More indefatigable Norwegian energy jazz, this time in the form of Guts & Skins (SONIC TRANSMISSION RECORDS STRCD13 / PNL RECORDS PNL058) which was recorded at jazz festivals in Oslo, Trondheim and Stavanger in 2022. Credited to the rhythm section, i.e the bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love, but there are two saxophones, trumpet, clarinet, piano, organ, and much percussion. Even the very title Guts & Skins seems to promise – or threaten – something quite visceral, physically damaging, and violent, but actually this record is not as “out” as previous Nilssen-Love projects, and on this occasion the players manage an entertaining variety of styles and modes as they work their way through this suite, not all of them conveniently fitting into any known “jazz” modes. I especially liked the smoky moods on Part 2 showcasing the Hammond B3 organ of Alexander Hawkins (very able player from the UK group Decoy), and the strange brooding drone of seething emotions on Part 4, where the massed energies of the group become a cloud of menacing atmosphere. Other listeners may prefer the more conventional Ellington-eseque forays on Part 3, or Part 6, again showcasing the nimble key work of Alexander Hawkins, which will appeal to fans of Jimmy Smith or Groove Holmes. (01/06/2023)
Iranian composer Siavash Amini has been heard here with three rather ho-hum drone records for the Hallow Ground label in Switzerland, and he’s here today with Eidolon (RM4211) for Room 40. This one focuses on a technical aspect of his music, concerning his knowledge of tuning systems, harmonics, and timbral relations. In particular, there’s a 17-tone system that was proposed by Safi-al-din Urmavi in the 13th century, and reading about it affected our man Amini quite deeply, as he engaged with the academic debate about the place of this system in modern Iranian music. In like manner, he’s involved in discussions of the Maqam system, also from the 13th century. While a piece like ‘Instant’ is evidently in thrall to these ideas, arriving with a bittersweet discordancy baked into its very non-Western bones, most of this album emerges as grey process music. I’m not feeling any of the “obsessive” nature which, Siavash Amini claims, is one of his strongest motivators; Eidolon just reads like the bullet-points from the slides of an overlong academic lecture, where the presenter never gets to the point or explains why it’s important. It’s not enough to simply say you’re interested in “darkness, light and death” and let others swoon over the “haunting and spectral” nature of your music; you’ve got to work harder and do more to evoke emotions, stir your audience, reveal the truth of these profound human axioms. (01/06/2023)
On his Images (ELEVATOR BATH eeaoa064) LP, Colin Andrew Sheffield achieves his results by sampling jazz records. He’s transformed his sources so completely – by use of editing and “manipulation” – that what emerges is very far from “jazz” as anyone would understand it, and instead conjures up things that are ambiguous, ghastly, triste, or even at times rather horrifying. It might be that it’s not the essence of this musical genre (with its energy, colour, invention, and sheer joy) that interests him at all. Or he’s focused very closely on the task of remaking, to the extent that barely a familiar musical instrument or recognisable sound cuts through the swirling billows of yellow and blue. I’m prepared to believe that there are indeed “chopped drum solos” and “disfigured bass rumblings”, but the nightmarish hue of Sheffield’s unreal musical world is quite some distance from the Rudy van Gelder studios, or a night at the Village Vanguard. Not even Merzbow went this far during his “jazz” phase, such as with Door Open at 8 AM, a record that Tony Williams might at least have smiled on with a touch of benevolence. Colin Andrew Sheffield makes a virtue of using non-current sampling hardware, hopefully even pre-digital in nature, and might be proudly clinging on to a “Luddite” stance of some sort. This record is still as process-heavy as others we’ve heard from him, but more memorable and less inclined towards the wispy drone. There were 100 copies pressed on clear vinyl, but mine is all black. 9th May 2023.