The Thing w/Otomo Yoshihid: Shinjuku Crawl

Avant Jazz / Free Improvisation / Avant-Garde
premiera polska: 2010-02-25
kontynent: Europa
kraj: Szwecja
opakowanie: digipackowe etui
opis:
Editor's info:
The Thing return with guitars (gasp!) from none other than Otomo Yoshihide. Recorded by Jim O'Rourke live at Pit Inn in Tokyo, Shinkjuku Crawl documents the different aspects of The Thing and how they are shaping and melting together with the wonderful guitar magic of Yoshihide. Otomo Yoshihide first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the noise rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked in a variety of contexts, ranging from free improvisation to noise, jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical.

GUARDIAN
The Thing is a Scandinavian trio built around the primal-energy bass and drums partnership of Norwegians Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love, plus the Peter Brötzmann-influenced Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. They sometimes apply uninhibited improv to compositions as if they were the Bad Plus in a psychotic meltdown, but these two CDs avoid covers. They are collaborations with two guitarists – Japanese noise-rocker Otomo Yoshihide (on Shinjuku Crawl) and former Sonic Youth member Jim O'Rourke (on Shinjuku Growl). The first is a wild investigation of raw noise, mixing Gustafsson's sometimes Evan Parker-like multiphonic agility with more moody electronics, or petrifying sudden eruptions dropping back to silence. O'Rourke is the more discreet collaborator, always trying to blend into Gustafsson's range rather than explode in it – he might let one note sing on under a sax solo, mirroring its rising intensity, or ring delicately against quiet percussion chimes or hovering sax murmurs. The title track gets quite close to 1960s-New York free jazz in its later stages. But they are both fascinating, cutting-edge encounters.
by John Fordham

squidco.com
Otomo Yoshihide's evolution as a guitarist has been a fascinating part of a career full of remarkable and varied artistic achievement. From back in the 80s ? when he was purely a noise guitarist playing a cobbled together instrument with a turntable attached ? to his surprising emergence within his own "New Jazz" ensembles and his sometimes harsh, sometimes beautifully delicate solo work, he has shown himself to have excellent intuition for using the instrument.

This is an important point because from a technical point of view he is, well, no John McLaughlin. But Yoshihide's work has never been about conservatory proficiency. As a turntablist, he eschewed the use of records to find what sounds can be made with the rig itself. Likewise with the guitar he seems to have committed to a fairly thorough investigation into the possibilities of the instrument, it might be said, regardless of the fingers.

This live 2007 meeting in Tokyo with the Norwegian / Swedish supergroup The Thing may, however, be the first documentation of Yoshihide as, what in the old days might have been called, a "featured soloist." Shinjuku Crawl is a free jazz jam in the classic sense, fronted by Mats Gustafsson, who may possess greater combined power and control with the baritone sax than that instrument has previously known. The rhythm section of bassist Ingelbrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love are perfectly propulsive, even during the quiet parts, and the sympatico the group has developed over a dozen years has given them the rare ability to make an enormous sound while still leaving room for others. In the past they have joined forces with such big personalities as Joe McPhee, Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke and Ken Vandermark ? all players who will, in different ways fill the space available.

So the Thing here is the known quantity, reliable and dependable. The wild card is Yoshihide who ? to belabor a metaphor ? come up spades. He follows something of a Sonny Sharrock mold of fiery jazz shredding, and truth be told he hides a bit behind the distortion and flange. But that could be considered a point in his favor. Yoshihide certainly seems to know how to get what he wants out of the guitar, and if he's not the best of players, well, he's quite far from the worst. Shinjuku Crawl is over an hour of edgy improv, from quiet tension to full-on blast, by a trio plus one of players who know about nuance.
by Kurt Gottschalk

muzycy:
Mats Gustafsson: reeds
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten: bass, electronics
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Otomo Yoshihide: guitar, electronics

utwory:
1. Shinjuku Crawl, First Attempt
2. Shinjuku Crawl, Second Attempt
3. Shinjuku Crawl, Third Attempt
4. Uramado (Thank You Mr. Fukuoka)
5. Dori Dugout, Part 1
6. Dori Dugout, Part 2

wydano: 2009-10
more info: www.smalltownsupersound.com
more info2: www.thingjazz.com