Samstagabend ging es dann wieder in der Roten Fabrik mit einem Dreier-Ticket weiter. Den Auftakt machte das Tom Rainey Trio feat. Ingrid Laubrock & Mary Halvorson. Gemischte Gefühle im Voraus, Rainey hatte ich noch nie live gehört, Laubrock und Halvorson verschiedene Male (teils zusammen, auf der Bühne, z.B. bei Braxton am diesjährigen Taktlos) und gerade mit Laubrock bin ich nicht immer warm geworden, mit Halvorson zuletzt - das Duo mit Stephan Crump, das erst gegen Ende des kurzen Sets aufwachte - auch nicht immer so sehr wie davor. Aber gut, die drei legten los und es war von Beginn weg klar, dass das ein tolles Konzert würde. Halvorson spielte zupackend und direkt wie ich sie schon lange nicht mehr gehört habe, Laubrock solide und ebenfalls zupackender als ich sie bisher gehört habe, die beiden gaben den Tarif vor, dahinter Rainey als eine Art Hexenmeister, der manchmal wie an unsichtbaren Fäden das Geschehen zu steuern schien. Sein Spiel ziemlich direkt und hart, aber auch trocken und immer wieder beeindruckend in seiner Feinheit trotz meist hoher Lautstärke. Ein sehr tolles, überraschend intensives Konzert - und schon bis dahin ein Gipfel der aktuellen Schlagzeugkunst (wenn man noch die beiden von Guy mitzählt): Ramón López, Lucas Niggli, Joey Baron, Pierre Favre, Tom Rainey.
Dann gespannte Erwartung auf das zweite Set, den eigentlichen Grund, weshalb ich an dem Abend doch hin ging: Craig Taborn, solo am grossen Steinway-Flügel. Und verdammt, das war eine Offenbarung, definitiv das ganz grosse Highlight des Festivals! Er schien anfangs auch noch einmal die Möglichkeiten des Instruments auszuloten, und tauchte dann immer tiefer ein, rauschhaft, mit unglaublichem Sog. In den intensivsten Momenten knallte er auch mal den Unterarm auf die Tastatur, schien über dem Klavierhocker zu schweben, stapfte mit dem Fuss ... man dachte da und dort an Cecil Taylor, aber auch an Ellington und die ganze Jazzpiano-Tradition. Wirklich grossartig!
Den Abschluss des Abends machte das Loriot-Perovic Notebook Large Ensemble, ein zehnköpfiges Ensemble um den Bratschisten und Komponisten Franz Loriot sowie den Komponisten und Arrangeur Manuel Perovic. Vier Bläser (Lina Allemano-t, Silvio Cadotsch-tb, Sandra Weiss-as/bsn, Joachim Badenhorst-ts/cl/bcl) treffen auf vier (mit Perovics gelegentlicher Akustikgitarre fünf) Streicher (Loriot-vla, Deborah Walker-vc, Silvan Jeger-b, Dave Gisler-elg), dazu Schlagzeug (Yuko Oshima) und immer wieder auch etwas Gesang ... das ergab manche klanglich sehr schönen Momente, auch ein paar gute Soli (v.a. Badenhorst fand ich klasse, aber auch Weiss hatte sehr gute Momente), der Chor-Gesang schien etwas verzärtelt, aber als Idee hat mir auch das gefallen. Das Problem lag anderswo: die Schlagzeugerin hämmerte nur Rock-Rudimente, das ganze Set lang, mit heiligem Ernst, Blick hoch in den Himmel gerichtet, selbst als sie mal eine Art Solo hatte gab es nichts als die steifsten, langweiligsten Beats. Mag sein, dass das zum Konzept der Gruppe gehört, aber das ergibt für meine Ohren das Problem, dass auch Jeger am Kontrabass völlig hintansteht, dass die ganze Combo rhythmisch äusserst uninspiriert wirkt, leblos geradezu - und das Ganze wirkt dann trotz der tollen Streicher- und Bläser-Sections oft steif und platt, da nützten auch hübsche Harmonien nicht mehr viel.
Posts mit dem Label Mary Halvorson werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label Mary Halvorson werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Mike Reed’s Living by Lanterns - Rote Fabrik, Zürich, 23 February 2013
Taylor Ho Bynum cornet, Greg Ward alto sax, Matt Bauder tenor sax, Jason Adasiewicz vibraphone, Mary Halvorson guitar, Tomeka Reid cello, Joshua Abrams bass, Tomas Fujiwara drums, Mike Reed drums
Some loose impressions (resurrected in May 2016):
Terrific concert! They skipped the quintet set (a first set by Loose Assembly was announced) and played two long sets in the large formation. Nick Butcher wasn't there, no electronics from Reed either, as far as I could tell ... Jason Adasiewicz was laying out the night before at the Bimhuis, not feeling well, I heard. He was very much a presence tonight*. I loved the twin-drums of Reed and Fujiwara, infectious to boot! ... I loved Mary Halvorson's guitar, at times melodic and playful, at times probing and noisy ... I loved the three-horn frontline, muscular tenor from Bauder, whimsical, at time enormously lyrical alto from Ward (what a sound!), and truly Puck-like cornet from Taylor Ho Bynum, running the gamut from didjeridoo-sounds to punching highnote runs ... I loved Tomeka Reid's cello (low in the mix, alas, but in the second set she had a lengthy feature ... I loved the boomy bass of Josh Abrams (who also had a few fine solo spots) ... and I loved the music! Based on some Sun Ra stuff they got on tape or some such ... not that it really matters, but indeed this is Chicago music, funky, earthy, aware, wild, lyrical, hilarious, sublime, stomping, preaching, swinging, singing, whispering, crying, rhapsodizing ...
This band combines the exuberance and joy of Sun Ra and of Chicago/AACM Jazz in general (sure, there's grief and sorrow, too, and laments) with a way of dealing with composed material that reminded me more of Mingus than of the somewhat over-controlled work of Laubrock - who plays tenor on the LP instead of Matt Bauder, btw. That same Bauder was one of the biggest surprises for me in the concert, as I'd seen him before once (I think with Taylor Ho Bynum's sextet w/Halvorson, too), and he left a somewhat too controlled impression on me back then, as well ... none of that last night! He was raunchy, bold, and he played the largest part in a tune that really reminded me of Mingus, "Blues & Roots"/"Ah Um" period, at its finest.
What I also enjoyed very much (though I overheard Irene Schweizer in the break saying that two drummers were never really needed) was the twin-drumming of Reed and Fujiwara. The later may be the more sophisticated player, breaking up the beat in a more complex way, but Reed just feels great. Together, they stirred up an amazing swing that made me think of Klook doing his stomping thing during the heyday of the Clarke-Boland Big Band with Kenny Clare. Obviously, the style of Reed and Fujiwara is somewhat different, but that infectiously grooving and stomping beat was there just as it was with Klook/Clare (whom I only know, alas, from records and some videos).
Anyway, one point of distinction may be Chicago vs. New York ... controlled exuberance vs. occasionally exaggerated control, maybe? I really wish I could see Chicago musicians more often, Ernest Dawkins, Kahil El'Zabar etc ... no matter if they "in" or "out" (actually, what I love so much about Chicago's jazz is that often it's both at the same time), they just convey a deep love for tradition that allows them to somehow dig deeper into music.
A truly wonderful concert - outstanding in fact, even more so looking back on it, three years later!
*) when I mentioned this to Adasiewicz, in March 2016 in Warsaw, he was amazed to hear this - he said he remembered that night, or rather not-remembered it, as he was under heavy medication and playing on auto-pilot ...
Some loose impressions (resurrected in May 2016):
Terrific concert! They skipped the quintet set (a first set by Loose Assembly was announced) and played two long sets in the large formation. Nick Butcher wasn't there, no electronics from Reed either, as far as I could tell ... Jason Adasiewicz was laying out the night before at the Bimhuis, not feeling well, I heard. He was very much a presence tonight*. I loved the twin-drums of Reed and Fujiwara, infectious to boot! ... I loved Mary Halvorson's guitar, at times melodic and playful, at times probing and noisy ... I loved the three-horn frontline, muscular tenor from Bauder, whimsical, at time enormously lyrical alto from Ward (what a sound!), and truly Puck-like cornet from Taylor Ho Bynum, running the gamut from didjeridoo-sounds to punching highnote runs ... I loved Tomeka Reid's cello (low in the mix, alas, but in the second set she had a lengthy feature ... I loved the boomy bass of Josh Abrams (who also had a few fine solo spots) ... and I loved the music! Based on some Sun Ra stuff they got on tape or some such ... not that it really matters, but indeed this is Chicago music, funky, earthy, aware, wild, lyrical, hilarious, sublime, stomping, preaching, swinging, singing, whispering, crying, rhapsodizing ...
This band combines the exuberance and joy of Sun Ra and of Chicago/AACM Jazz in general (sure, there's grief and sorrow, too, and laments) with a way of dealing with composed material that reminded me more of Mingus than of the somewhat over-controlled work of Laubrock - who plays tenor on the LP instead of Matt Bauder, btw. That same Bauder was one of the biggest surprises for me in the concert, as I'd seen him before once (I think with Taylor Ho Bynum's sextet w/Halvorson, too), and he left a somewhat too controlled impression on me back then, as well ... none of that last night! He was raunchy, bold, and he played the largest part in a tune that really reminded me of Mingus, "Blues & Roots"/"Ah Um" period, at its finest.
What I also enjoyed very much (though I overheard Irene Schweizer in the break saying that two drummers were never really needed) was the twin-drumming of Reed and Fujiwara. The later may be the more sophisticated player, breaking up the beat in a more complex way, but Reed just feels great. Together, they stirred up an amazing swing that made me think of Klook doing his stomping thing during the heyday of the Clarke-Boland Big Band with Kenny Clare. Obviously, the style of Reed and Fujiwara is somewhat different, but that infectiously grooving and stomping beat was there just as it was with Klook/Clare (whom I only know, alas, from records and some videos).
Anyway, one point of distinction may be Chicago vs. New York ... controlled exuberance vs. occasionally exaggerated control, maybe? I really wish I could see Chicago musicians more often, Ernest Dawkins, Kahil El'Zabar etc ... no matter if they "in" or "out" (actually, what I love so much about Chicago's jazz is that often it's both at the same time), they just convey a deep love for tradition that allows them to somehow dig deeper into music.
A truly wonderful concert - outstanding in fact, even more so looking back on it, three years later!
*) when I mentioned this to Adasiewicz, in March 2016 in Warsaw, he was amazed to hear this - he said he remembered that night, or rather not-remembered it, as he was under heavy medication and playing on auto-pilot ...
Ingrid Laubrock Oktett - Rote Fabrik, Zürich, 10 December 2011
Fabrikjazz - Sa, 10. Dezember 2011
Ingrid Laubrock Oktett
Ingrid Laubrock, tenor-/sopranosax/composition; Tom Arthurs, trumpet/flügelhorn; Ted Reichman, accordion; Liam Noble, piano; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Ben Davis, cello; Drew Gress, bass; Tom Rainey, drums/percussion
Good but not great concert. The music - all composed by Laubrock, though both set-openers were fully improvised, it seems - left me a bit puzzled. Some of it was good, some of it was a bit on the cute side, some of it just seemed to go nowhere and left me hoping for more improvisational parts. Those improvisational parts were too few, I found. There were plenty of interesting combinations of sound, that's for sure. Mary Halvorson's guitar, Ted Reichman's accordion, Liam Noble's piano (all three had fine solo spots), Ben Davis' cello and Rainey switching to what seemed to be a vibraphone but without the motor turned on (maybe it was a marimba or a large xylophone, I couldn't see it as it was back on stage) - that all made for large sonic and textural possibilities. There were parts when the music made good use of them, but other parts just seemed like lose sketches (and then one of those cutesy melodies would turn up, picked by the cello) and the whole effect was lost again. However, what was great was how different instrumental pairs emerged time and again to form duos within the band for sometimes quite lengthy bits.
Needless to say that Laubrock's tenor and soprano and Tom Arthur's trumpet as the only horns were front and center a bit more often than most others - and both did very well and had some mighty fine spots. Laubrock on tenor has a slightly shady sound - reminded me a bit of Joe Henderson (whom alas I've never heard live). Arthurs went from chopsy highnote stuff that was always lyrical and melodic to harmon mute, plunger, and just producing air sounds and whimsical noises.
And Drew Gress - he was a bit low-fi and low in the mix, too - and Tom Rainey both did a great job anchoring the music. Gress' bass and Davis' cello often merged together to form a bottom that was quite strong, and every now and then the presence of the one allowed the other to do some flageolet playing. Rainey was a bit subdued, too, but had many great moments and in the second set really came to live!
The music was presented in two gap-less sets - of roughly 50 minutes each, I guess (didn't watch the clock). Reinhard Kager from SWR2 was there to present the band and the music and talked a bit too long and explained a bit more that what I found appropriate for an audience that most likely was much more "in the know" than he thought. The concert was the final (I think) stop of this year's SWR "New Jazz Meeting 2011" tour - bits of the three concerts will be broadcast in February and a CD will be released on Intakt as well. Guess it will be interesting to revisit the music and check if the cutesy bits still sound cutesy if you listen on your hifi rather than live. Can make a big difference with music of this kind (also the other way 'round, that great concerts don't work at all on CD).
All in all, I'd have enjoyed it more if there'd been: a) more solo space for individual voices, and b) more tightly-knit (and less clumsy) ensemble parts. But it was still interesting and often pretty good. And it's always a thrill to hear Mary Halvorson, at least for me ... and Tom Rainey is great! First time I caught him live.
Ingrid Laubrock Oktett
Ingrid Laubrock, tenor-/sopranosax/composition; Tom Arthurs, trumpet/flügelhorn; Ted Reichman, accordion; Liam Noble, piano; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Ben Davis, cello; Drew Gress, bass; Tom Rainey, drums/percussion
Good but not great concert. The music - all composed by Laubrock, though both set-openers were fully improvised, it seems - left me a bit puzzled. Some of it was good, some of it was a bit on the cute side, some of it just seemed to go nowhere and left me hoping for more improvisational parts. Those improvisational parts were too few, I found. There were plenty of interesting combinations of sound, that's for sure. Mary Halvorson's guitar, Ted Reichman's accordion, Liam Noble's piano (all three had fine solo spots), Ben Davis' cello and Rainey switching to what seemed to be a vibraphone but without the motor turned on (maybe it was a marimba or a large xylophone, I couldn't see it as it was back on stage) - that all made for large sonic and textural possibilities. There were parts when the music made good use of them, but other parts just seemed like lose sketches (and then one of those cutesy melodies would turn up, picked by the cello) and the whole effect was lost again. However, what was great was how different instrumental pairs emerged time and again to form duos within the band for sometimes quite lengthy bits.
Needless to say that Laubrock's tenor and soprano and Tom Arthur's trumpet as the only horns were front and center a bit more often than most others - and both did very well and had some mighty fine spots. Laubrock on tenor has a slightly shady sound - reminded me a bit of Joe Henderson (whom alas I've never heard live). Arthurs went from chopsy highnote stuff that was always lyrical and melodic to harmon mute, plunger, and just producing air sounds and whimsical noises.
And Drew Gress - he was a bit low-fi and low in the mix, too - and Tom Rainey both did a great job anchoring the music. Gress' bass and Davis' cello often merged together to form a bottom that was quite strong, and every now and then the presence of the one allowed the other to do some flageolet playing. Rainey was a bit subdued, too, but had many great moments and in the second set really came to live!
The music was presented in two gap-less sets - of roughly 50 minutes each, I guess (didn't watch the clock). Reinhard Kager from SWR2 was there to present the band and the music and talked a bit too long and explained a bit more that what I found appropriate for an audience that most likely was much more "in the know" than he thought. The concert was the final (I think) stop of this year's SWR "New Jazz Meeting 2011" tour - bits of the three concerts will be broadcast in February and a CD will be released on Intakt as well. Guess it will be interesting to revisit the music and check if the cutesy bits still sound cutesy if you listen on your hifi rather than live. Can make a big difference with music of this kind (also the other way 'round, that great concerts don't work at all on CD).
All in all, I'd have enjoyed it more if there'd been: a) more solo space for individual voices, and b) more tightly-knit (and less clumsy) ensemble parts. But it was still interesting and often pretty good. And it's always a thrill to hear Mary Halvorson, at least for me ... and Tom Rainey is great! First time I caught him live.
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