Schwingungen 77 Entertainment - Act I: Notes In Freedom

Schwingungen 77 Entertainment

Act I: Notes In Freedom

Setola Di Maiale

Andrea Massaria – Guitar, objects, live electronics

Enrico Merlin – Guitar, kaospad, live electronics

Alessandro Seravalle – Guitar, toys, electronic substratums, samples, live electronics

Just when I thought I somewhat knew what to expect from the Setola Di Maiale label, along comes a curveball, at least for my ears. Act 1: Notes In Freedom contains elements of musique concrète, spoken word, massive amounts of signal manipulation, and occasionally some recognizable elements of electric guitar. 

The writer and poet Edmond Jabes’ quote “Banality is not harmless: It drives you furious” is featured on the CDR sleeve, and one would never call this record banal. Notes on the label website state that the work is inspired by Italian futurism, and I get the sense that the twelve tracks have a conceptual link, an aural equivalent to a Dadaist play.

This recording is well outside my frame of reference – I wouldn’t say it comes within a country mile of jazz, or even what most of us think of as free improv - but if you’ve got open ears and want to keep up with developments in guitar music, this is something you should check into.

Stephen Gauci/Kirk Knuffke/Ken Filiano - Chasing Tales

Gauci/Knuffke/Filiano

Chasing Tales

Relative Pitch

Stephen Gauci – Tenor saxophone

Kirk Knuffke – Cornet

Ken Filiano – Double bass

I like to pull for the underdog, and I suppose that's why I like to check out what Stephen Gauci is up to from time to time. I'm not sure why I feel that way about him; perhaps it's because he came to music as a profession relatively late in life (I’ve read that his first studio session was at age 35), or perhaps because you don't see his name a lot. 

Gauci has put out some albums on the CIMP label, displaying promise but also falling victim to the drawbacks of the CIMP aesthetic: A seeming lack of preparation and a tendency to let ideas run past the point of diminishing returns. But he was impressive on 2010’s SKM (Clean Feed) with Kris Davis and Michael Bisio, and now he’s part of another drummer-less trio on Chasing Tales. 

Six of the tracks are completely improvised, while Gauci contributes three compositions, and Knuffke and Filiano one each. The composed tracks have interesting arrangements and are crisply executed, with enough air in them to encourage dialog between the players. It’s a tribute to the group that the quality is consistent across all the tracks, whether composed or improvised.

Gauchi has sometimes come across as tentative to these ears, perhaps thinking a little too much, but he sounds confident and in control here, more fluid than I’ve ever heard him. Knuffke is so consistent; I sang his praises on Max Johnson’s The Invisible Trio, and he delivers here as well. Like Gauci, he doesn't feel the need to use a lot of extended techniques to make his point.

A few years ago I was on the fence about Ken Filiano, but he seems to get better and better. I still think Dreams from a Clown Car (Clean Feed) was criminally overlooked, and he's the glue for this record, whether walking under the other two players with a full, rich tone, adding his commentary, or playing unison phrases.

This album makes me smile, and who can't use a little of that in their lives? Great spirit, great interaction, mutual respect. It's the little record that could.

Rodrigo Amado - Wire Quartet

Rodrigo Amado

Wire Quartet 

Clean Feed

Rodigo Amado – Tenor saxophone

Manuel Mota – Guitar

Hernani Faustino – Double bass

Gabriel Ferrandini - Drums

Rodrigo Amado is a free jazz musician whose sound harks back to the classic saxophonists of the jazz tradition. His thick tone, bluesy in quieter moments and containing an R&B edge, brings to mind players like Gene Ammons and Lockjaw Davis. When things get heated, his tone takes on a grainy quality that reminds me of a young Gato Barbieri. 

His Wire Quartet is composed of bassist Faustino and drummer Ferrandini of the RED Trio; Ferrandini is also part of Amado’s Motion Trio with cellist Miguel Mira. Guitarist Manuel Mota completes the group.

The initial and longest track, Abandon Yourself, alternates between sections where everyone plays nice with each other, in sort of a free jazz version of a ballad session, and moments when things come to a full boil. Probably the most fascinating part of this track, and the record overall, is the tension of the interaction between Amado and Mota, where Amado’s rational explorations of thematic elements are juxtaposed with Mota’s frenzied finger-picking and bursts of noise.

The two shorter tracks that follow are even more compelling than the first, each providing a clearer arc of tension and release with a little more economy of expression.

You would expect the bassist and drummer of the RED Trio to be hand-in-glove, and they are, but this is Amado’s and Mota’s show. This round is a draw, and it’ll be interesting to see how things settle out should they tangle again.

Here's a video from 2007 of the group in concert, with Peter Bastiaan in place of Ferrandini.

Fail Better! - Zero Sum

Fail Better!

Zero Sum

JACC Records

Luis Vicente – Trumpet

Joao Guimaraes – Alto saxophone

Marcelo Dos Reis – Electric guitar

Jose Miguel Pereira – Double bass

Joao Pais Filipe – Drums

What makes a free improv record successful can be an elusive thing to define. I think it comes down to how well the musicians listen to each other, how skilled they are at interacting, and if they generate some sort of forward momentum. I may be old school in my love of jazz, but for me merely exploring textures doesn't cut it. I still want a sense of the music starting at one point and traveling to another.

I started to wonder about Zero Sum as I began listening to the first track, but my fears were soon allayed. I'm happy to report that the collective known as Fail Better! has documented a successful live concert, one that gets stronger as the record progresses. 

The group is good at creating structures in real time. Even though it's free, there are places where each musician has a chance to shine out front, as it were, of the rest of the band. I recently reviewed Clocks and Clouds from a different group also featuring Luis Vicente, and he again impresses here, asserting the trumpet’s natural leadership position while still leaving space for contributions from the rest of the musicians. The other group members were unknown to me, but all acquit themselves well; Dos Reis shows an intriguing approach, using spare single note lines, but also developing monolithic slabs of feedback to ratchet up more intense moments. 

Zero Sum is yet another example of the extremely fertile Portuguese jazz scene.