artikel. Min forhåbning er at vække læserens nysgerrighed for nogen nye og spændende navne med den kvindelige vokal i front, som du ikke kender i forvejen og give dig lyst til måske at gå ud og købe noget med dem. Udarbejdelsen af denne artikel har været en interessant og krævende opgave, da jeg normalt ikke selv lytter specielt meget til denne del af jazzmusikken. Men jeg er af den overbevisning at man skal prøve noget nyt engang imellem, så jeg gik til opgaven med krum hals og for mig blev disse kvinder til nogen overraskende positive og interessante bekendtskaber. Men nok om det, lad os nu komme i gang med anmeldelserne og det det drejer sig om : Kvindelige sangere i jazzmusikken.

Dee Dee Bridgewater : J'ai deux amours.Dee Dee Bridgewater giver sig på dette album i kast med en samling af de mest kendte numre fra den franske sangbog. Numrene bliver hovedsageligt fremført på fransk, dog synger hun på nogen af numrene både på fransk og engelsk som på "Mon Homme (My Man)", "La Mer (Beyond the Sea)", "Dansez Sur Moi (Girl Talk)" og "La Belle Vie (The Good Life)". Da jeg kiggede på coveret, inden jeg begyndte at lytte til albummet, genkendte jeg ikke umiddelbart ret mange af numrene, men da jeg så satte mig til at lytte pladen igennem kendte jeg faktisk de fleste af numrene, jeg havde så bare ikke lige stiftet bekendtskab med de originale franske versioner fandt jeg så ud af. Bridgewater synger sig igennem disse udødelige klassikere med en fleksibilitet som er helt unik, når hun synger disse klassikere på original sproget kan man ikke andet end lade sig føre med. På nummeret "J'ai Duex Amours" synger hun blødt og lokkende, på "Mon homme" kører vi afsted med et friskt calypsobeat , "Dansez sur moi" er overraskende funket og så er der numre som "La Belle Vie" som afleveres på en uhyre forførende måde og går over i ren cabaret feeling. Det der er så fantastisk er at Dee Dee Bridgewater gør det så hamrende godt og overbevisende, man føler sig virkelig henført til Frankrig i disse mageløse fortolkninger. Den absolutte topscorer på albummet er en 10 minutters udgave af nummeret "La Belle vie" som starter med Bridgewater syngende på fransk og en ensom bas, stille og roligt, her er der ingen der har travlt med at komme igennem nummeret, vi giver os god tid. Accordianen glider ind og ud i løbet af nummeret, guitaren kommer ind og efter en solo går Bridgewater over til engelsk og gør dette nummer til noget helt specielt. Et andet suverænt nummer er "Les Feuilles Mortes" som er et fantastisk svingende nummer hvor Bridgewater giver sig i kast med scat som hun klarer til absolut topkarakter. Det her er slet ikke den slags musik som jeg normalt beskæftiger mig med, men denne cd har fanget mig fuldstændig med dens spilleglæde og intensitet. Det her er en meget stemningsfuld og enestående smuk skive som vokser for hver gang man lytter til den. Der er også udgivet en dvd med en koncertoptagelse af de samme numre som findes på cd'en som hedder " Live in Antibes & Juan les pins" som er et interessant supplement til cd'en. Det er meget sjovt at se hvilket energisk livsstykke Dee Dee Bridgewater er på en scene og at være vidne til sammenspillet mellem hende og musikerne er helt fantastisk. Både cd og dvd anbefales på det kraftigste. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Dianne Reeves : Good night, and good luck."Good night, and good luck" er en film fra 2005 instrureret af George Clooney som foregår i 50'ernes New York. Holdt helt i sort/hvid, besluttede instruktøren at jazz ville være den perfekte underlægningsmusik til filmen. Valget faldt på Dianne Reeves på vokal bakket op af silkeblød tenor og altsaxofon fra Matt Catingub, Peter Martin bestyrer pianoet, Jeff Hamilton på trommer og Robert Hurst og Christoph Luty deler bassen imellem sig. Numrene er hovedsageligt klassiske ballader og jazzstandarder som Reeves og kompagni fremfører aldeles overbevisende. Reeves ligger masser af følelser i numrene som fremstår som meget intime og personlige. Faktisk blev mange af numrene spillet og optaget live mens filmen blev optaget. Dianne Reeves giver sig i kast med flere tidsløse klassiskere blandt andet Nat King Cole's "Straighten Up and Fly Right," Duke Ellington's "Solitude", Frank Sinatra's "One for my baby", Peggy Lee's "There'll be another spring" og det svingende Dinah Washington nummer "TV is the Thing This Year". Det er altid farligt når en kunster bevæger sig ind på legenders territorium, men Reeves klarer opgaven utrolig overbevisende. Andre fantastiske numre er "Too Close For Comfort", "How High The Moon" og "Pick Yourself Up". Det eneste nye nummer skrevet til filmen er "Who's Minding The Store" som passer perfekt sammen med de andre numre. Der er stor variation i numrene, som Clooney i øvrigt selv valgte, fra svingende, til sørgmodigt og trist, til romantisk til simpelthen bare forrygende. Til alle os der savner Dinah, Billie, Sarah og Ella er der godt nyt for Dianne Reeves demonstrerer her at den klassike sang lever i bedste velgående og derfor bør denne plade stå i din samling. Ja, du har sikkert hørt numrene før, men de er aldrig blevet fremført sådan her. Det her er pladen som vil forandre din stue til en røgfyldt beskidt jazzbar i 50'erne. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Lizz Wright : Salt.Dette album udgivet i 2003 var Lizz Wright's debut på Verve records - og en overbevisende en af slagsen. Hun blander soul, jazz, rhytm and blues, folk og gospel og resultatet er et stærkt og sammenstøbt album. Lizz Wright var da denne plade blev indspillet i starten af 20'erne og man kan forundres over hvor helstøbt hendes stemme allerede er. Wright har en dejlig varm dyb ru stemme som leder tankerne hen på en af de andre store sangerindere Cassandra Wilson. Der er en melankolsk lækker 70 feeling på mange af numrene på denne plade og da den ovenikøbet er i enestående lydkvalitet bliver den en yderst behagelig oplevelse at lytte til. Højdepunkterne på pladen er en folkagtig latin udgave af "Afro blue", den smukke "Soon as i get home",den soulede "Fire" og nummeret "Goodbye" hvor Chris Potter medvirker på saxofon. Ca. halvdelen af numrene på pladen er Wright's egne kompositioner som for det meste er sørgmodige bluesede ballader. Denne plade befinder sig ligesom den nyeste, som bliver anmeldt nedenfor, i grænselandet mellem mange forskellige stilarter, den er ikke ren jazz men den indeholder absolut nogle numre der er jazz inspirerede. Alt i alt er det en rigtig god plade som præsenterer en ny funklende stjerne som det bliver spændende at følge fremover. Specielt bliver det spændende at se hvilken vej hun vælger at gå, soul eller jazz vejen. Til tider går der lidt for meget pop og r&b i den efter denne anmelders smag, hun er helt sikkert bedst og mest interessant når hun synger de jazzede numre. En ting er sikkert : alle døre står åbne for hende da hun mestrer begge stilarter. Trænger du til et friskt pust og er kørt lidt sur i Diana Krall, Norah Jones og Cassandra Wilson så er her et rigtigt godt forslag, prøv bare at lytte til det umådeligt smukke nummer "Blue rose" og du vil blive overbevist, det er sublimt. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Lizz Wright : Dreaming wide awake.Lizz Wright's andet udspil på Verve records er et mindst lige så interessant og spændende bekendtskab som den første udgivelse "Salt" som er anmeldt ovenfor. På dette album tager hun lytteren med på en fantastisk rejse igennem musik historien. Undervejs strejfer Wright jazz, gospel og rhytm & blues på særdeles overbevisende måde. Hun tager diverse ældre numre og gør dem til sine helt egne, hvilket resulterer i et yderst originalt tidsløst album. Wright giver sig i kast med rock numre som Niel Young's "Old man" og The Youngblood's "Get together" som om de var spritnye numre og ikke numre med en del år på bagen. Det klassiske nummer "A Taste of honey" bliver også trukket i gennem Wright maskinen og det kommer der en genial sumpet udgave ud af. "Trouble" er et forførende lækkert nummer som var det første Wright skrev på sin guitar og titelnummeret skal simpelthen også nævnes her da det er et fantastisk dystert og mørkt nummer. Dog er der også numre som ikke lige siger denne anmelder det helt store, for eksempel nummeret "Hit the ground" som minder lidt for meget om et Norah Jones nummer som jeg ikke har det super godt med. Nummeret er for øvrigt skrevet sammen med Jesse Harris som vist også har skrevet adskillelige numre til lige netop Norah Jones, så ligheden er nok ikke så mærkelig når det kommer til stykket. De numre som Wright selv har skrevet er alle rigtig gode numre, lige med undtagelse af det ovennævnte, og giver en lyst til at høre mere fra hendes egen hånd. Selvfølgelig er det fedt at høre nye spændende udgaver af gamle klassikere men hendes talent for sangskrivning kunne sagtens fylde et helt album. Men hvem ved måske bliver det næste album, et album med vægten lagt på hendes egne kompositioner, man har jo lov at håbe. Denne fantastiske sangerinde har en helt fantastisk stemme og det er ligesom at på denne plade i forhold til debutten, er hun modnet og blevet endnu bedre. Jeg kunne godt tænke mig et album fra Lizz Wright hvor hun kun beskæftigede sig med jazz numre, efter min mening er det der hendes styrke ligger. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Madeleine Peyroux : Half the perfect world."Half the perfect world" er 3. udspil fra Madeleine Peyroux og opfølgeren til hende fremragende album "Careless love" fra 2004. Dette album er en lækker samling sange, som burde blive gennembruddet for denne sangerinde som er klart inspireret af Billie Holiday. Madeleine Peyroux siger selv om hendes nye album "This record is different from Careless Love in the sense that there's unison of joy on it" og "It's pushing certain boundaries for me". Peyroux fortolker ikke bare sange, men går simpelthen ind og overtager dem og gør dem til sine helt egne så man tror at de er skrevet specielt til hende. Det er stille indsigtsfulde udgaver af gammel kendinge og 4 nye numre som hun selv har skrevet, vi her bliver præsenteret for. Der er numre skrevet af Leonard Cohen ("Blue Rain" og "Half the perfect world"), Johnny Mercer ("The Summer wind"), Charlie Chaplin ("Smile"), Tom Waits (Looking for the heart of saturday night), Serge Gainsbourgh ("La Javanaise" som synges på originalsproget fransk) og Joni Mitchell ("River"). Og lad mig lige dvæle lidt ved Joni Mitchel nummeret "River " som er pladens absolutte topscorer. "River" er en umådelig smuk duet sammen med K.D. Lang hvis stemme passer helt perfekt til Peyroux's og gør at nummeret fremstår som smukt, melankolsk og gennemført. Når de synger "I wish i had a river I could skate away on, I wish I had a river so long, I would teach my feet to fly" og "I gone and lost the best baby I ever had" kan man simpelthen ikke andet end give sig hen 100%, man bliver helt rørt. Peyroux virker på dette album mere moden, voksen og mindre sårbar end hun har gjort på sine tidligere udgivelser, hendes stemme er simpelthen unik og one of a kind og hun fortjener virkelig at slå igennem. Madeleine Peyroux's musik er perfekt til en stille aften i stearinlysenes skær med en god flaske vin eller hvis du bare skal falde ned efter en hård dag på arbejdet. Det er ikke lounge, ikke pop, ikke country og heller ikke jazz men en vidunderlig blanding der befinder sig et eller andet sted midt imellem. "Half the perfect world" er ikke så godt et album som "Careless love" men det er tæt på. Det er et solidt album, derom hersker der ingen tvivl og hvis du på baggrund af denne anmeldelse, har besluttet dig for at købe det lover jeg dig at du ikke bliver skuffet. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart : Love is here to stay.Det er usædvanligt at lytte til en plade som mor og søn har indspillet sammen, i hvert fald når vi snakker om jazz. Her er der samlet 11 ballader med Sandy Stewart på vokal og hendes søn Bill Charlap på piano. Charlap har udgivet flere plader igennem årene blandt andet med hans interessante trio mens Stewart kun har udgivet sporadisk igennem årene. Stewart's vokal er dyb og inderlig med en smule vibrato som giver en helt specielt intimitet til numrene og Charlap's spiller et delikat følelsesladet piano. Mor og søn fremfører forskellige standarder som "Love is here to stay" skrevet af Gerschwin, "You must believe in spring" skrevet af Rodgers og Hammerstein og "After you" af Cole Porter, men giver sig også i kast med numre som ikke er så kendte blandt andet "Here i am in love again" og "I'll never go there anymore" begge skrevet af sangerindens mand og pianistens far, den afdøde Moose Charlap. Men, og det er et stort men, denne plade bliver lidt kedelig at lytte til i længden efter denne anmelders mening. Alle numrene kører i det samme tempo gennem hele albummet, der er ingen uptempo numre, temposkift eller drama overhovedet at finde nogen steder, ja undskyld jeg siger det men til tider er man lige ved at falde i søvn, så stille står det. Dette gør at det bliver en lidt triviel og ensformig oplevelse at lytte til. Jeg kunne godt have tænkt mig at der var lidt mere gang i, bare nogen af numrene i stedet for at der blev kørt i den nøjagtig samme rille hele pladen igennem som det her er tilfældet. Både Bill Charlap og Sandy Stewart er gode solide kunstnere, derom hersker der ingen tvivl, men her står det godt nok lidt for stille efter min smag. Disse inderlige kærlighedssange vil sikkert være et klart hit til den romantiske middag med stearinlys og en god flaske rødvin, men derudover har de ikke den store værdi for denne anmelder. Jeg vil ikke sidde og rose denne plade til skyerne for den er i mine ører ikke særlig interessant. Men tror du at denne plade er lige netop det du går og søger så giv den en chance, måske falder den bedre i din smag end den gjorde i min. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Dinah Washington : Music for lovers & Sarah Vaughan : Music for lovers.Blue note records har en mid-price serie de kalder MUSIC FOR LOVERS - Jazz for a romantic mood, som beskæftiger sig med romantiske indspilninger med nogen af jazzens aller bedste sangere. Hvert album indeholder forførende romantiske ballader og kærlighedssange fortolket af kunstnere fra Blue note's bagkatalog. Den første serie af udgivelser tæller følgende kunstnere - Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, og Dianne Reeves. Jazznet har fået to af disse udgivelser til anmeldelse, nemlig cd'erne med Dinah Washington og Sarah Vaughan. Cd'en med Dinah Washington består af optagelser fra 1962 og 1963. Dinah Washington beskæftigede sig hovedsageligt med jazz- og blues fortolkninger af numre fra "The Great american songbook". På denne cd er der samlet 12 kærlighedssange blandt andre "Lover man", "Romance in the dark", "You're a sweetheart", "The good life" og " He's my guy". Cd'en med Sarah Vaughan indeholder ligeledes 12 numre med inderlige kærlighedssange fra 1960, 1962 og 1963, blandt andre numrene "If i were a bell", "Stella by starlight", The man i love", "The very thought of you" og "Fly me to the moon". Hvad skal jeg sige om disse cd'er ??? Er de bare endnu et krampagtigt forsøg, på at få os sølle jazz interesserede pladekøbere til at købe nogen numre som vi allerede er i besiddelse af, bare i en ny indpakning ??? Måske vil de for nogen virke sådan, men for nærværende anmelder er de et velkomment tillæg til pladesamlingen. Jeg var ikke i besiddelse af ret mange udgivelser, med nogen af de her omtalte kvinder og derfor er de for mig ganske interessante. De to cd'er er en fin introduktion til disse to sangerinderes udgivelser og har for mig haft den effekt at jeg skal ud og investere i noget mere fra dem begge. Hvis jeg absolut skal anbefale en af dem må det være cd'en med Sarah Vaughan. Jeg er helt vild med hendes fløjlsbløde lækre forførende vokal, som får en til fuldstændig at flyde hen i hendes inciterende udgaver af de klassiske numre. Men hvorfor ikke købe dem begge ??? De er som sagt ude som nice price og koster kun en halvfjerdser stykket, så det kan vel ikke vælte budgettet. Hvorom alt er kan de begge anbefales til den nye lytter eller til den som savner en plade til den romantiske aften i stearinlysets skær. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Gladys Knight : Before me.Gladys Knight har for nylig udgivet denne tribute cd til nogen af de største musikalske artister. Resultatet er et smukt udført og rørende album med flot vokal og enestående arrangementer. Glady Knight skriver i cover noterne "This is music that will never die. It's as relevant as it was yesterday. It still applies. I am so honored to be able to to do these songs that you are about to hear. Take a listen and I hope that you feel the same awe that i feel when i sing the music. It has been an amazing journey". Gladys Knight som indtil videre har gjort sig mest bemærket i R & B kredse, giver sig på denne cd i kast med den genre som kaldes jazz standards fra "The Great American songbook" og resultatet er bemærkelsesværdigt. Friske fortolkninger af numre fra sangerindere fra fortiden Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Nina Simone og Billie Holiday, jazz ikoner Duke Ellington og Count Basie og crooneren Sammy Davis jr. Alle numre bliver sunget med en intensitet, seriøsitet og nerve så man næsten sidder og bliver overbevist om at disse numre er skrevet til Gladys Knight og aldrig var tiltænkt andre. Numrene er en sand perlerække af klassiske numre fra de sidste ca. 50 år og tæller "Do nothing till you hear from me", "The man i love", "God bless the child", "Someone to watch over me", "The Bitter earth" og "Stormy weather" bare for at nævne nogen af dem. Der findes tonsvis af plader derude med fortolkninger af numre som disse som er mere eller mindre ligegyldige, men denne cd er alt andet end ligegyldig. Den er et fremragende eksempel på at man kan indspille numre fra fordums tid uden at lyde som en dårlig kopi af de originale udgaver. Gladys Knight tilfører disse numre ny energi og denne plade bør du købe og stille den ved siden af alle dine plader med Billie, Ella, Lena og Sarah. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Coltrane og spirituel udvikling del 2.

2009-08-29T13:12:00.007-06:00

Del 2 - Alive and kicking, Coltrane på scenen.Selv om det måske umiddelbart er Coltranes studieindspilninger der er mest kendte, var det koncerter, som Coltrane (som alle andre musikere) brugte det meste af sin tid på. Det var også her, at Coltrane udviklede sin spil. Koncerterne blev ofte brugt som en platform, hvor nye ting kunne prøves af. Derfor er mange af de koncertoptagelser der findes da også særligt interessante - det er her den impulsive kreativitet og nytænkningen finder sted: direkte for ørerne af publikum.Carnegie Hall, 1957På samme måde som i første del, vil jeg gå frem kronologisk, fordi det er den bedste måde at komme ind i musikken på. Den første koncert jeg vil fremhæve er samtidig en af de senest udgivne. Det drejer sig om en koncert i Carnegie Hall den 29. november 1957 - altså fra samme år, som Coltrane udgav Blue Train (se del I). Koncerten var annonceret som "Thelonius Monk quartet with John Coltrane", og var en del af et større Thanksgiving - arrangement. Foruden Monk og Coltrane medvirker Ahmed Abdul Malik på bas og Shadow Wilson på trommer. Koncerten var blevet optaget af "Voice of America" og herefter arkiveret i Library of Congress. Ved et tilfælde blev den opdaget i forbindelse med et digitaliseringsprojekt som biblioteket i 2005 var ved at gennemføre, og koncerten blev herefter udgivet samme år på Blue Note. Hvor tidligere udgivelser (fra Five spot café) viser en meget usikker Coltrane, står det klart på disse nyopdagede optagelser, at Coltrane har fundet en form og en selvsikkerhed, som markerer en slags afsæt for hans koncert karriere. På samme måde som Blue Train er den første studieoptagelser der for alvor viser Coltrane som en stor selvstændigt tænkende og spillende saxofonist, er Carnegie Hall koncerten en markør for Coltranes videre udvikling. Samtidig må man dog sige, at Coltrane (som på Blue Train) her udfolder sig indenfor relativt traditionelle rammer, hvor alle umiddelbart kan være med. Højdepunkter er for mig det indledende nummer fra eftermiddagskoncerten "Monk's mood" samt det indledende nummer fra aftenkoncerten "Bye-ya". Førstnævnte er en meget flot ballade, med stor dybde og et forvarsel om Coltranes fantastiske evne til at komme langt dybere ind i ballade-genren end nogen anden før eller efter ham. Sidstnævnte er et nummer, hvor Coltrane, efter den indledende præsentation af temaet, får lov til at udfolde det der senere skulle blive til hans "sheets of sound". Lytter man til dette nummer og bagefter til Giant steps (se del I) bliver sammenhængen hurtigt klar. Stockholm, 1960Coltrane havde som nævnt været en del af den første og meget berømte Miles Davis Quintet. Davis blev hurtigt klar over at Coltrane var en uundværlig partner, og at deres samspil skabte en helt speciel magi. Derfor var Coltrane - på trods af Narkotikaproblemer, og på trods af at de to jazzmestrer ikke havde noget egentligt venskabeligt forhold til hinanden - også med på Davis nye projekter i slutningen af 50'erne - Milestones og Kind of Blue. I forlængelse af disse plader var Coltrane med på Davis' turné til Europa, og på denne turné udviklede Coltrane sit spil i en mere radikal retning som førte til hans endelige brud med Davis. Et indtryk af hvad der var i gære kan man få ved lytte til den sjældne Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960 Complete 4cd box, som er udgivet på Dragon Records. Numrene der bliver spillet her er typiske for denne periode i Davis' karriere. Det hele er swingende og velspillet med Wynton Kelly ved klaveret, og Chamber og Cobb ved henholdsvis bas og trommer, og alt er sådan set som det skal være. Bortset fra Coltrane! Hans spil er betydeligt mere vildt og utæmmet end de andres. Hans soloer er søgende og man får indtryk af en løve i bur, der gerne vil ud. Man får fornemmelsen af, at Coltrane simpelthen synes at dette her er for pænt og kedeligt. For småborgerligt og visionsløst. Husk nu på, at vi har med Miles Davis at gøre her, så det er altså jazz på højeste plan vi har med at gøre. Alligevel kan man godt følge Coltrane. Miles havde godt nok brudt ud af de traditionelle jazz-formler med Kind of Blue, og der skal ikke - i hvert fald ikke herfra - lyde et ondt ord om den plade, som efter min bedste overbevisning er et sandt mesterværk. Men nogen vild og rå plade er det jo ikke - det er en meget lyrisk og pæn plade. Og Davis' egen præstation under Stockholm koncerten er præget af samme pænhed. Coltrane derimod spiller visse steder nærmest som et vildt dyr, hvilket kan høres allerede på hans solo på det første nummer "So what". Stockholm-koncerten, viser for første gang den mørke og vilde side af Coltrane, som bliver en drivkraft for hans senere udvikling, og som også udgør en af komponenterne i hans evne til at spille ballader. Det er her, man kan starte rejsen ind i Coltranes vilde koncert-univers, for man får leveret spillet i en ramme, så det er nemmere at forstå (fordi det står i kontrast til Davis' eget spil) og fordi det bliver leveret i en ramme som gør det nemmere at lytte til end hans senere meget lange energi-udladninger. Derudover indeholder box-sættet et lidt over 6 minutter langt interview med Coltrane, som i sig selv er virkelig interessant. (Det skal bemærkes at Coltrane kun medvirker på den ene af de 4 cd'er der er i bokssættet).Efter Miles Davis' Europa-turné, hvor Coltrane blev udsat for megen hård kritik i bl.a. Tyskland og Frankrig (Men ikke i Sverige), spillede Coltrane et par enkelte koncerter med Davis og forlod ham herefter endeligt. De spillede aldrig senere sammen igen. Som nævnt ovenfor var Davis og Coltrane's forhold ikke specielt venskabeligt, men bruddet havde en enorm betydning for Miles Davis. Ian Carr skriver i sin Miles Davis biografi:
"Back in the USA, after a few more engagements with Miles, Coltrane left the quintet in order to lead his own group. Canonball Adderly's departure had been a blow, but Coltrane's departure was a devastating loss to Miles, who almost broke down and wept during their last gig together, in Philadelphia. So strongly did he feel that he even went to the microphone and made a brief announcement about the saxophonist's imminent departure from the group. And, as Jimmy Cobb commentet: 'He never talks with nobody about nothing, so you know, he must have really felt something for Coltrane.' The saxophonist's departure left a gap that, in some ways, Miles was never able to fill again." (Ian Carr, Miles Davis - The Definitive Biography. Harper Collins 1998, s. 168).Som afskedgave forærede Davis Coltrane en Sopran saxofon, og dette var anledningen til at Coltrane begyndte at spille på dette instrument, som ellers var gledet helt ud som jazz-instrument. Den sopran saxofon spiller en afgørende rolle for lyden og samspillet med Eric Dolphy på den næste banebrydende koncert optagelse, der fandt sted i New York.Live at the Village Vanguard, 1961Det band, som Coltrane var ude efter, og som han også omtaler i sit interview med den svenske journalist, er naturligvis det der i slutningen af 1961skulle blive til den klassiske Kvartet. Allerede fra efteråret 1960 havde Coltrane dog fået McCoy Tyner og Elvin Jones om bord, og de var, sammen med Steve Davis på bas, med på en række af Coltranes Atlantic Indspilninger (se ovf.) Den endelige etablering af den klassiske kvartet med Jimmy Garrison på bas fandt først sted efter en række historiske koncerter den 1-5 november 1961 på spillestedet The Village Vanguard i New York. Et udvalg af numre fra disse koncerter er tidligere udgivet på bl.a. Live at the Village Vanguard og Impressions, men der findes nu også en samlet udgivelse af alle koncerterne - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings. Anledningen til disse koncerter, var en debat der havde kørt i bl.a. jazz magasinet Down Beat om kvaliteten af John Coltrane og Erik Dolphy's nye musik. Både Coltrane og Dolphy var på dette tidspunkt anerkendte som førende jazz-musikere, men deres spil til koncerter rundt omkring i USA var blevet mere og mere vildt. I henhold til Ashley Kahn, blev musikken ved disse koncerter beskrevet med betegnelser som "A growing anti-jazz trend", "nihilistic excercises" og "musical nonsense" (Ashley Kahn, A Love Supreme - The creation of John Coltrane's classic album, Granta Publications 2002, s. 59). I et radioprogram, fik Coltrane og Dolphy mulighed for at besvare kritikken, og dette medførte naturligvis yderligere opmærksomhed. Bl.a. for at udnytte denne opmærksomhed fik Bob Thiele fra Impulse (som Coltrane netop havde tegnet kontrakt med) den idé at optage denne række koncerter på Village Vanguard, hvor Dolphy var med. Derudover medvirkede Reggie Workman og Jimmy Garrison på bas; Elvin Jones og Roy Haynes på trommer, McCoy Tyner på piano og Ahmed Abdul Malik på Oud samt Garvin Bushell på Obo og "contrabassoon".Disse optagelser er noget af det bedste der findes med Coltrane og noget af det bedste og mest kreative jazz der findes overhovedet. Noget af det er også ret vildt, og kan ved de første gennemlytninger være svært at kapere. Men her er virkelig jazz-kalorier, og disse optagelser kan høres igen og igen. De umiddelbart mest tilgængelige numre, næst efter de smukke udgaver af Naima (se ovf) er efter min mening de forskellige versioner af Spiritual - et nummer som Coltrane vender tilbage til igen og igen og som er helt suverænt. Titlen leder selvfølgelig tanken hen på Negro Spirituals, og musikken svarer da også hertil - med sin på samme tid sentimentale og dystre tone, der leder tanken hen på de sortes oplevelser under slaveriet i USA. Nummeret handler i min fortolkning om afsavn og afmagt, og om det enkelte menneskes forsøg på følelsesmæssigt at håndtere den situation, at man ikke er herre over sit eget liv. Slaveri er naturligvis den ultimative afmagt, men vi kender vist alle til en eller anden form for afmagt, og her får vi en fantastisk musikalsk formidling af afmagtsfølelsen og den indignation der følger med.Boks-sættet indeholder også den asiatisk inspirerede India, der spilles i flere forskellige versioner, og som er en slags markering af jazzens flydende grænser og af Coltranes vilje og evne til at lade sig inspirere af fremmede kulturer. Brasilia hentyder også til en anden kulturkreds end den amerikanske og både Coltrane's og Dolphy's spil er usædvanligt frit på dette nummer. Nummeret er senere udgivet med kvartetten på pladen John Coltrane Quartet Plays. Med sin gode solide bund og faste rytme, der lægges af Workman og Jones, er nummeret et godt afsæt for at afprøve sine free-jazz grænser - for Coltrane folder sig virkelig ud her.Det samme må man sige om numrene Chasin' the Trane og Chasin' Another Trane, der markerer et højdepunkt af frigjorthed i forhold til etablerede måder at spille jazz på. På den måde rummer musikken både et spirituelt og politisk budskab, der bringer tanken hen på det fælles etos: frigørelse. Spirituel frigørelse og politisk og økonomisk frigørelse. Ideen og tanken om mennesket som et spirituelt væsen, som løbende må kæmpe for sin frigørelse i enhver forstand. Omsat til mere dagligdags sprog handler det om ikke at lade sig lulle ind i rutiner i forhold til sit liv. Undgå kedeligt trivielt arbejde - søg hele tiden nye udfordringer. Sørg for at lade kærligheden blomstre i dit parforhold ved at undgå kedelige rutiner. Gør op med din afhængighed af forbrugsgoder. Tryghed kan ikke købes i et supermarked, men skabes gennem selverkendelse og troen på sig selv som selvstændigt tænkende og handlende individ. Vær ikke selvisk, men bidrag gavmildt til dine omgivelser. Osv osv. Vi ved alle hvor svært det kan være at praktisere disse normer, hvor let vi bliver fanget i hverdagens trummerum, men Coltranes musik gør os opmærksomhed på vigtigheden af ikke at gå i stå. Og han viser os, gennem musikken, hvor meget potentiale der er i den menneskelige sjæl, et potentiale, som vi alle har del i.Live Trane - Half Note - A Love Supreme.Efter Dannelsen af den klassiske kvartet, blev studieindspilningerne med kvartetten naturligvis fulgt op med en række turneer. En del af disse koncerter er naturligvis blevet optaget og udgivet. En hel samling af koncerter udkom for et par år siden i box-sættet Live Trane - The European Tours (udgivet af Norman Granz' selskab Pablo), som dokumenterer den klassiske kvartets live optræden i perioden 1961-1963. Desværre er lydkvaliteten på dette bokssæt svingende og sættet er endvidere præget af mange (uundgåelige) gentagelser i og med at repertoiret til de forskellige koncerter af gode grunde har været næsten identiske. Er man Coltrane-freak, så er box-sættet selvfølgelig uundværligt, men almindelige dødelige kan godt nøjes med udvalgte optagelser, som f.eks. Afro Blue Impressions som indeholder optagelser fra efteråret 1963 og som indeholder en række numre som ikke er med på Village Vanguard optagelserne. Denne dobbelte live cd tegner et godt billede af Coltrane anno 1963, og her er endnu en fremragende optagelse af Spiritual, en dragende mørk version af Lonnies Lament, som kvartetten indspillede i studiet i april 1964 til brug for Lp'en Crescent og den så vidt jeg ved eneste live optagelse af nummeret Cousin Mary fra Giant Steps. Lydkvaliteten er ikke i top, men det er musikken, og der er gode muligheder for at blive draget ind i Coltranes univers. På sin vis er disse optagelser faktisk mere tilgængelige end de berømmede optagelser fra Village Vanguard, hvilket måske hænger sammen med at Coltrane i 1963 kunne slappe mere af fordi hans nye stil på dette tidspunkt var blevet mere bredt accepteret. Han skulle derfor ikke præstere noget, og kunne bedre fordybe sig i de følelsesmæssige paletter som numrene breder ud for ham. 1964 var som bekendt året, hvor A Love Supreme blev indspillet og året efter i juli måned spillede kvartetten for første og eneste gang numrene herfra live. Anledningen var Festival Mondial du Jazz, som fandt sted i Antibes, Juan-Les-Pins i Frankrig. Nogle måneder forinden havde kvartetten optrådt et par gange på Jazz klubben The Half Note i New York. Disse to koncerter, som hidtil ikke har været tilgængelige udkom på en dobbelt-cd sidste år, med titlen One Down - One up, Live at the Half Note (Impulse). Kvartetten kan her høres i en koncert fra den sidste periode af sin levetid (den blev opløst i slutningen af 1965). På den første Cd fra 26 marts indleder Garrison med en meget veloplagt solo, hvorefter hele orkesteret kaster sig ind i et vildt og ridt, hvor Coltrane blæser igennem på titelnummeret One Down, One Up, der varer ikke mindre end 27 min., 40 sek. Der bliver gået til vaflerne her, med et meget højt energiniveau. Alle 4 mand er med på det forrygende tempo, og man får en fornemmelse af at musikken giver udtryk for en utilpassethed og en utilfredshed med tingenes tilstand. På sin vis minder Coltranes spil her om hans spil på den tidligere nævnte optagelse med Miles Davis kvintet fra Stockholm i 1960. Det vi hører her er igen løven i buret, der blæser til kamp mod konventionerne og den ulidelige småborgerlige lethed. Her er det bare ikke indenfor rammerne af en snærende kvintet, der ikke er hans egen. Her er det hans eget orkester, og vildskaben i musikken er meget klart udtryk for Coltranes kamp med og mod sig selv. Her har vi mesteren som har brudt alle grænser, fået skabt interesse og accept af nye banebrydende standarder for jazzmusikken, som nu er ved at vende sig mod sin egen success. Fremfor blot at sole sig fortsætter han sit oprør, og det er det vi er vidne til I One Down, One Up. Og i lidt mindre udstrakt grad på de øvrige numre på denne dobbelt cd. Lydkvaliteten er overordnet set ret god, men desværre er der en lang række korte, men generende udfald eller klip i lyden, som trækker fra den ellers fantastiske oplevelse som disse koncertoptagelser er.

John Zorn - et forsøg på et overblik.

2009-08-29T13:12:00.006-06:00

Introduktion.
I denne artikel vil jeg forsøge at få et overblik over John Zorn's enorme uoverskuelige produktion. John Zorn er amerikansk komponist og spiller på saxophon. Man kunne kalde Zorn for en jazzmusiker men han er så meget mere end det. I meget af hans musik er der en jazz feeling at spore, og ideen om improvisation er meget vigtig for ham, men han binder sig ikke til bestemte genrer men blander flere stilarter til et helt resultat.Han ejer sit eget pladselskab (kaldet Tzadik) så han kan udgive hvad han har lyst til.

Den frihed har han brugt til at skrive og udgive mange underlige, mystiske og smukke albums. Han interesser er bla. indenfor for jødisk musik (klezmer), improvisation, cartoon music, film soundtracks og musikalske hybrider hvor han blander flere stilarter. Nogen af hans indspilninger er meget aggressive og abstrakte så man skal ikke bare gå ud og købe alt hvad der har noget at gøre med John Zorn - man skal i hvert fald være forberedt på at man vil møde utrolig mange forskellige slags musik.

Det er hårdt arbejde at følge trop med Zorn da han udgiver en pokkers masse plader. Jeg har forsøgt at dele Zorn's musik op i følgende 7 kategorier:

Masada.
Masada er Zorn's 4 mands jazz band (trompet, saxophon, trommer og bas). De har indspillet 10 albums i studiet som siden er blevet efterfulgt af en del live albums optaget forskellige steder i verden. Numrene er baseret på jødiske musik temaer, med masser af plads til den enkelte musikers improvisation.
Naked city.
Naked city er et 5 mands rock/jazz band. Mange af deres numre dækker flere musikalske stilarter, spillet i sekvenser eller efter hinanden. Naked city kan spille delikat og rolig musik men når Zorn giver dem lov spiller de korte, aggressive, abstrakte, voldsomme numre alt i et stort sammen surium som kan virke rodet men som hænger sammen til sidst.

Chamber music.
Zorn arbejder også med mindre orkestre og strenge kvartetter. De fleste gange er det abstrakte symfonier som bruger forskellige lyde og instrumenter til at frembringe et komplekst stykke musik.

Soundtracks.
Zorn har skrevet musik til low-budget film, dokkumentar programmer, tv reklamer og tegneserier. Disse musik numre er samlet på "the filmworks series". På nuværende tidspunkt er han nået til volume #18 i serien.

Game pieces.
Hvad pokker er et game piece ??? det er struktureret improvisation. Zorn siger selv "indholdet af stykket er improviseret ifølge komplekse instruktioner. Reglerne etablerer strukturer uden dikterede resultater" Problemet med game pieces er at Zorn ikke fortæller lytteren hvad reglerne er. Dette gør musikken meget forvirrende. At lytte til et game piece er ligesom at lytte til kontrolleret kaos.

Painkiller mm.
Udover de mest kendte bands fra Zorn's hånd - Masada og Naked city - danner Zorn fra tid til anden andre bands som han så indspiller nogle få plader med og derefter opløser igen. Det mest vigtige band i denne kategori er Painkiller, en jazz-noise trio som han dannede med Mick Harris og Bill Laswell tilbage i 1991.

Solo albums.
Denne kategori dækker alt det andet Zorn laver - nye arrangementer af musik fra andre komponister, musik baseret på temaer, musik med intet tydeligt tema, tributes til Goddard, Spillane og Jean Genet. Der findes endog en plade inspireret af djævelen selv. Selvom hans solo albums er listet under Zorn's navn er hver plade en gruppe indsats. Zorn er krediteret som komponist og producer på hvert album, ikke som ham der spiller på instrumenterne.

I september måned 2003 fyldte John Zorn 50 år. I den anledning var der koncerter på spillestedet Tonic i New york, hele måneden igennem med forskellige konstellationer og bands som Zorn har arbejdet med under hans karriere. Nogen af disse koncerter er blevet udgivet på 12 cd albums kaldet 50th birthday celebration volume 1-12. Alle er i fantastisk kvalitet og i smagfulde covers fra hans eget selskab Tzadik. Det er en meget god måde at stifte bekendtskab med nogen af de forskellige ting som Zorn har lavet igennem tiderne. Af de 12 vil jeg specielt anbefale Masada (volume 7), Electric Masada (volume 4), Fred Firth/John Zorn duo (volume 5), Milford Graves/John Zorn duo (volume 2) og classic guide to strategy vol. 3 (volume 9) som er en solo performance fra Zorn.

For at dette projekt ikke skal blive alt for uoverskueligt og komme til at optage al min fritid, har jeg besluttet kun at koncentrere mig om den kategori som jeg ved mest om og pudsigt nok den som jeg synes er mest spændende og interessant :-). Jeg vil fokusere på zorn's produktioner med Masada. De andre kategorier vil jeg måske på et senere tidspunkt kigge nærmere på.

Masada.
Masada startede i 1994 og blev hurtigt et af John Zorn's mest populære projekter. Masada er Zorn's forslag til en ny form for jødisk musik og er kraftigt inspireret af Ornette Coleman's kvartet fra tresserne. Zorn har komponeret mere end 200 numre til hans såkaldte "masada songbook" som inkluderer elementer af klezmer, østens musik, avantgarde og klassisk. Masada har indspillet 9 albums og en ep i perioden februar 1994 til september 1997, som er meget svære at få fat i da de er udgivet på et lille selskab. Dernæst er der blevet udgivet en del live albums som heldigvis er til at få fat i da de er udgivet på Tzadik. Mens Zorn optog de ti Masada albums skrev han nye arrangementer til nogen af numrene fra "the masada songbook" til mindre ensembler. Masada startede "Radical Jewish Culture" og har hjulpet jødisk musik godt på vej ind i det 21. århundrede.

Sanhedrin.
29 studio indspilninger som aldrig har været tilgængelige før er samlet her. Over to og en halv time af sjældne alternate takes fra de legendariske sessions fra 1994-1997. Mange af dem skulle være mere interessante og spændende end de originale udgaver som findes på de 10 uopdrivelige Masada albums. Alle numrene her er udvalgt personligt af Zorn selv til denne lækre udgivelse. Cd'erne er samlet i en smuk booklet fyldt med fotos, scores og skrevne tributes. Et godt sted at starte for den der er ukendt med Masada's univers og for den mere drevne fan er der garanteret en udgave eller to du ikke har hørt før.

Bar kokhba.
På denne cd er 22 af de klassike "masada songbook" numre arrangeret for cello, violin, guitar, piano, clarinet og orgel. Resultatet er et dobbeltalbum med fantastisk smuk musik. Denne plade er en af favorit pladerne hos mange Zorn/Masada fans og det er ikke uden grund. Dette album viser hvor simple Masada numrene er. De originale udgaver tager hurtigt afsted i vild improvisation men disse arrangementer er mere rolige - og i nogle tilfælde bedre. Bar Kokhba præsenterer over to timer mørk, smuk og enestående jødisk musik med nogen af New York's fineste musikere.

Live at Tonic 2001.
"Live at Tonic" er en af de live shows hvor alt går op i en højere enhed. Optaget på zorn's yndlings scene, Tonic i Manhattan. Hvad der adskiller denne gruppe fra alle de andre er en ekstrem interaktion og sammenspil solisterne i mellem. Hver af de involverede er fantastiske talentfulde musikere i sig selv men når de spiller sammen er det intet mindre end fantastisk. Denne cd skal ikke bare bruges som baggrundsmusik men fortjener virkelig at man sætter sig ned og lytter koncentreret, at man giver cd'en sin fulde opmærksomhed. Efter min mening er denne optagelse kun overgået a "50th birthday celebration volume 7" (optaget på den samme klub 2 år senere, men denne her skal helt sikkert ikke overses eller forbigås. Masada er en af de bedste akustiske jazz bands i dag, derom hersker der ingen tvivl, og de står øverst på min liste over hvilke bands jeg gerne vil se live.

Dansk Vintage jazz.

2009-08-29T13:12:00.005-06:00

Danske sjældne jazz udgivelser på lp fra Fontana/Sonet og Philips, bliver solgt af blandt andet japanske samlere til priser mellem 10.000-20.000 danske kroner - nu bliver de så for første gang udgivet på cd. Universal udgiver de klassiske udgivelser fra 60'erne og 70'erne, i flotte og remasterede udgaver. Den 2. oktober i år udkom der ikke mindre ned 7 cd'er, hvoraf de 5 ikke har været tilgængelige i mange år. Nedenfor vil vi kigge lidt nærmere på de 7 udgivelser og komme med vores uforbeholdne mening.

Louis Hjulmand : Fontana presenting Louis Hjulmand.Denne cd er sammensat af to seesions. En fra 30. September 1962 med Lars Blach på guitar, Louis Hjulmand på vibes, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen på bas og Bjarne Rostvold på trommer og den anden fra den 3. Marts 1963 med Louis Hjulmand på vibes, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen på bas og Bjarne Rostvold på trommer. Yderligere er der et duo nummer med Louis Hjulmand på vibes og Bjarne Rostvold på trommer, også optaget den 3. Marts 1963. Louis Hjulmand var en af de bedste musikere på sit instrument på dette tidspunkt og der gåes da også virkelig til den på pladens 9 numre. Det svinger helt utrolig og man kan simpelthen ikke lade være med at sidde og vippe med foden. Der er tre originale kompositioner af Hjulmand og seks regulære standards. Jeg vil ikke fremhæve nogen numre specielt frem for nogen andre, da hele pladen er meget høj klasse og det derfor ikke vil være retfærdigt. Lav dig en kop kaffe, find den bedste whiskey eller cognac frem, sæt dig i din bedste lænestol, start cd'en og mærk hyggen brede sig i stuen. Denne plade er helt fantastisk og hvis du kun skal have fat i et par stykker af disse Fontana udgivelser så SKAL det her være en af dem. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Finn Savery : Fontana presenting Finn Savery.Her bliver vi præsenteret for en spændende trio bestående af Finn Savery på piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen på bas og Alex Riel på trommer. Trioen giver sig entusiastisk i kast med amerikanske evergreens som "But not for me", "Sweet georgia brown", "Willow weep for me" samt "Woodyn't you". De to unge løver NHØP, som kun var 17 år og Alex Riel der var 22 år får lov til at strække sig udover numre i et legesygt forum. Finn Savery spiller lækkert og afrundet, velovervejet om man vil på sit piano. Specielt skal fremhæves numrene "Woodyn't you" hvor Dizzy Gillespie's klassiske jazz standard udsættes for en svingende fed udgave og "Willow weep for me" der med sine 12 minutter giver plads til at især de unge musikere kan udfolde sig. Man kan tydeligt høre at musikerene har haft det sjovt i studiet, her er spilleglæde, hygge og super sammenspil. En klar anbefaling skal lyde herfra. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Max Leth : Max Leth Quartet.Super optagelse med Max Leth Quartet bestående af Max Leth selv på piano og vibraphone, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen på bas, Ole Molin på guitar og Bjarne Rostvold på trommer. Her bliver der, ligesom den før omtalte Louis Hjulmand plade, svinget seriøst hårdt. Denne kvartet spiller virkelig tight, fedt og forrygende, specielt skal nævnes Ole Molin's lækre svingende guitarlyd og Max Leth's fantastiske spil på pianoet og vibraphonen - den mand forstod virkelig at flytte fingrene, prøv bare at lytte til kvartettens udgave af "Besame mucho" og du vil blive overbevist. Det er svært at fremhæve nogen numre som er bedre end de andre da alle numre er absolut suveræne, men skal jeg gøre det må det blive det før omtalte "Besame mucho", "Isn't it romantic" og "On the sunny side". Denne plade er optaget i Metronome studiet, København den 5, 7 og 9. Februar 1978 og fremstår i super lydkvalitet, måske seriens bedste. Alle musikere står perfekt i lydbilledet med en blød og afrundet lyd, så det er en sand fryd at lytte til - lækkert. Det er en cool og svedig omgang senhalvfjerdser jazz vi her bliver udsat for og cd'en med Max Leth Quartet er en absolut topscorer blandt de plader jeg har anmeldt, både musik- og kvalitetsmæssigt. Så konklussionen på denne anmeldelse er : KØB DEN!!! - hellere i dag end i morgen. NB: den opmærksomme læser har sikkert bemærket at der står Max Leth Quintet på coveret afbilledet ovenfor, dette er imidlertidig forkert da der på pladecoveret, som jeg sidder med her foran mig, står Max Leth Quartet. Dette er grunden til at tekst og billede ikke stemmer overens. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Jazz Quintet 60 : Fontana presenting Jazz Quintet 60.Jazz Quintet 60 blev dannet i 1960 (deraf navnet) og optrådte omkring på forskellige spillesteder, indtil de 3 år efter besluttede sig til at gå hver til sit. Denne cd stammer fra en sidste optagelse i August 1963 hvor kvintetten fandt sammen en sidste gang, efter en overstået turne med Gitte Hænning i Sverige, for at indspille disse numre. Jazz Quintet 60 bestod af Bent Axen på piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen på bas, Allan Botschinsky på trompet og flugelhorn, Niels Husum på tenorsax og Bjarne Rostvold på trommer. Alle musikere spiller med nerve, kontrol, overskud og et sammenspil der er bemærkelsesværdigt. Vi bliver her udsat for 3 Allan Botschinsky kompositioner, samt 4 andre kompositioner af blandt andet Horace Silver og Cole Porter. Alle spiller cool og tight på disse optagelser, lyt til Husum's kraftfulde spil på tenosaxen, Botschinsky's hurtige selvsikre trompetspil, Axen's enestående piano og NHØP og Rostvold's gode solide bund som ligger under det hele. De bedste numre på pladen er "One more chant" og "Yake-de-yak" (hvor kom den titel fra???) som begge er Botschinsky kompositioner, det svinger mageløst og er en milepæl indenfor dansk jazz, som nu endelig efter alle disse år er blevet tilgængelig igen. Jazz quintet 60 er uanset hvordan man vender og drejer det et must buy!!!! Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Pedro Biker : The Song is You & Fontana presenting Evergreens in Danish Design.Disse to meget interessante udgivelser er først og fremmest præget af Pedro Bikers jazz-vokal. Der er god grund til at anmelde dem sammen for udover et betydeligt personsammenfald på de to cd'er. For det første er Biker akkompagneret af bl.a. NHØP, Sahib Shihab og Allan Botschinsky medvirker på begge cd'er og for det andet ligger de musikalsk ret tæt op ad hinanden. Musikken er måske bedst karakteriseret ved følgende udsagn fra Biker ( i et interview med Birger Jørgensen, der er optrykt på indersiden af coveret til The Song is you): Birger Jørgensen: "Er du jazzsanger?" Biker: "Hvad er en jazzsanger? Har man nogen definition? Jeg véd bare, hvem jeg selv betragter som jazzsangere. Der er selvfølgelig Louis Armstrong og Joe Hendricks, der var Billie Holliday, og der er til en vis grad Sarah Vaughan. Men så er der også jazzinsirerede popsangere". Jørgensen: "Og det er du?" Biker: "Gem hellere det spørgsmål til lytteren. Man kunne måske kalde The Song is You en samling optagelser af populære melodier udført med jazzfornemmelse. …" I mine øjne er der ingen tvivl om at dette bør kategoriseres som netop jazzinspireret pop. Bikers vokale udfoldelser kan efter min opfattelse bedre sammenlignes med jazz-poppens mester Frank Sinatra end mere klassiske jazzsangere, som f.eks. Armstrong. Af de to cd'er er The Song is You absolut at foretrække. Det er den friskeste og mest veloplagte af de to. Evergreens, er mere afdæmpet og mere "late night" i sit udtryk. Begge er imidlertid særdeles velspillet og veludført. Absolut et bekendtskab værd. Eneste anke er, at man kunne ønske sig lidt mere baggrundsinformation om musikken og om Biker - det er end ikke angivet hvornår musikken er indspillet, men måske har det været tanken at musikken skulle tale for sig selv, og det er jo i grunden heller ikke så galt. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

Ib Glindemann : Fontana presenting his 1963 Orchestra.Denne genudgivelse af en koncert fra Falkonercenteret I København, er en velkommen chance for at stifte bekendtskab med dansk big band jazz af høj kvalitet. Ikke bare viser cd'en af Danmarks jazz-pionerer fra sin bedste side, men musikken holder, trods sin alder, en fin standard. Glindemanns talent for at udvælge gode musikere og få dem til at yde deres bedste kommer her klart frem. I Big Bandet finder vi således både NHØP, Palle Mikkelborg, og Alex Riel, m.v. Selv om arrangementerne måske ikke er helt så fremsynet og avantgardistiske som F.eks. Gil Evans arrangementer - Glindemann var i højere grad inspireret af Stan Kenton og Bill Holman - så er musikken stadig rimelig frisk. OK - jeg kan ikke undgå at bemærke, at det måske nogle steder bliver lidt for småborgerligt (med associationer til parcelhus, velopdragne børn, og hvad dertil hører), men i det store og hele er det en meget fin udgivelse, der også er interessant fordi Ib Glindemann var manden der transformere Radioens danseorkester til Radioens Big Band, der den dag i dag er et særdeles livskraftigt orkester. Skal jeg fremhæve særlige numre må det blive den legende Manteca (af Gil Fuller og Dizzy Gillespie), der gennemføres helt i nummerets ånd; My Funny Valentine, der ligger et pænt stykke fra f.eks. Miles Davis' højsensitive minimalisme, men alligevel formår at få nummerets sjæl fint frem og så den afsluttende I want to be happy, der måske er det nummer der med sin klare bekymringsløse atttitude bedst repræsenterer pladen i sin helhed. Det hele er pakket ind i et flot cover, med gode noter. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

Den nedenstående plade hører ikke med til den meget interessante Fontana serie som omtales ovenfor. Men denne plade er en nyudgivelse, som også fortjener lidt opmærksomhed og derfor har vi valgt at tage den med i denne artikel. Her bliver vi præsenteret for en plade der beskæftiger sig med en af de danske kunstnere som man forbinder med den danske guldalder jazz, nemlig Leo Mathiesen. Sigurd Barrett trio : En hyldest til Leo Mathiesen.I anledning af 100 året for Leo Mathisens fødsel Har Sigurd Barret Trio (Sigurd: Sang og klaver; Bjarne Christensen: Bas; Martin Klausen: Trommer - og hertil føjes Jesper Thilo på sax på en del af numrene) været på opdagelse i Leo Mathisens swing-univers og har fundet en række underholdende numre frem til stor fornøjelse for familien Danmark. Der synges og spilles helt i Leo Mathisens ånd, og man kan høre at musikerne har haft det rigtig sjovt med at indspille disse numre. Sigurd gør et nummer ud at frasere på samme spøjse måde som Leo Mathisen (der var inspireret af Fats Waller) gjorde. Vi får alle de kendte numre: Take it Easy; To be or not to be og Fats Wallers Anita, samt en række mindre kendte Leo Mathiesen numre. Pladen, som er udgivet af My Way Music, er en rigtig familieplade. Børnene vil synes det er sjovt og Bedsteforældrene vil mindes deres barndom, hvor Mathisens musik må være gledet ud af de radioer som vi har hørt så meget om i de første afsnit af DR1's Krøniken. De jazzglade forældre kan både glæde sig over de sjove happy go lucky numre, som bare er fuld af fis, f.eks. De 24 røvere og I wonder where my baby is tonight, men også over de mere seriøse indslag som f.eks. balladen What shall I say. Sigurd er pt. vært på et program på tv, der introducerer børn for jazz. Et program, som vi her på Jazznet sætter stor pris på, og pladen her kan passende spilles for børnene i forbindelse med at de ser dette program. Cd'en kan varmt anbefales til familier med børn og/eller bedsteforældre. En oplagt mandelgave. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

Coltrane og spirituel udvikling del 1.

2009-08-29T13:11:00.010-06:00

Del 1 - Fra Blue train til Coltrane. Introduktion.De fleste som kender lidt til jazz kender også de to mest kendte plader (cd'er) som John Coltrane har lavet: Blue Train fra 1957 og A Love Supreme fra 1964. Sidstnævnte er et ubestridt mesterværk (se beskrivelse ovenfor), men også Blue Train rummer store kvaliteter. Begge plader er kendetegnet ved at være umiddelbart tilgængelige forstået på den måde, at selv om man ikke kender så meget til jazz, så kan man høre disse plader og umiddelbart være med. Stort set alle numre på disse plader har et rytmisk drive og let genkendelige melodilinjer, som gør at musikken umiddelbart ikke skiller sig stilmæssigt voldsomt ud fra anden rytmisk musik. Det er imidlertid langt fra alle dele af Coltranes store musikalske produktion som deler denne umiddelbare tilgængelighed. Særligt de indspilninger han lavede efter A love Supreme og frem til sin alt for tidlige død i 1967 (Coltrane blev kun 40 år gammel) bliver ofte anset for vanskeligt tilgængelige og selv inkarnerede jazz afficionados er uenige om kvaliteten af mange af disse indspilninger. I det følgende vil jeg forsøge at give en vejledning i hvordan man som ny lytter til disse musikalske udfordringer kan komme ind i denne musik, som jeg selv og Jyden anser for noget af det smukkeste der er skabt på denne jord. Vejledningen er baseret på mine egne erfaringer og skal ses som en guide til en spirituel rejse, hvor man gennem musikken kan få adgang til dele af sin egen personlighed, som man ikke har adgang til i den daglige trummerum. Man kan måske kalde det for en slags musikalsk meditation.Blue Train. Rejsen ind i John Coltranes musik begyndte for mit eget vedkommende med Blue Train.Denne plade var sammen med Miles Davis' A Kind of Blue(som Coltrane også spiller med på) en af grundende til at jeg overhovedet begyndte at interessere mig for det jeg vil kalde for klassisk jazz. Blue Train er nem, lige ud af landevejen jazz, der er baseret (som titlen antyder) på en række blues-temaer. Coltranes soloer er fremragende, og det er tydeligt, at han på dette tidspunkt er en fremragende saxofonist, der er helt på højde med de bedste. Året forinden havde han som medlem af Miles Davis Quintet indspillet en række albums, der den i dag betragtes som mesterværker (og som netop er udkommet på et nyt bokssæt - se anmeldelse andetsteds på siden her), og på Blue Train udfolder han sig som en leder, fuldt på højde med Miles Davis. Dette er altså udgangspunktet: Før man går videre bliver man nødt til at kunne lide Blue Train, hvilket til gengæld ikke er svært, fordi den som sagt er ret let tilgængelig. Hvis man synes at Blue Train er for vild eller for mærkelig er man nok ikke klar til jazz endnu.Giant steps. Efter Blue Train er det næste udviklingstrin Giant Steps. Denne plade som er udgivet på Atlantic er også et mesterværk i jazzhistorien, men er nok mindre kendt udenfor jazz-kredse. Giant Steps repræsenterer en helt ny måde at spille jazz på, og for den der er vant til blød laid-back natklub jazz vil den nok være lidt af et chok. Titelnummeret er forrygende og bliver spillet i et hæsblæsende tempo. Allerede 30 sekunder inde i nummeret går det løs med en forrygende afprøvning af saxofonens mange muligheder som udtryksform, og Coltrane viser her for alvor sin overlegne beherskelse af instrumentet. Nummeret repræsenterer en ny udvikling hos Coltrane, som siden skulle blive hans varemærke: I modsætning til Miles Davis, som gjorde meget ud af pauserne i musikken forsøger Coltrane at fylde rummet med lyd. Han er som en fysiker der forsøger at beskrive enhver detalje af ethvert atom i enhver genstand der findes i rummet. Det objekt han beskriver er imidlertid ikke et fysisk objekt, men derimod det musikalske univers. Musikken her er udforskende og på senere plader bliver det klart, at undersøgelsen af musikkens mange muligheder, grænser og hemmelige rum bliver til en metafor for sjæle-ransagelse: Hans oplevelser i det musikalske univers bliver forvandlet til sjælelige oplevelser og som lytter får man beskrevet sjælens univers gennem Coltranes meget ekspressive spil på saxofonen. Giant steps, som er indspillet i 1959 og udgivet i 1960 er en af de første plader Coltrane udgav efter at være blevet fri af mange års heroin misbrug. Måske derfor er pladen fuld af den energi der giver ekstra livskraft til det hurtige spil. Foruden titelnummeret er det særligt nummeret Mr. P.C. (P.C. står for Poul Chambers og nummeret er en hyldest til denne fremragende bassist som Coltrane arbejdede meget sammen med), hvor Coltrane og hans medspillere, bare trykker den af. Pladen som helhed er fremragende og fortjener at blive fremhævet som et mesterværk. Pladen indeholder således også mere rolige numre, og blandt disse den uforglemmelige ballade Naima, som Coltrane har skrevet til sin datter af samme navn. Dette nummer som Coltrane vedblev med at spille live, selv efter at hans musik havde udviklet sig meget videre end hvad man kan høre på Giant steps indeholder en dybde og en kærlighed, som rækker langt ud over hvad der kan udtrykkes med ord. Når man først har opdaget Naima og lyttet intenst til den, forstår man nærmest intuitivt hvad det er Coltrane kan og vil med sin musik. Det er selve de fællesmenneskelige eksistensvilkår og den spirituelle sinds- og følelsesmæssige tilstand som udtrykker disse vilkår, som Coltrane formår at formidle. Kærligheden, skrøbeligheden, håbet, angsten, osv. Alle disse helt basale følelser som alle mennesker besidder og som simpelthen er en del af menneskeheden og dens historie. Det er dette som Coltrane mere end nogen anden har formået at formidle gennem sin musik. For nogle har dette betydet at Coltrane er blevet opfattet som en helgen, altså som en menneske med en helt særlig kontakt til Gud. Saint John Coltrane Giant Steps er udgivet af Atlantic Records, og Coltrane indspillede i 1959-1960 en række yderligere plader for Atlantic, som alle er udgivet i boks-sættet: The Heavyweight Champion: John Coltrane, The Complete Atlantic Recordings. De fleste øvrige plader fra denne periode holder en jævnt høj kvalitet uden dog at skille sig ud som decideret mesterværker (til dels fordi de står i skyggen af Coltranes egen senere produktion, der er endnu mere bemærkelsesværdig). Nævnes skal dog My Favourite Things, som blev udgivet i 1961. På denne plade spiller John Coltrane for første gang nummeret My Favourite Things, som oprindeligt er skrevet af Richard Rodgers og Oscar Hammerstein til brug for musicalen Sound of Music. Dette nummer blev frem til hans død en slags kendingsmelodi for Coltrane. Med udgangspunkt i det indledende tema er nummeret blevet brugt som afsæt for et utal af (oftest vilde) og meget lange improvisationer, hvor Coltrane har afsøgt et hav af forskellige måder at udtrykke sig på. Den længste version findes på Live in Japan, hvor Coltrane først slipper nummeret efter 57 minutter og 19 sekunder. Jeg skal komme tilbage til denne teknik nedenfor. The Classic Quartet - de første år.På trods af det meget hurtige spil på Giant Steps kan denne og de øvrige udgivelser fra Atlantic perioden stadig siges at være tilgængeligt og forståeligt som almindelig jazz. Der er rimeligt klart identificerbare temaer og der er en stabil rytmisk puls igennem musikken. Der er med andre ord melodier, som man kan nynne med på - i hvert fald et stykke hen ad vejen. Den store udfordring i Coltranes musik begynder i den næste periode, som indledes med pladen Coltrane der blev indspillet i 1962. Med denne plade blev verden introduceret for, hvad der skulle vise sig at være en af de allermest tæt sammenspillet grupper i jazzens historie. Coltrane havde tidligere, som der er sædvanligt i jazzen spillet med mange forskellige musikere og havde ikke dannet noget fast orkester. I slutningen af 1961, hvor Coltrane skiftede pladeselskab til det nystiftede Impulse besluttede han sig for at danne en mere fast gruppe.Denne kom til at bestå af Elvin Jones på trommer, Jimmy Garrison på bas og McCoy Tyner på piano. Tilsammen omtales de ofte som The Classic Quartet, og deres samlede studie indspilninger der dækker perioden 1962-1965 er udgivet som et meget flot box-sæt: John Coltrane - The Classic Quartet: The Complete Studio Recordings. Coltranes arbejde i og med kvartetten står både for jazz-eksperter og for de fleste Coltrane afficionados som højdepunktet i hans karriere. Det er i denne periode han har udgivet noget af det smukkeste musik der findes og det var også i denne periode han måske spillede allerflest koncerter (se nedenfor). Samtidig er det i slutningen af denne periode, at han udvikler en musik-form, som må anses for vanskeligt tilgængelig for de fleste, hvilket hænger sammen med en høj grad af kompleksitet i musikken kombineret med en løsrivelse fra kendte musikalske regler. Således bevæger han sig i slutningen af denne periode over imod den genre der betegnes free jazz, hvor tema, fast rytme m.v. opgives til fordel for en mere direkte spirituel tilgang til musikken. En indlevelse i denne friere musik er vanskeligere end de tidligere mere swingende former for jazz, men yder man en indsats for at få adgang til hjertet i denne musik, giver den en ekstra bonus i form af en særlig spirituel oplevelse. For den som er interesseret i at få adgang til denne musik, men som umiddelbart synes den er svær, vil jeg anbefale at starte med pladerne Coltrane og A Love Supreme (se omtale ovf). Begge disse plader indeholder elementer af den lidt friere og lidt vildere stil som er karakteristisk for den senere Coltrane, men er samtidig lidt romantiske og melankoliske i deres udtryksform, og derfor alligevel mere eller mindre umiddelbart tilgængelige. Start f.eks. med Coltrane. Balladen Soul Eyes vil de fleste kunne lide. Den er meget smuk, og kan sammenlignes med den version af samme nummer som Coltrane spillede med på i 1957 på Mal Waldron pladen Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors. På denne måde kan få et indtryk af hvordan det samme nummer kan spilles på 2 forskellige måder. Den sene udgave (på Coltrane) rummer et mere dybfølt spil og viser, at Coltrane er på vej væk fra den lette genre - henimod en langt mere alvorlig, nærmest eksistentiel tilgang til jazzen. Tunji er også en utrolig smuk ballade, medens pladens egentlige mesterværk er det indledende nummer Out of this World, der i sig rummer mange af de kvaliteter man finder i en lidt mere rendyrket form for A Love Supreme. Out of this World, er på en måde indgangsbønnen til den nye seriøse og grænseoverskridende John Coltrane. Kan man være med her, så er man nået et godt stykke på vej, men de sværeste udfordringer ligger endnu forude. Kan man ikke helt forlige sig med Out of this World og det lidt vanskelige Miles Mode (også fra Coltrane), vil det være en idé at søge tilbage til de sidste plader fra Atlantic perioden. Coltranes Sound (med det fantastiske og banebrydende cover) og Olé (Coltranes svar på Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain) rummer kimen til den udvikling der gik i gang med dannelsen af The Classic Quartet, men er alligevel lidt nemmere at gå til. Ved at lytte mere intenst til disse plader, og særligt et nummer som f.eks. Equinox, kan man opbygge en lydhørhed for den nye stil man finder på Coltrane, og på den måde komme ind den nye musik.

Albert Ayler - free jazzens konge.

2009-08-29T13:11:00.009-06:00

Ingen webside som omhandler jazz og freejazz uden en introduktion til Albert Ayler.Albert Ayler var en amerikansk tenorsaxofonist, født 13. juli 1936 i Cleveland Ohio, død 25. november 1970 i New York.Mens meget af det freejazz der blev indspillet i 1960erne kan virke lidt bedaget, står Albert Aylers musik som noget af det der stadig holder 100% her omkring 40 år efter. Hans musik er voldsom, betagende og sært dragende og han står som en af de største og mest fascinerende eksempler på free jazzen.Han startede i sine teenageår med at turnere og spille altsaxofon sammen med forskellige blues musikere. Senere fik han sit eget rhythm & blues-band, indtil han blev indkaldt til militærtjeneste i Tyskland, hvor han skiftede over til tenorsaxofon. Han valgte at bosætte sig i Europa hvor han blandt andet var aktiv på musikscenen i Sverige og i Danmark. Den kontroversielle Albert Ayler vendte tilbage til USA og involverede sig i den nye spirende avantgardejazz-scene. I disse år spillede han blandt andet sammen med Henry Grimes, Don Cherry, Gary Peacock og Sunny Murray samt mange andre.Fra midten af 1960erne var Albert Ayler anerkendt som en stor personlighed på New York-jazz-scenen. Han blev ofte ledsaget af sin bror trompetisten Donald Ayler, deres musik bestod af freejazz med karakteristiske små fanfareagtige temaer med elementer af march- og cirkusmusik. Albert Ayler har udgivet plader på forskellige selskaber, men de vigtigste plader i hans diskografi er udgivet på de to forholdsvis store selskaber : Esp-disk og Impulse records. Specielt har Esp-disk genudgivet nogen meget spændende og interessante plader her indenfor de seneste par år.Spiritual unity."Spiritual Unity", optaget i 1964, var det album som fik Ayler op i den absolutte jazz advantgarde superliga og var også det første jazz album som blev udgivet på Esp-disk. En plade hvor Ayler spillede sammen med sympatiske musikere som forstod og respekterede det han lavede. På bas høres Gary Peacock med sine frit flydende ideer og trommeslager Sunne Murray med hans skiftende rytmer hvor han flittigt bruger bækkener. Selvom alle på pladen spiller frit er det IKKE ukontrolleret rod og larm. Alle de medvirkende musikere lytter til de forskellige nuancer der er i de andres spil og spiller derefter. Ayler sagde følgende ord "this music was about feelings, not notes" og han har så evig ret. På "Spiritual Unity" blæses den filosofi lige ind i fjæset på lytteren på den mest kontante og eksteme måde. En banebrydende indspilning som er absolut nødvendig til enhver forståelse af free jazz."This music was about feelings, not notes." (Albert Ayler)Live albums på Esp-disk.Albert Ayler har udgivet en række live albums på Esp-disk, alle af meget høj kvalitet. "Bells/prophecy" som indeholder 2 koncerter optaget i xxxxxx i 196x, "Slug's saloon" som er optaget den 1. maj 1966 og "live on the riviera" som er en optagelse af en koncert fra den 25. juli 1970 indeholdende hovedsagelig numre fra hans albums udgivet på Impulse records. Som sagt kan de alle anbefales på det kraftigste. Musikken er om muligt endnu mere voldsom og ekstrem end på studie indspilningerne. Albums på Impulse records.I 1966 blev Ayler signet til Impulse records og fra den dag blev hans musik markant anderledes. Han blev mere "pæn" i sit tidligere eksplosive udtryk, blev umiddelbart mere tilgængelig og blev i mine ører mere ordinær og kedelig. For Impulse records indspillede han studieindspilningerne "love cry" i 1967, "New grass" i 1968 og "music is the healing force of the universe" i 1969. På disse plader er der stærke inspirationer og elementer fra rhythm & blues. Det er ligesom at på disse albums har Ayler fået beordret at han skal spille mere tilgængelig musik. Hans vilde soloer er blevet tonet kraftigt ned og det er til tider svært at finde free jazzen i disse plader. Men hvor om alt er hører disse plader med til Ayler's diskografi og det er på en eller anden vis spændende at følge med i hvordan han udvikler sig med årene, dog i dette tilfældde til det dårligere og knap så interessante. Der er også udgivet et helt fantastisk live album på Impulse records "Live in Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse recordings" som helt er på højde med live indspilningerne på Esp-disk. Denne plade er anmeldt andetsteds på siden så derfor vil jeg ikke komme nærmere ind på den her, men blot nævne at den holder. Læs anmeldelsen Holy ghost bokssæt.John Fahey's Revenant records har udgivet et kæmpe 10 cd's bokssæt med alt muligt som man kunne tænke sig med Albert Ayler. Der er koncertprogrammer, koncertoptagelser, studioptagelser, interviews, en forglem mig ej tørret blomst, essay om Ayler og hans musik samt en meget smuk bog sprængfyldt med spændende læsning. Denne boks er nok mest for den inkarnerede og dedikerede Ayler fan (som en selv) da den er en ordentlig mundfuld. Nok ikke lige her begynderen skal starte med Ayler, men for den lidt mere "øvede" Ayler fanatiker er den en guldgrube uden lige. "If people don't like it now, they will." (Albert Ayler)Albert Ayler's død.Albert Ayler forsvandt den 5. november 1970 og blev fundet død i New York City's East River den 25. november. Omstændighederne omkring Aylers død var i mange år et mysterium og der skulle gå en del år inden det blev klarlagt. Der begyndte straks at versere forskellige rygter omkring Aylers død. Af forskellige rygter kan nævnes at han var blevet skudt af politiet, at FBI havde slået ham ihjel for at undertrykke udbredelsen af "black culture", at hans krop var blevet fundet bundet til en jukebox, at han var blevet slået ihjel af mafiaen, at hans død havde noget med stoffer at gøre enten at stofferne havde gjort ham sindsyg eller han var blevet dræbt på grund af at han skyldte penge for stoffer. Sagen om Albert Ayler's død skulle forblive et mysterium indtil 1983 hvor hans samleverske Mary Parks, træt af alle rygterne, delte hendes oplevelser i forbindelse med Aylers død. Presset og besværlighederne med at overleve som musiker i New York havde kraftigt påvirket Albert's bror Donald psykisk. Deres mor havde igennem længere tid bebrejdet Albert at han havde introduceret Donald til livet som musiker. Albert var konstant under pres med at skulle passe på hans bror og hjalp på forskellige måder. Efter 2 års frustrationer fra sin bror og trusler og krav fra deres mor blev det simpelthen for meget for ham. Selvom Donald til sidst fik hjælp fra sygehusvæsenet efter et nervøst sammenbrud Albert kunne ikke overbevises af Mary om at situationen ville blive bedre. Albert fortalte Mary at hans blod var nødt til at blive ofret for at redde hans mor og bror. Han fortalte hende endda hvordan han ville at rettighederne til hans musik efter hans død skulle deles. Mary's søster prøvede at tale Albert fra hans selvmordsplaner og Albert lovede at overveje det endnu engang. Om aftenen den 5. November fortalte Albert igen Mary at hans blod var nødt til at blive ofret for hans mor og bror. Efter et skænderi smadrede Albert en af sine saxophoner på deres fjernsyn og løb ud af huset. Mary ringede til politiet og meldte Albert savnet. Albert tog færgen til frihedsgudinden og sprang ud fra båden da den nærmede sig Liberty Island. Den 5. december 1970 om eftermiddagen blev Albert Ayler begravet fra kapellet på Highland Park cemetery i Cleveland, 55 mennesker var til stede, mest famile.Albert Ayler betragtes den dag i dag som en af de største pioneerer indenfor freejazzen og han er til stadighed en inspirationskilde for nye og eksisterende kunstnere. I den sammenhæng skal det fornemme svenske selskab Ayler records nævnes, som et af de pladeselskaber der udgiver plader med free jazz helt i Ayler's ånd. Af kunstnere som har udgivet på selskabet skal nævnes Henry Grimes, som spillede sammen med Ayler. Han har udgivet en helt fantastisk trio plade optaget på en jazz festival i Finland. Både denne plade og selskabet Ayler records vil jeg komme tilbage til på et senere tidspunkt.Jeg tror på at hvis ikke Ayler havde lavet hans musik som han gjorde, ville free jazzen ikke have set sådan ud som den gør i dag. Desværre er han ikke i blandt os længere da han som så mange andre jazz musikere led han en alt for tidlig død. Men hans musik består - og gudskelov for det."Trane was the father, Pharaoh was the son, I was the Holy Ghost"(Albert Ayler)Indeed you were my man... rest in peace.

Jimmy Lyons.

2009-08-29T13:11:00.008-06:00

Jeg skal være ærlig, før jeg blev opmærksom på Jimmy Lyons gennem Ayler Records, kendte jeg ikke ret meget til ham. Godt nok havde jeg hørt ham i forbindelse med Cecil Taylor, men jeg kendte ikke noget til hans indspilninger udgivet i hans eget navn. Men det skulle der blive ændret på da jeg begav mig ud på denne meget spændende og interessante rejse ind i løvens gab. Ind i Jimmy Lyons musiske univers, ind i en free jazz mesters verden. Jimmy Lyons blev født den 1. december 1933 i Jersey city, New jersey som den ældste af fem brødre. I hans barndomsår interesserede Lyons sig meget for musik, og i julen 1944 eller 1945 konsulterede hans mor en expert på området. Dette resulterede i en sølv finish alto saxophone som var den første saxophon som han ejede. Experten der blev konsulteret var ingen mindre end klarinetisten Buster Bailey, et vigtigt medlem af Fletcher Henderson's band i 1920'erne og 1930'erne. Bailey introducerede ham for musik og lærte ham det grundlæggende. Lyons studerede senere sammen med big band saxophon veteranen Rudy Rutherford og blev i en ung alder venner med store jazz navne såsom Elmo Hope, Bud Powell og Thelonious Monk. Monk nævnte på et tidspunkt at han beundrede Lyons' styrke men kritiserede ham for ikke at kende til nodernes positioner og navne. Lyons spillede med i jam sessions rundt omkring på forskellige små spillesteder i New York og det var lige netop til en af disse jam sessions at Lyons fik kontakt med Cecil Taylor. I sommeren 1960 spillede Lyons på hverdagsaftenerne sammen med Ali Richardson på et af tidens mange kaffe huse kaldet The Café Rafio. Cecil Taylor havde job samme sted i weekenderne, og hørte Lyons spille og var imponeret. Faktisk var han så imponeret at han ansatte ham med start den følgende sommer 1961. Lyons udtalte om samarbejdet med Cecil Taylor :
"The time i worked with Cecil turned me around... Nothing seemed to work with the music i had been playing before... The Bebop thing was completely useless in Cecil's music, like mixing oil and water"Cecil Taylor udtalte om samarbejdet med Jimmy Lyons :
"Oh, Jimmy is the right arm of Cecil Taylor's music. He's the instructor"Lyons og Taylor forsatte dette samarbejde til kort før Lyons' død i 1986 og udgav blandt andet fantastiske albums som "Conquistador" og "Unit structures" fra 1966 begge udgivet på Blue Note.
I 1969 udgav Lyons sit første album som leder, albummet "Other afternoons" som er blevet udgivet på forskellige selskaber igennem tiderne blandt andet BYG og Affinity. Denne session blev en realitet på grund af et afbud fra Cecil Taylor, og han videre gav så studietiden til Lyons. Først i 1978 tog Lyons tilbage i studiet som leder og indspillede albummet "Push pull". Efter dette indspillede Lyons følgende : "Riffs" fra 1980, "Jump up/what to do about" også fra 1980, "Weesneezawee" fra 1983 og hans sidste album "Give it up" fra 1985. Disse albums blev udgivet på Hat Hut og Black Saints sideløbende med sit forsatte samarbejde med Cecil Taylor. Disse albums er ikke så nemme at få fat på, da mange af dem er udgået fra distrubutørerne. Så hvis du er så heldig at falde over et af dem, så skynd dig at komme op igen og køb. Måske beskrives Jimmy Lyons status som musiker bedst ved det faktum at Cecil Taylor fandt ham uerstattelig. Efter Lyons' død etablerede Taylor aldrig et længere varende samarbejde med en anden musiker. Jimmy Lyons bliver sommetider karakteriseret som Cecil Taylors alto saxophonist og som ham der bragte Charlie Parker ind i avantgarden og slægtskabet er da også tydeligt, dog tager Lyons musikken en tak videre mod vildere og mere improvisatoriske højder, Lyons formåede i den grad at skabe en klar linie mellem Bebop og freejazz. Jimmy Lyons døde den 19. maj 1986 som 54 årig i New York, efter længere tids ulige kamp med lungecancer. Avantgarde jazz og jazz i særdeleshed, mistede en vigtig, svingende og helt fænomenal kreativ udøver hvis musik kryber ind under huden på en og er stærkt vanedannende.

Jimmy Lyons : The Box Set (aylCD-036-040). I resten af denne artikel vil jeg koncentrere mig om det meget spændende 5 cd's bokssæt "Jimmy Lyons - The Box set" udgivet af Ayler Records i 2003. Et bokssæt som kun kan anbefales på det varmeste, indeholdende over 6 timers livemusik optaget fra 1972 til 1985 i forskellige trio og kvintet konstellationer samt en enkelt solo optræden, et interessant interview med manden selv samt en 60 siders meget spændende informativ bog. Jeg tror ikke der er påtænkt en bestemt rækkefølge man skal lytte til dette bokssæt på. Jeg startede med at lytte til interviewet der er de sidste 11 minutter på disc 4, for at få lidt viden og en introduktion til manden. Derefter gik jeg videre til disc 3 til hans solo koncert for ligesom at høre hvad Jimmy Lyons egenlig kunne på sit instrument. Derefter var der ingen vej tilbage - jeg var hooked og så var det bare at gå i gang med de forskellige koncertoptagelser fra en ende af. Jimmy Lyons Quartet, Studio Rivbea, NYC, September, 1972 (aylCD-036).Den første disc er en koncert fra Sam River's Studio Rivbea med Jimmy Lyons på alto sax, Hayes Burnett på bas, Raphé Malik på trompet og Sidney Smart på trommer. Når man hører sammenspillet mellem Lyons' alto sax og Malik's trompet ledes tankerne uvilkårligt hen på Ornette Coleman og Don Cherry. Cd'en indeholder 5 af Lyons originale kompositioner og et nummer af Theolonious Monk. Der lægges ud med en forrygende udgave af nummeret "Jump up" en af Lyons mest kendte numre hvor alle de medvirkende giver sig fuldt ud, specielt trommeslageren Sydney Smart tæsker igennem på trommer så det er en sand fryd. Heftigt efterfulgt af "Gossip" hvor Lyons' sax lyder helt fantastisk i genialt sammenspil med Malik's energiske trompet. Så er det blevet tid for en ballade i form a nummeret "Ballad one", et nummer hvor bassisten Burnett ligger en meget dyb og overbevisende svingende bund i form af sit emminenete spil. "Mr. 1-2-5 street" er endnu et up-tempo nummer med et accelererende tema som hurtigt ender i fantastiske soloer fra både sax og trompet, igen med forrygende trommespil. Endnu en udgave af "Jump up" følger herefter, en anden version end den tidligere, Lyons virker mere koncentreret og fokuseret på hans spil. Der afsluttes med en fornøjelig udgave af Monk's "Round midnight", et undeholdende covernummer hvor det er interessant at høre kvartettens måde at spille dette klassiske nummer på. Jimmy Lyons Trio, Studio Rivbea, NYC, June 30, 1975 (aylCD-037).Disc 2 bringer os 3 år længere frem i tiden til et andet Studio Rivbea gig i 1975, denne gang med en trio. Bandet består som på den foregående cd af Jimmy Lyons og Hayes Burnett men trommerne er her overladt til Henry Lechter. Her præsenteres der to numre henholdsvis "Family" og "Heritage I". På disse numre blæser Lyons om muligt endnu mere igennem end på den tidligere indspilning fra Studio Rivbea (disc 1), sandsynligvis fordi han er det eneste horn. Nummeret "Family" som varer ca. 40 minutter er en sand tour de force i saxophon spil. Lyons tager først mundstykket ud af munden efter 25 imponerende minutter og lader derefter sine med musikere få lidt plads - forygende. "Heritage I" er en lille smule kortere end sin forgænger men er lige så fantastisk et stykke musik. Efter en start med Burnett og Lechter ankommer Lyons her som et godstog, spiller hurtigt og hidsigt. Her bliver hele tone registeret brugt, lige fra de dybe lave toner til de skrigende høje. Alt bliver afleveret med fantastisk præcission og nøjagtighed. Ingen af de medvirkende stopper bare et kort sekund for at trække vejret. En utrolig imponerende koncertoptagelse som jeg ville have givet min højre arm for at have overværet.Jimmy Lyons Trio, Studio Rivbea, NYC, June 30, 1975 & Jimmy Lyons Solo, Soundscape, NYC, April 9, 1981 (aylCD-038).Disc 3 lægger ud med forsættelsen af koncerten fra disc 2. "Heritage II" er det første nummer som forsætter i samme spor som sin forgænger "Heritage I" og er en absolut værdig efterfølger, der spilles lige så forrygende og imponerende som tidligere.Så er det blevet tid til en fantastisk solooptagelse af Lyons fra 1981. Denne viser en saxophonist i fuld fart og med overlegne kontrol. Lyons inkluderer frit fraser fra både hans egne og andres kompositioner. Der åbnes med nummeret "Clutter" som inkluderer Lyons' egne numre og låner fra standarder, blandt andet "It Might As Well Be Spring" og Monk's "Bemsha Swing". Hans toner virker klar og meget selvsikker hvilket gør at dette nummer får topkarakter. "Mary Mary" er et nummer dedikeret til pianisten og komponisten Mary Lou Williams, igen med klare referencer til Lyons' egne kompositioner. De to næste numre "Never" og "Configuration C" lyder mest som skitser til nogen endnu ikke færdige numre. De to sidste numre på cd'en "Repertoire Riffin'" og "Impro scream" præsenterer mere agressivt spil af den mest imponerende jawdropping slags. Jimmy Lyons Trio, Geneva, Switzerland, May 12, 1984 & Jimmy Lyons Interview, NYC, July 27, 1978 (aylCD-039).Disc 4 præsenterer Lyons i selskab med Karen Borca på Faggot og Paul Murphy på trommer, begge musikere som spillede med ham indtil hans død i 1986. Alle de medvirkende er her i absolut topform og spiller her, på en optaglse fra Geneve i Schweitz 1984, de bedste de har lært. Der lægges ud med en udgave af Lyons nummeret "Wee Sneezawee" som får sparket koncerten godt og grundigt i gang. Den smukke ballade "After You Left" indeholder soloer fra Lyons og Borca samt emminent sammenspil. "Theme" er et svingende bebop nummer som viser mere tæt sammenspil fra Lyons og Borca. Lyons er her i sit mest spændende hjørne, der affyres toner og harmonier som kræver at Murphy på trommerne virkelig yder sit bedste. "Shakin' Back" bringer trione tilbage til den mere humoristiske del af deres repetoriere, hornene blæses igennem på et heftigt svingende tema men Murphy ligger imponerende beats bagved. "Good News Blues" er en Borca komposition og her blæses der virkelig seriøst igennem på fagotten. Disc 4 afsluttes med et meget spændende interview med Jimmy Lyons optaget til WKCR-FM i sommeren 1978. Lyons har virkelig noget at fortælle her og interviewet måtte gerne have været længere. Lyons kommer blandt andet ind på hans tislige musikalske udannelse, hans år med Cecil Taylor og sammenhængen mellem komposition og improvisation. Jimmy Lyons Quartet, Tufts Uni., Medford, MA Feb. 12, 1985 (aylCD-040).Den sidste disc i boksættet præsenterer trioen fra disc 4 med tiløjelsen af William Parker på bas i en optagelse fra Tufts university i februar 1985. Parker's bas ligger en meget velkommen bund på numrene og han passer perfekt ind gruppen. Der lægges ud med de samme numre som fra koncerten på disc 4 "Wee Sneezawee" og "After You Left" her fremført i versioner der minder meget om de tidligere, spændende er det dog at høre disse numre igen efter at bassen er blevet tilføjet. Udover kendte numre som "Gossip" og "Shakin' back" giver gruppen sig også i kast med nye kompositioner. "Tortuga" starter ud med en flot start kun med Lyons og Borca medvirkende. "Driads" viser Parker spillende med bue på hans bas og endnu engang igen igen en imponerende solo fra Lyons. Der sluttes af med en udgave af Lyons klassikeren "Jump up". Denne sidste koncert er en af de mest interessante og spændende livesets indeholdt i bokssættet.Jimmy Lyons : The Sessionography (aylBK-002).Jan Stöm fra Ayler record har udgivet en meget omfattende og informativ sessiongraphy på cd. Den samler 320 sessions som Lyons medvirkede på, både officielle optagelser, optrædender fra radio og tv, private optagelser og koncerter og events der mange gange ikke er blevet optaget er medtaget. Alle sessions er sorteret efter dato i et meget bruger venligt layout. Yderligere har Jan Ström listet den totale spilletid til hver titel og endda registreret hvor lang Lyons' spilletid er på de enkelte numre. Imponerende stykke arbejde der er lagt i dette projekt. Cd'en indeholder også en kort biografi om Lyons, musiker og title indekser plus en masse ikke tidligere udgivne fotografier. Alt i alt en meget grundig og detaljeret stykke arbejde der er lagt i dette projektJeg kan simpelthen ikke anbefale dette bokssæt nok. Det er spækfyldt med så utrolig meget enestående free jazz og giver et glimrende indblik i en kunstner som ikke særlig mange kender. Jeg kendte som sagt ikke særlig meget til ham inden jeg fik fingre i dette bokssæt og jeg er blevet fuldstændig vild med det musik som Jimmy Lyons lavede i hans imponerende karriere. Der er ingen tvivl om at free jazzen har mistet en fantastisk udøver indenfor genren. Der skal lyde en stor tak til Jan Ström fra Ayler Records for venlig hjælp og svaren på mine evindelige spørgsmål.

Miles Davis bokssæt.

2009-08-29T13:11:00.007-06:00

Columbia/Legacy har udgivet 7 meget flotte og uhyre gennemførte bokssæt som dækker Miles Davis' indspilninger for Columbia records over en periode på 30 år. Disse nummererede bokssæt drejer sig hovedsageligt om studieindspilninger (bokssæt 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 og 7) samt et enkelt bokssæt med liveoptagelser og studieindspilninger(bokssæt 3). Columbia Records udtaler "By numbering them, we are attempting to break up his work either stylistically or temporally into thematic niches. We thus show Miles Davis as an artist in constant flux. Though we make these sets out of sequence, there will ultimately be seven of them in total. This will represent one of the most comprehensive and critically-acclaimed reissue programs dedicated to a single artist in the music industry" For vores eget vedkommende har vi ALDRIG set så smukke bokssæt, hver enkelt er enestående og unikt. Alle er remasterede til lejligheden så de fremstår i den bedste mulige lydkvalitet og er sprængfyldte med tekster om indspilninger og de medvirkende.

The Complete Miles Davis With John Coltrane (1955-1961) - bokssæt 1.
Samarbejdet mellem Miles Davis og John Coltrane var historisk af mange grunde. I midten af 1950'erne var Miles allerede en jazz pioneer og meget respekteret for blandt andet sit arbejde med Charlie Parker og hans indflydelse på cool jazz i form af sin nonet og pladen "Birth of the cool". I 1955 bestemte han sig for at indlede et samarbejde med den på dette tidspunkt ikke så kendte tenorsaxofonist John Coltrane. Med Miles Davis og John Coltrane som de altoverskyggende frontpersoner skulle dette vise sig at blive en af de mest innovative grupper, en gruppe der skulle komme til at ændre jazzen for altid. Denne gruppe bestod ud over disse to store personligheder af blandt andre altsaxofonisten Cannonball Adderley; pianisterne Red Garland, Bill Evans og Wynton Kelly; bassisten Paul Chambers og trommeslagerne Philly Joe Jones og Jimmy Cobb. "The Complete Columbia Recordings Miles Davis and John Coltrane" samler albums som "Round About Midnight", "Milestones","Someday My Prince Will Come", den legendariske "Kind of Blue" og 2 live sets fordelt på 6 cd'er. Alt i alt indeholder bokssættet 60 numre, hvoraf 18 af dem ikke tidligere har været udgivet, 14 af dem komplette takes. Fra åbneren på disc 1 "Two bass hit" til det sidste nummer på disc 6 "Straight no chaser" kan man tydeligt høre den spændende kontrast der er mellem minimalisten Miles Davis og en af de største solister og maksimalister John Coltrane. Sammenspillet og interaktionen mellem disse to er imponerende og sublimt på disse sessions, Miles med sine syngende, lyriske og laid back improvisationer og Coltrane's frembrusende in your face soloer passer og supplerer hinanden fuldstændig perfekt. Læg dertil Garland's bebop baserede pianospil, det harmonisk advancerede spil fra Evans, den varme flødeagtige tone fra Adderly, de tørre beats fra trommeslagerne Cobb og Jones og de funkede hjertelige toner fra Chambers' bass og man bliver nødt til at overgive sig betingelsesløst - det kan ikke blive bedre. Man sidder lidt med fornemmelsen af at det hele tiden havde været meningen at Miles og Coltrane skulle spille sammen, at der ligesom var en dybere mening med det hele og som stor jazz fan kan man ikke andet end fryde sig over at et samarbejde blev en realitet. Det er specielt meget spændende og interessant at høre hvordan Coltrane's spil ændrede og voksede i denne tidsperiode. Numrene i bokssættet repræsenterer et unikt stykke jazzhistorie med bebop numre som "Budo", "Two bass hit" og "Au-leu-cha". Klassiske standards som "All of you", "Stella by starlight", "Green dolphin street", "Sweet Sue" og "Bye bye blackbird". Der er numre af andre kunstnere såsom "Round about midnight" og "Straight no chaser" fra Thelonious Monk og så er der Miles Davis' egne originale kompositioner som "Milestones" og "All blues". Alle disse numre (plus en masse andre) bliver fremført med en glæde, intensitet, seriøsitet og smittende spilleglæde så man ikke kan andet end at få lyst til at høre det hele en gang til. Noget af det jeg bed mærke i da jeg sad og lyttede til bokssættet igen her for nylig var hvor glad musikken lyder. Prøv bare at lytte til numre som "Budo", "Two bass hit" og "Tadd's delight", man kan simpelthen ikke andet end at blive i godt humør over at lytte til dem. Der findes ikke ret mange bokssæt som alle musikinteresserede, også dem der ikke lytter til jazz til daglig, bør eje, men dette er efter min mening et af dem. Der er samlet så meget fantastisk musik på disse cd'er at jeg slet ikke kan finde superlativer nok til at beskrive det. Der vil altid være delte meninger omkring et bokssæt som dette. Der vil altid være nogen der mener at det er irriterende at numrene er placeret kronologisk efter hinanden, at man skal sidde og lede i bogen for at finde ud af hvilke albums numrene oprindelig blev udgivet på og at der er op til flere udgaver af det samme nummer. Men alt dette er uden betydning efter min mening. Jeg synes det er interessant at sidde og lytte til for eksempel 3 udgaver af "Ah-leu-cha" eller 4 udgaver af "Two bass hit" for det er ikke de samme udgaver der bliver spillet hver gang, der er hver gang en lille forskel. Måske bliver soloerne spillet anderledes, er længere eller en helt 3. ting, hvorom alt er er det i mine ører meget spændende lytning og synes du der er for mange gentagelser kan du jo bare programmere afspilleren til at hoppe nogen af dem over. Det her er en god måde at få fat i ALT hvad Miles og Coltrane indspillede sammen på Columbia. Hele dettebokssæt dokumenterer 2 af de bedste musiker der har været på denne jord, fanget i et specielt øjeblik i deres musiske udvikling inden de begge bevægede sig i forskellige retninger, miles mod et mere mørkt, dystert og elektrisk udtryk og Coltrane mod en mere spirituel spillestil. I mit sind er der ingen tvivl - det her er noget af det bedste traditionelle jazz der nogensinde er indspillet. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

The Complete Miles Davis And Gil Evans (1957-1968) - bokssæt 2.
Fra deres første samarbejde på sessionerne til "Birth of the cool" i 1949 etablerede Miles Davis og Gil Evans et unikt makkerskab, Miles fungerede som solist og Evans som arrangør. Et samarbejde der foregik fra 1957 til 1964 og som skulle komme til at være blandt de mest beundrede og sensationelle i begges diskografier. "The Complete columbia studio records of Miles Davis and Gil Evans" var det første bokssæt som blev udgivet i den spektakulære serie fra Columbia Records. Bokssættet indeholder de klassiske albums "Miles ahead", "Porgy and Bess", "Sketches of Spain" og "Quiet nights" som Miles og Evans oprindelig overhovedet ikke ville skulle udgives, plus 2 cd'er med rehearsal og alternate takes, i sandhed et overflødighedshorn af lækker musik. I modsætning til det før omtalte Miles og Coltrane bokssæt er cd'erne delt op på den måde at først kommer de oprindelige numre i den rækkefølge, som de oprindeligt blev udgivet på de oprindelige albums og derefter kommer de forskellige alternate takes. Det vi her bliver præsenteret for er virkelig god cool jazz, hver eneste album er enestående eksempler (undtaget det ikke så overbevisende "Quiet nights") på hvor fedt musik indspillet med et stort orkester kan være. Det er hverken ren klassisk eller ren jazz, men ligger og svæver et eller sted midt imellem. Bedst er det fænomenale materiale som udgør musikken til "Sketches of Spain" og "Porgy and Bess", det er intet mindre en sublimt. Miles Davis har uden tvivl været udsat for en meget svær og krævende opgave ved indspilninger af disse sessions, men han klarede opgaven til mere end ug. Gil Evans arrangementer bliver sammen med Miles Davis' uovertrufne lyriske og følsomme spil til ren magi. Der er ingen vilde soloer og ingen hidsig improvisation i dette bokssæt men bare stille og roligt, afdæmpet om man vil, ekseptionel smuk musik som du ikke finder magen til andre steder. Hvis jeg skal sige lidt negativt mangler jeg til tider lidt bas og bund, lyden på disse optagelser er nogen gange lidt tynd og spids i det. Misforstå mig ikke det er ikke noget der trækker den gode oplevelse ved bokssættet ned, man må jo gå ud fra at det er den bedste lyd der kunne trækkes ud af de gamle masterbånd. Det er svært at sammenligne dette bokssæt med de andre i serien da det er så meget anderledes, Miles er godt nok som i de andre i front men her er han i stedet for at have andre solister med sig helt alene foran tuba, tromboner, fløjter, celloer, saxofoner og trompeter. Men Miles leverer varen til fulde og viser at også her i denne konstellation var en gudsbenådet trompetist - var der overhovedet noget denne mand ikke kunne ??? jeg tror det ikke. Det er som med alle de andre bokssæt svært at sidde og anbefale, da det hvis du er ligeglad med alle de forskellige takes og ekstra materiale, ikke er en absolut nødvendighed og du kan "nøjes" med de remasterede udgaver enkelt cd udgaver. Men er du ligesom jeg fuldstændig pjattet med Miles Davis og bare skal have ALT med ham, ja så er der vel egentlig ikke så meget mere at sige. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Miles Davis (1963-1964) - bokssæt 3.
Dette bokssæt fortæller en anden historie end de andre bokssæt i serien fra Columbia/legacy. Det følger ikke Miles Davis' samarbejde med en enkelt musiker som det var tilfældet med John Coltrane og Gil Evans bokssættene (se de ovenstående anmeldelser) eller en specifik gruppe af musikere som Quintet bokssættet (se anmeldelse nedenfor). Ej heller er det et bokssæt som beskæftiger sig med de sessions der var ved optagelserne af et specifikt album som "In a silent way", "Bitches brew" eller "Jack Johnson" bokssættene. I stedet for blive vi her præsenteret for et 7 disc sæt med studio og live optagelser fra perioden 1963-1964. En tid hvor Miles Davis arbejde sammen med forskellige musikere som pianisterne Victor Feldman og Herbie Hancock, Trommeslagerne Frank Butler og Tony Williams, Tenor saxofonisterne Sam Rivers og Wayne Shorter og den eneste musiker der er med på alle optagelserne (udover Davis selvfølgelig) bassisten Ron Carter. De to første cd'er i sættet stammer hovedsageligt fra de sessions som skulle resultere i det kraftigt oversete album "Seven steps to heaven". Vi starter med optagelser fra west coast studiet med Miles Davis, Ron Carter på bas, George Coleman på saxofon og Los Angeles musikerne Viktor Feldman på piano og Frank Butler på trommer. Derefter tager vi afsted til New York hvor Feldman er blevet erstattet af Herbie Hancock og Butler er erstattet af Tony Williams. Den original lp havde numre med fra begge sessions og her er så alle tracks fra de to sessions. Og herefter er det live for alle pengene i form af optagelser fra Antibes jazz festival 1963, Philharmonic hall 1964, Kohseinenkin hall Tokyo 1964 og Berlin Philharmonie 1964. Nogle af disse optagelser har før været udgivet som "Miles Davis in Europe", "Miles Davis in Tokyo", "My funny valentine" og "Four & more". Min favorit disc i bokssættet er disc 6 "Miles in Tokyo" hvor den advantgardistiske Sam Rivers medvirker med sit aggressive og kraftfulde spil på tenorsaxofonen. Hans abstrakte og bluesede spil gør et eller andet ved Miles's i forvejen så spektakulære spil. Rivers til tider lidt vilde og free jazzede soloer presser Davis mod nye højder, og det er som om at Davis' tør give sig i kast med nogen nye spændende ting . Som en lille anbefaling her ind i mellem sidebenene skal nævnes Sam Rivers' soloudspil "Contours", "Crystals" og de nyere indspilninger med Kresten Osgood og Ben Street "Violet violets" og "Purple violets" som er intet mindre end fantastiske. Lige i hælene følger disc 4 og 5 som indeholder numrene som tidligere har været udgivet som "My funny valentine" og "Four & more". Disse 3 discs er fuldstændig perfekte i lyden og er nogen af de bedste koncertoptagelser jeg nogensinde har hørt. Disc 7 præsenterer os for den sammensætning af musikere som senere skulle blive kendt af mange som den bedste gruppe Miles nogensinde havde nemlig The Second great quintet bestående af Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter og Tony Williams (the first great quintet var den med John Coltrane). Miles mente at nu havde han fundet de musikere som han havde søgt efter og bandet blev da også sammen fra 1965 til 1968 og indspillede banebrydende albums som "ESP", "Miles smiles" og "Sorcerer". Man kan måske sige at dette bokssæt er en jagt på den rigtige saxofonist til Miles Davis' fremtidige gruppe. George Coleman passede ikke rigtig ind med sit rolige, bløde og pudsede spil. Sam Rivers var heller ikke den helt rigtige med sin aggressive og vilde advantgardistiske tone, selvom denne anmelder gerne havde set ham blive i gruppen, det kunne have været vildt fedt at høre hvad han kunne gøre ved Miles Davis' karakteristiske spil. Men valget faldt på Wayne Shorter med sit multi dimensionelle spil og set i bakspejlet var det nok ikke noget dårligt valg. Alle de tre "forslag" var dog kompetente til opgaven og ville hver især have bragt Miles i forskellige retninger. Efter dette sublime og fantastiske bokssæt er man klar til at gå videre, så lad os gøre det og kaste os frådende over nok det bedste bokssæt i serien "

Miles Davis quintet 1965 - 1968". Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.The Complete Studio Recordings Of The Miles Davis Quintet (1965-1968) - bokssæt 4.
Året var 1965 og jazzen havde forandret sig til en næsten uigenkendelig størrelse bare indenfor de sidste 5 år. Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor og Albert Ayler havde de sidste år opnået stor succes med deres freejazzede udladninger og John Coltrane havde året forinden udgivet sit episke mesterværk "A Love supreme" og haft stor succes med det. Miles Davis derimod stod lidt stille i sin udvikling og var i fare for at gå i glemmebogen hvis han ikke kom på noget nyt, spændende og innovativt. Det MD valgte at gøre skulle endnu engang få ham skrevet ind i jazzen historiebøger og forandre jazzen for altid. "The man with the horn" præsenterede en ny kvintet der foruden MD selv på trompet bestod af de unge løver Herbie Hancock på piano, Wayne Shorter på saxofon, Ron Carter på bas og Tony Williams på trommer. Det vi her bliver præsenteret for er ikke free jazz, selvom der er elementer af det indimellem, men en ting er sikkert det er en del mere originalt, fremadsynet og grænsesøgende end noget af det MD havde lavet siden "Sketches of Spain". MD gav god plads til sine nye medspillere og udnyttede de evner de nu engang var i besiddelse af. Blandt andet ved at medtage kompositioner fra andre end ham selv, specielt de numre som Shorter står bag er nogen af de mest imponerende i dette bokssæt. Der var mange der rynkede på næsen over den nye retning MD valgte at gå, men deres reaktioner skulle blive gjort til skamme, for denne formidable kvintet skulle blive et af de bands der medvirkede til begyndelsen af noget ekstraordinært, begyndelsen af en ny stil indenfor jazzmusikken kaldet fusion. De albums der er inkluderet i bokssættet er "E.S.P." fra 1965, "Miles smiles" fra 1966, "Sorcerer" fra 1967, "Nefertit" fra 1967, "Miles in the sky" fra 1967-1968 og "Filles de kilimanjaro" fra 1968. De sidste 2 nævnte er de første MD indspilninger udgivet med Fender Rhodes piano, spillet af den mægtige Herbie Hancock og enestående elektrisk bas spil fra Ron Carter, som fører Miles Davis' musik fra akustisk og over til elektrisk. Et spring der på de senere udspil "In a silent way, "Bitches brew" og "Jack Johnson" skulle blive ført helt ud i livet med tilføjelsen af blandt andet den elektriske guitar og flere elektriske pianoer. Den afdøde dengang næsten ukendte trommeslager Tony Williams var en enorm stor drivende kraft bag hele bandet, han leverede et massivt og groovy beat bagved det hele og sammen med Ron Carter med sin utrolig faste bund og Herbie Hancock's harmoniske piano udgør de den perfekte rytmegruppe for MD og Shorter. Prøv for eksempel at lytte til nummeret "Nefertitti" og Williams hamrende solide trommespil og du vil forstå hvorfor han tit bliver kaldt en af de største jazz trommeslagere der har levet. Der er så mange fede numre i denne boks blandt andre det før nævnte "Nefertiti", "Footprints" og "Fall" skrevet af Wayne Shorter. "Little one", "Madness", "I have a dream", "Speak like a child" og "Sorcerer" alle skrevet af Herbie Hancock. "Hand jive", "Pee wee" og "Black comedy" skrevet af Tony Williams. "Eighty one" skrevet af Ron Carter i samarbejde med Miles Davis og "Circle", "Filles de Kilimanjaro", "Stuff" og mange flere skrevet af The dark prince himself, Miles Davis. Hvis du skal have en eneste grund til at du skal anskaffe dig dette bokssæt kan jeg kun sige "Circle in the round" der med tilføjelsen af Joe Beck på guitar henfører tankerne til en italiensk spaghetti western. Det er et 33 minutter langt nummer som er en episk musikalsk rejse som du aldrig bliver træt af at lytte til. Du tænker måske at et 33 minutters jazz nummer, det kommer du aldrig igennem men jeg lover dig at du vil blive total grebet af det og vil lytte til det igen og igen og aldrig stoppe med at blive forundret. I et interview få år før hans død udtalte Miles at bare tanken om at skulle sammen med disse fyre igen skræmte ham, han udtalte at det ville slå ham ihjel. På disse 6 discs kan man høre hvorfor, disse musikere får virkelig Miles til at arbejde røven ud af bukserne og spille det bedste han kan og Miles får så igen dem til at yde det bedste de kan. Som altid leverer MD varen og disse optagelser står for mig som noget af det mest fantastiske han nogensinde indspillede i hans karriere. Dette bokssæt er sprængfyldt med mageløs og fantastisk musik man aldrig bliver træt af at lytte til. Sammenspillet mellem musikerne er helt emminent og den bedste måde at beskrive det på er at bruge ordet telepati. Der er ikke et ligegyldigt, overflødigt eller kedeligt track på nogen af de 6 cd'er, alle numre er lige utrolige og ingen ville kunne undværes. Der er som på alle de andre bokssæt en del alternate og rehearsal takes men for mig er det enormt interessant at høre de forskellige udgaver af de originale numre. Men jeg er jo selvfølgelig også lidt (meget) en jazz nørd J. Dette bokssæt er som den opmærksomme læser måske har bemærket min klare favorit blandt de 7. Jeg tager det frem fra tid til anden og bliver ligeså grebet af musikken hver gang som jeg blev den første gang jeg lyttede til det. Der dukker noget nyt op hver eneste gang jeg lytter til de fantastiske numre, hver gang en lille ting som jeg ikke lige havde lagt mærke til før. Fra det første øjeblik hvor "E.S.P:" drøner ud af højtalerne er du ikke længere i tvivl om hvorfor denne kvintet var noget helt specielt og hvorfor disse optagelser er intet mindre end uundværlige og legendariske. Jeg havde alle de oprindelige cd'er inden dette bokssæt blev udgivet og kendte alle numrene rigtig godt, men disse blev skippet ud da jeg kun lyttede til boksen, der er bare så meget mere indhold i den og det hele går op i en meget højere enhed, end på de oprindelige albums. Hvis du kun har tænkt dig at anskaffe et af de 7 overdådige bokssæt er det her min anbefaling ligger, det bliver simpelthen ikke mere cool, intelligent og laid back end det her. Som det er tilfældet med de andre 7 sæt er lyden remastered i 20-bit og fremstår som det var optaget i går og igen er tekstmaterialet der følger med helt utrolig spændende og yderst informativt med et essay om kvintetten, en grundig gennemgang af de forskellige sessions der ligger til grund for bokssættet, diskografier og meget mere. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.

The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions - bokssæt 5.
Dette er den mindste af box-sættene I serien og rummer kun 3 cd'er. Sættet indeholder nogle rigtige perler - det skal jeg komme tilbage til, men man betaler også for en del - synes jeg - unødvendigt ekstra materiale i form af at man får hele In a Silent Way LP'en (sidst på disc 3) og derudover de samme indspilninger i uredigeret form foruden et ekstra Rehearsal take af selve In A Silent Way nummeret (sidst på disc 2). Man skal være ekstremt Miles Davis nørd for at finde det interessant at sidde og sammenligne det redigeret med det uredigeret materiale - det er, når det kommer til stykket kun en ganske mild redigering der har fundet sted. Efter min opfattelse kunne man fint have udeladt den originale LP version, og det ekstra rehearsal take, og så bragt box-sættet ned til en dobbelt CD. Problemet med denne løsning er selvfølgelig at det så ikke længere kan sælges som et box-sæt og derfor så kun vanskeligt ville kunne bære det meget omfattende note-materiale. Derudover har Michael Cuscuna og Bob Beldens tilrettelæggelse af boks-sættene været båret af en konsekvent logik, som er blevet gennemført selv når de har medført kontroveriselle beslutninger. F.eks. er den originale LP Filles de Kilimanjaro (en af Davis' mest vellykkede, kreative og helstøbte LP'er) blevet delt i to, således at de numre fra den originale LP der er med Hancock/Shorter/Carter/Williams kvintetten er med i Kvintet boks-sættet (Se omtale af denne ovenfor) Medens de to øvrige numre fra LP'en - Mademoiselle Mabry og Frelon Brun - er med her på Silent Way box-sættet (hvor Hancock er erstattet af Chick Corea og Carter af Dave Holland). Denne logik (baseret på musiker-sammensætning og periodisering af Miles' musik) fører også til at The Silent Way Sessions nødvendigvis må samles i et boks-sæt, som gjort her. Set i dette lys, må jeg - trods ovenstående kritik med hensyn til unødvendigt materiale - bøje mig og indrømme at beslutningen om at fylde boks-sættet ud med LP versionen af Silent Way er rigtig. Hvad får man så? Faktisk et rigtigt flot og velkomponeret boks-sæt. Hvor jeg, da jeg hørte kvintet-boksen var ret irriteret over at Filles var skåret over, fungerer det faktisk rigtigt godt på dette boks-sæt, at der lægges ud med de to numre fra Filles, og at der så fortsættes med en række numre i samme stil og med samme gruppe. Det eneste ikke tidligere udgivne nummer på disc 1 er Splashdown, og det forstår man godt at det ikke har været. Det er ret usammen- hængende og minder mest af alt om en ikke særlig fokuseret øver. På disc 2 får vi først 3 numre fra 27 november 1968, hvor Joe Zawinul supplerer Corea på tangenterne og hvor Jack de Johnette - som senere kom med på Bitches Brew (se omtale af Bithes Brew Sessions nedenfor) - erstatter Williams på trommer. Det første nummer Ascent, er en slags første smagsprøve på den spillestil der udfoldes 3 måneder senere under In a Silent Way indspilningerne. Nummeret er - som In a Silent Way - skrevet af Zawinul, og meget lyrisk og yndefuldt, og med en vis melankolsk stemning - et rigtigt efterårsnummer. Herefter følger 2 versioner af det fantastiske Zawinul nummer Directions, som Miles yndede at spille live i denne periode - både med fuld tryk på og til tider lidt mere lyrisk og laid back. Her får vi naturligvis kun de originale studieversioner. Herefter følger de uredigerede optagelser fra af Shhh/Peaceful, In a Silent Way og It's About that Time. Som sagt er der ikke de store overraskelser her. Disc 3 indeholder sættets absolutte højdepunkt i form af den ikke tidligere udgivne The Ghetto Walk. Det er et næsten 27 minutter langt Miles Davis nummer, der synes at være en slags opfølgning på In a Silent Way indspilningerne. Nummeret starter med at Davis med sin hæse stemme tæller for: "One two three bop-bop", og så sættes der I med en stille, men intens, næsten hypnotiserende melodi, der danner baggrund for en række meget flotte - kontrollerede - improvisationer. Særlig bør John McLaughlins spil fremhæves her, men også Wayne Shorter og selvfølgelig Miles selv spiller virkelig flot. Herefter får vi endnu et melankolsk mesterværk fra Joe Zawinuls hånd - Early Minor, som sine steder godt kan minde lidt om Ascent, men kortere og måske endnu mere melankolsk. Disc 3 afsluttes som nævnt med LP versionen af In a Silent Way, som næppe behøver selvstændig omtale. Boks-sættet indeholder som de øvrige i serien et meget flot designet og velskrevet hæfte, der bundet ind sammen med cd'erne. Michael Cuscuna har skrevet introduktionen og Bob Belden har skrevet Liner Notes, der er opdelt i en generel omtale af Miles musikalske udvikling i perioden og herefter kommentarer til de enkelte sessions. Det meget grundigt og oplysende, og samtidig spændende læsning. Den eneste anke er, at designet sine steder har taget overhånd og gjort teksten nærmest ulæselig, fordi den er trykt med hvide bogstaver på en lysegul/hvid baggrund. Overordnet set er det tale om et meget velkomponeret boks-sæt, der dækker en spændende periode i Miles' karriere og som indeholder enkelte ikke tidligere udgivet perler. Herudover har dette sæt den fordel, at der ikke er et hav af utallige alternate takes, som efter min mening skæmmer nogle af de tidligere boks-sæt. Dobbelt-dækningen af In a Silent Way er måske nok overflødig, men heldigvis er numrene spredt ud på 2 cd'er, hvilket gør det betydeligt nemmere at leve med. Alt i alt en varm anbefaling herfra. Et boks-sæt som både nye og gamle Miles Davis fans vil blive glad for. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (1969-1970) - bokssæt 6.
Jeg kan ikke huske, hvor, men jeg læste på et tidspunkt, at Bitches Brew (titelmelodien) var et musikalsk portræt af storbyjunglen. En beskrivelse af et uigennemtrængeligt sted, med farlige dyr/mennesker som lurer på en bag den næste bygning eller i den næste smøge. Den beskrivelse står i dag for mig for en af de mest præcise. Bitches Brew (pladen) er som helhed præget af farlighed. Det er begyndelsen til enden på den mest spændende og progressive udvikling hos en enkelt musiker i hele jazzens historie. Hvor de to tidligere plader Filles de Kilimanjaro og In a Silent Way var præget af abstrakte temaer og smukke lydtapeter (Filles mest det første og Silent mere det sidste), er Bitches Brew præget af opløsning og frustration, men også af en Miles Davis der leverer et trompetspil i storform. Det er kunst når det er bedst: Den etablerede og selvbevidste kunstner, der med et sind så friskt som en 17 årigs, kaster sig ud i ny eksistentiel skabelse. Her er ingen nemme gentagelser, ingen hints til tidligere storværker. Bitches Brew er ny fra grunden af. Første nummer er Pharaohs Dance, der fungerer som en introduktion til albummets nye elektriske verden. Der holdes et middel tempo hele vejen gennem nummerets ca. 20 minutter. Bas, trommer og elektrisk piano lægger en solid steady bund, og Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter og John McLaughlin spiller forskellige temaer og soli henover denne baggrund. Meget virkningsfuldt og en god måde at komme ind i musikken på. Herefter kommer titelnummeret som er mere fragmentarisk og mere udtryksfuldt: farligere og mere mørkt og dystert, jf. om storbyjunglen ovf. Dernæst følger Spanish Key, som er et superfedt rock-jazz nummer, med fast beat og hug på trompeten - det kører bare derudaf og man bliver revet af sted. Og sådan fortsætter det ene fede nummer efter det andet. Et af de numre, som jeg holder særligt af er Miles Runs the Voodoo Down. Den stille hypnotiserende intro, udviklingen henimod det mere og mere mørke og mere og mere frenetiske udtryk er dragende. Nummeret ville have været et oplagt valg til en af de afsluttende scener i filmen Apocalypse Now (Dommedag Nu), hvis ikke man havde valgt det mere populære, og i øvrigt også meget passende Doors nummer, The End. Dem der har sæt filmen og/eller læst bogen (Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness) vil forstå hvad jeg mener. Dem der ikke har, bør gense filmen med Voodoo eller for den sags skyld hele Bitches Brew i tankerne. Boks-sættet er som de øvrige i en overlegen finish. Flot indpakning, masser af flotte billeder og masser af gode noter, bl.a. af Carlos Santana, som understreger betydningen af Bitches Brew som mere end blot en jazz-plade. Boks-sættet den fordel at det starter med det originale album, der fylder de første 1½ disk, og herefter følger så på de resterende 2½ disk de numre som enten er udgivet på andre albums, f.eks. Live Evil og Big Fun, eller som ikke tidligere har været udgivet. Det ekstra materiale der er med på boks-sættet her har en meget svingende kvalitet. Intet af det lever helt op til den standard, numrene på den originale dobbelt LP har, og dele af det er efter min mening decideret svært at holde ud at lytte til, fordi det er ufokuseret og i nogle tilfælde næsten øreskærende. Med Bitches Brew opnåede Miles for første gang, det der længe havde været hans ambition: at nå ud til et bredere publikum end blot de jazz interesserede. Miles havde længe ønskede at være en del af ungdomskulturen og paradoksalt nok er Bitches Brew det album, som banede vejen for at kunne komme til at spille på store steder, som Fillmore, Woodstock m.v. Paradoksalt, fordi den kunstneriske kvalitet af hans musik langt overgår det meste af der blev leveret af de pop- og rock bands han kom til at optræde sammen med i denne periode. Til illustration heraf behøver man vel blot som eksempel at nævne at Miles Davis på et tidspunkt optrådte som opvarmning for Steve Miller Band! Bitches Brew er en milepæl i jazzhistorien. Den er et civilisationskritisk manifest. Et eksemplarisk udtryk for hvordan musik uden ord kan indeholde intelligente budskaber, som kan forstås gennem emotionel intuition. Det er selvfølgelig klart at rammen om musikken: coveret, Miles Davis' musikalske og biografiske historie, det andre har skrevet om albummet, den politiske situation da musikken blev indspillet og så videre, spiller en rolle for hvordan musikken bliver forstået, men det ændrer ikke ved at musikken i sig selv indeholder budskaber der leveres i emotionel form, men som kan pakkes yderligere ud skabe mening for lytteren. Dette har naturligvis sine grænser, men Miles Davis formåede med Bitches Brew at udvide disse grænser. Et mesterværk målt med en hvilken som helst standard. Anmeldt af Henrik Palmer Olsen.

The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions - bokssæt 7.
Dette 5 disc digitalt remasterede bokssæt samler musikken fra sessions som dækker 16 uger, afholdt fra februar til juni 1970 og som senere skulle blive til fantastiske albums som "A Tribute To Jack Johnson" udgivet I 1971, "Live Evil" udgivet I 1971, "Big Fun" udgivet I 1974, "Get Up With It" udgivet I 1974 og "Directions" udgivet I 1981. Udover Miles Davis selv består truppen af blæserne Wayne Shorter, Steve Grossman og Bennie Maupin, keyboardspillerne Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock og Keith Jarrett, guitaristerne Sonny Sharrock og John McLaughlin, bassisterne Ron Carter, Michael Henderson, Dave Holland og Gene Perla, trommeslagerne Billy Cobham og Jack DeJohnette samt percussionisten Airto Moreira. Her bliver der serveret 42 numre på et sølvfad hvoraf de 34, ja der stod fire-og-tredive, ikke tidligere har været tilgængelige for masserne. Alt I alt over 4 timers nye ikke udgivne numre plus en 120 siders booklet med spændende dybdegående essays, sjældne fotos og en komplet diskografi. Specielt de "nye" aldrig før udgivne numre "Ali" og "The Mask" er meget interessante numre at lytte til og viser et band der arbejdede med en uhyre innovativ blanding af jazz, rock og funk med simple temaer, gentagne rytmiske passager og forrygende soloer. Her får vi den sjældne mulighed for at kigge indenfor i en genial musikers værksted og følge arbejdsprocessen mod det færdige produkt. Lad mig prøve at forklare hvad det er der gør dette bokssæt til noget helt specielt. Miles spiller en utrolig stærk, solid og rå trompet på disse sessions, han kommer igennem hele tone registeret, med stor vægt på de øverste toner, med improvisationer ud over det sædvanlige. Guitaristen John McLaughlin spiller med et overskud og en nerve som er enestående og spiller efter min mening meget bedre end han gjorde på "Silent way" optagelserne. Sammenspillet mellem Miles og McLaughlin er i en klasse for sig selv, nogen gange lyder det som om Mclaughlin er et ekko af Miles og andre gange lyder det som Miles er et ekko af McLaughlin. Den afdøde eksperimentelle guitarist Sonny Sharrock's få abstrakte optrædener på dette bokssæt blev senere slettet næsten alle sammen inden det endelige resultat og hvorfor er for mig en gåde. Han spiller på sin helt egen frie og åbne måde og giver numrene en helt speciel lyd. Ligesom i "In a silent way" boksen er her alle bidderne som blev optaget som de blev spillet og slutter af med de to numre "Right off" og "Yesternow" som blev udsendt som det originale album "A Tribute to Jack Johnson", et soundtrack til en undergrundsfilm om en pioneer inden for boksning. Det er tydeligt at Miles eksperimenterede med en ny teori, for hvordan man optog et album. I stedet for at optage de egentlige numre blev der optaget flere lange jams som så senere blev cuttet op og sat sammen til enkeltstående numre. Teo Marcero og Miles Davis satte sig simpelthen ned bagefter og tog en solo her og et mellemstykke der og splejsede dem sammen til numre som blev udsendt på de førnævnte albums "A Tribute To Jack Johnson", "Live Evil", "Big Fun", "Get Up With It" og "Directions". Det der er mest imponerende var at dette blev gjort årtier før der fandtes digital lydredigering. En anden spændende udvikling var at Miles tilføjede Mike Henderson på elektrisk bas og Keith Jarrett på elektrisk piano. Jarrett's freakede spil blev en meget vigtig del i det band, som Miles tog med ud på landevejen umiddelbart efter disse sessions, det band der skulle blive kendt under Cellar door bandet. I starten af 2006 udgav Columbia/Legacy et bokssæt som egentlig ikke hører med til serien på de syv anmeldte her. Godt nok har den samme look og er i samme overlegne klasse, både hvad angår kvalitet, vigtighed og ekstramateriale, men den har ikke noget nummer og den har aldrig været planlagt til at skulle indgå i serien. "The Cellar door sessions 1970" består af 6 disc med livemateriale hvoraf dele før har været udgivet som en del af albummet "Live evil", her er alle koncerterne så samlet i et imponerende bokssæt som også kun kan anbefales. Til den der vil være utilfreds og SKAL finde noget at brokke sig over er der mulighed for at kaste sig over det faktum at mange af numrene findes i mange forskellige udgaver og at der for eksempel findes 6 forskellige udgaver af nummeret "Willie Nelson", som endte som en splejset del af et andet nummer, er vildt overdrevet og fuldstændig ligegyldigt - ja så skal du ikke investere dine surt tjente penge her. Men er du som undertegnede giga Miles Davis fanatiker og skal have alt han har produceret, så er du nød til at droppe julegaven til konen eller svigermor og bruge nogen penge på dig selv i stedet for. Uanset om du vælger at købe dette boksssæt eller du vælger at holde dig til de originale udgaver af numrene på de respektive albums, så er det her jazzjamming af ypperste klasse og er essentiel lytning for enhver jazz interesseret. Miles Davis siger sidst på et af numrene på disc 2 "That's some raunchy shit John" og jeg kan kun give ham uforbeholdent ret - Rock on dude. Anmeldt af Henrik Kaldahl.