RED Trio & Mattias Ståhl: North And The Red Stream

Avant Jazz / Free Improvisation / Avant-Garde
premiera polska: 2015-01-20
opakowanie: Jewelcaseowe etui
opis:
multikulti:
Wcześniejsze płyty Red Trio (portugalskiego tria oscylującego na pograniczu muzyki improwizowanej i awangardowego jazzu) - zwłaszcza te nagrywane z zaproszonymi gości (m.in Johnem Butcherem czy Natem Wooley'em) - mogły sprawiać wrażenie cokolwiek przypadkowych. Nie do końca zgadzam się z tą tezą, ale rozumiem dlaczego taki zarzut mógł się pojawić. Tutaj jednak, chyba po raz pierwszy, gdy powiększają swój skład do kwartetu, muzyka robi wrażenie organicznej i spójnej od pierwszej do ostatniej nuty.

Zespół nie ma słabego punktu - pianista Rodrigo Pinheiro i Hernani Faustino to instrumentaliści wielce doświadczeni, Gabriel Ferrandini imponuje energią grając połamane frazy z energią Paala Nilssena-Love'a. W ten rwący potok dźwięków, jakby żywcem wywiedziony z muzyki Cecila Taylora, cudownie wpisuje się Stahl, grając na wibrafonie liryczne i równocześnie niepokojąco energetyczne frazy. Muzyka rwie od jednej kulminacji do drugiej, czasami w zwolnionych fragmentach ocierając się o melodyjno-liryczne oblicze jazz. Jazda nie dla każdego, ale za to jaka?!


allaboutjazz.com:
On their fifth album, Swedish vibraphonist Mattias Stahl joins the Portuguese RED Trio as a guest. He's the latest in a sequence which includes alliances with saxophonist John Butcher and trumpeter Nate Wooley on disc, and reedman Ken Vandermark in performance. The product, North And The Red Stream, comprises three collective improvisations recorded at the VDU Jazz Festival in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas in 2013. Each arises from an impromptu give and take, negotiated on the fly, as the principals continue to exercise the democratic ethos which has served them so well to date.

Unsurprisingly the integration of the Swede serves to emphasize the percussive aspect of the outfit. As always with such freeform activity, well-balanced tonal placement is key, and the four prove accomplished practitioners. Perhaps it's the similarity between the vibes and prepared piano that results in pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro spending more time on the keys rather than under the bonnet. Gabriel Ferrandini reaffirms his place among the cream of European drummers (though he was actually born in the US) eliciting a clattering momentum formed by bursts from different parts of his kit. He displays a particular talent for atmospheric sound sculpture derived from cymbal scrapes and squeals.

Bassist Hernani Faustino adds a surefooted undertow, whether through a throbbing pizzicato or abrasive arco swipes. Stahl draws a stunning range of expression from an instrument that can seem one dimensional in lesser hands. He accentuates the vibes metallic nature on "North" by reducing the sustain to almost zero, while elsewhere he takes the opposite tack by extending the sustain so that they resemble a synth or electric piano with a wah wah quality. His reiterated motifs and ringing glissandos provide a structural element which blends well with the resonance emanating from Pinheiro's dampened piano strings.

Pinheiro shows himself at his most demonstrative at the start of "North," working in squalls of notes. He moves through swelling crescendos, angular comping and insistent tremolos. Several passages of artfully combined textures derived from hammered piano, cymbals and rattling vibes, such as that around the 10-minute mark in the same piece, show recognition of a fertile gambit. Masterful interplay, notable for Faustino's knotty flurries, builds tension on "Stream" before winding down to first a swirling stasis, then silence. While the set explores a more restricted sound world with less contrasting voices than previous collaborations, it nonetheless possesses ample charms and will appeal to anyone who enjoys the klangfarbenmelodie of tuned percussion.
author: JOHN SHARPE

muzycy:
Rodrigo Pinheiro: piano
Hernani Faustino: double bass
Gabriel Ferrandini: drums
Mattias Ståhl: vibraphone

utwory:
1. North 17'44"
2. Red 20'10"
3. Stream 16'34"

wydano: 2014-10
nagrano: Recorded live at VDU Jazz Festival Kaunas, November 9, 2013
more info: www.nobusinessrecords.com