The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Sud Des Alpes

Avant Jazz / Free Improvisation / Avant-Garde
premiera polska: 2021-11-18
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: ecopackowe etui
opis:
multikulti.com * * * * *:
Każdy jazzfan wie, że gdy podwoimy zestaw perkusyjny, szczególnie w małym jazzowym składzie, motoryka zespołu dostaje dodatkowego drive'u. Czy o to chodziło Rempisowi nie wiem, ale każda kolejna płyta Dave Rempis Percussion Quartet ma u mnie fory. Zarówno te powstałe w składzie z Antonem Hatwichem, ja późniejsze z ulubionym basistą Matsa Gustafsona - Ingebrigtem Hakerem Flatenem. Jazzowa jazda na dwóch silnikach dała już dziewięć zjawiskowych owoców, teraz czas na dziesiąty.

Wydana właśnie w barwach Aerophonic Records nowa płyta kwartetu "Sud Des Alpes" wytrąci z jesiennego letargu największego znawcę dorobku Rempisa. Bowiem muzycy "po cichu" otwierają nowy rozdział w historii zespołu, nie epatują, tak jak to było dotąd niezwykle gęstą tkankę perkusyjnych brzmień, stawiają raczej na kontrolowaną dynamikę komunikatywnego open jazzu. Muszę przyznać, że to moja ulubiona obsada Rempisa, jednego z najwspanialszych saksiarzy ostatnich 25 lat. Pomieścił w tej formule garść melancholii i refleksji, jak i pulsującą zaraźliwą intensywnością freejazową improwizację.

Trzy kapitalne części tego koncertu, który z powodów awarii kolejowej w Szawajcarii miał nie dojść do skutku (stąd tytuły poszczególnych utworów), porywają dramaturgicznym mistrzostwem i sztuką jazzowej interakcji. Dwie pierwsze mają podobną strukturę, oba zaczynają się narracją złożoną z niemal samych drobiazgów, pracują rezonansem i skromnymi preparacjami, by z czasem nabrać ekspresyjnej drapieżności, temperatura bliska wrzenie, które następuje...
Trzeci, 12-minutowy "Late Arrival" jest już spektakularnym popisem lidera. Rozpoczyna długim, zapraszającym kolegów do zabawy solo, a oni nie dają się długo prosić, i już po chwili zaczynają kolektywnie zionąć freejazzowym ogniem na prawo i lewo. Ostatnie trzy minuty "Late Arrival" to stygnąca z emocji medytacja, czy można było lepiej tego wieczora zakończyć koncert? Szczerze wątpię!
autor: MaD

freejazzblog.org * * * * *
On their way to a gig in Geneva, the Rempis Percussion Quartet encountered issues with the train they were riding. Specifically, the train lost the use of its braking system and came to a dead stop on the tracks. After much difficulty and stress, the band thankfully made the gig which is lovingly preserved right here on the band's tenth official release. All of the titles here reference the railway hassle with the exception of “Odwalla” which is an Art Ensemble of Chicago cover that casually leads into an original composition called “Evacuation,” which is also this recording's centerpiece. But let's start at the beginning...

“There's a Jam on the Line” starts tentatively, like an engine sputtering through multiple starting attempts. When it gently fires the hum is barely noticeable. Movement happens trepidatiously but gathers steam and purpose after a couple of minutes. The twin engine percussionists Tim Daisy & Frank Rosaly, fifteen years in the chassis, spark bold melodic statements from reed man Dave Rempis and bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten as support steadily strengthens. A slow groove cushions Rempis' first swing for the fences easily and smoothly. Rosaly and Daisy now reveal why they've had a lock on this band for so long. They are perfect foils for each other, consistently filling in for one another and contrasting styles in a way that supports the music as a whole. Flaten becomes an extra catalyst, pushing the others forward until the entire unit is in full flight, unraveling and revealing new music rapidly and with precision.

Next up is “Odwalla / Evacuation,” which follows a similar performance model as the first track, but stretches and extends it in terms of both time and construct. The build from the beginning is nearly seven minutes long, which made me a bit impatient for the payoff to be honest – but good things come to those who wait, and if you skip over those first seven minutes it's just not going to have the same result. Trust me, I went back and listened to it that way later. You have to listen to all of the pencils, pots, squeaks and kettle taps. Out of that Rempis emerges playing circular patterns while Flaten rumbles (mainly) on a single note. Finally the slow build reaches an ecstatic plateau. This one is so much higher than the heights reached in “There's a Jam on the Line” - and this seems entirely impossible. If the first track takes you into the realm of rapture, this one is a complete out-of-body experience. It lasts for quite a while – but not nearly long enough. Extraordinary.

Rempis takes a solo at the beginning of “Late Arrival,” alternating free overblown insanity with more conventionally melodic runs. The trio arrives in a blast from underneath, with Flaten's bowing serving as a flapping magic carpet. By the 2:30 mark, the entire band is weightless and barely able to hang onto their own clatter – approximating the panic involved when one is hopelessly late for an appointment. Conversely, the last three minutes are an accurate interpretation of the exact moment of arrival, as they are as peaceful, relaxing, and extremely winded.
By Tom Burris

Editor's info:
This record is the tenth release by The Rempis Percussion Quartet, recorded during a 2019 European tour that celebrated their fifteenth anniversary as a working ensemble. Those are some pretty hefty milestones. So how do they push forward artistically with so much already under their belt? From what we hear on Sud Des Alpes, it’s all about digging deeper into the musical dilemmas they’ve been examining for years. These four improvisers continue to grind ideas and perspectives against one another, yielding an ever more refined version of their shared vision. This is patient work, done over a long period. In the rapidly shifting social media era, one whose gaze flickers back and forth like a cornered rat as it scans for the next big thing, this may seem archaic. So be it.

Listen to Flaten for example – one of the few bass players in the world with a sound and technique strong enough to drive, or contradict, a band this fiery when he chooses to. And he’s all about that grind. Notice how he sometimes deliberately pushes ahead, or pulls behind the drummers in a groove, or obstinately refuses to leave the beat as the others unravel around him into unmetered terrain. It’s this type of relentless questioning that keeps the band on its toes, as one member asks with a mischievous grin, “you sure about that?” And yet somehow they manage to hold the core together, these internal dialectics serving to ratchet up the tension and interest. The resolutions to these episodes coalesce like rays of sunshine pouring through the back end of a storm front. Check out the driving groove that closes out Evacuation, and the hollers from the live audience as the quartet slides into it.

Only a band with a history this long – that of a family – can get into some wrangling like this live onstage, and still produce something that’s both coherent and compelling. This is a straight up circus feat – a train engineer who reconstructs the locomotive as the train rockets down the line.

Unfortunately, the band wasn’t quite so lucky in their actual train travels on the day of this concert. The titles for these compositions come from their delayed arrival to Geneva that afternoon, since the train they were on somehow lost the use of its brakes. It came to a slow halt in the middle of the main line between Zurich and Geneva, blocking train travel in the country for several hours, to the embarrassed consternation of the entirety of the exquisitely punctual Swiss nation. When Rempis called the presenter to let him know they’d be quite late, he said in hushed disbelief “yes, there’s a train stuck on the track that’s blocking everything.” His tone made it clear that the nation’s gaze was fixed on its TV’s waiting for the latest updates to this calamity. Rempis replied “yes, we’re on it!”

Soon after, in a moment of absurdity that maybe only touring musicians could quite appreciate, Flaten was forced to carry his suitcase and enormous bass flight case up and down the stairs and through the narrow aisles in eight double decker train cars to reach the sole evacuation point at the far end of the train. The rest of the band didn't have it much better. Another episode of musical “Survivor,” all too familiar to musicians who travel for their work. The band then passed across a small platform to another train waiting on the opposite track, and continued on their way. Any relation to the music that took place that night? Could be.

Recorded/mixed by Cedric Schaerer
Mastered by Dave Zuchowski
Design by Johnathan Crawford
Produced by Dave Rempis

muzycy:
Dave Rempis – alto/tenor saxophone
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten – bass
Tim Daisy – drums
Frank Rosaly – drums

utwory:
1. There's A Jam On The Line 18:13
2. Odwalla / Evacuation 23:23
3. Late Arrival 11:41

wydano: April 13, 2021
nagrano: Recorded March 30th, 2019 at AMR in Geneva, Switzerland

more info: www.aerophonicrecords.com