I have, for good or (more likely) ill, long compared e-ai pieces to models derived from the classical concert stage. I have praised many recordings in proportion to their propensity to remind me of, say, Ligeti’s Lontano, or Pendercki’s Threnody. Proximity to AMM is, to many, also a test of quality, and, I think, a good one. But if we were to remove all the proper names here and try (per impossibile) to reduce my conception of beauty in e-ai to recognizable, non-aesthetic qualities, what would we come up with? Perhaps a certain large-scale "glassiness" in conjunction with lots of apparently microsmic stuff going on "just beneath the surface." Repetition of a certain sort is generally eschewed, as is, of course, melody and regular pulse. Certain types of imitation are allowed among the performers, with respect to things like drones or dynamics or even "explosion events." For example, while a lengthy, single pitch unison drone might be allowed or even encouraged, the exact copying of a five-note phrase would be actionable.
Whether or not I have accurately reproduced any portion of the mostly subconscious criteria that attracts me to one work and not another, Hoop Whoop has all the operative goods in spades. Hubbub consists of pianist Frederic Blondy, reed players Bertrand Denzler and Jean-Luc Guionnet, guitarist Jean-Sebastien Mariage, and percussionist Edward Perraud who, together, have created a work of art both glimmering and trenchant. There is plenty of dynamic range and a significant diversity of timbres here, but those who are "off jazz" need not fear that they will be exposed to any Berklee School riffs. The saxophonists mostly restrict themselves to harmonics and other extended techniques, generally laying off even the sort of playing that Evan Parker engages in when he performs with AMM of SME members. The Individual sounds produced on this disc range from crunchy to dreamy or delicate, while the ensemble as a whole makes stops at icy, questioning and agonized without ever departing too far from the above-mentioned shimmering. With the exception of some five minutes or so of bumblebee material (instigated by Blondy but mirrored by the two wind players) in the middle of track 3 (the tracks have been inserted later solely to aid retrieval), there are no false steps. And even during that fast-churning bit, Mariage’s whining, double-stopped trills and wails and Perraud’s deft cymbal work salvage what could have been a painful alteration in perspective—from the "egolessness" of weather to that of the hive or ant farm. Anyhow, I love this recording, and I think that everyone else should too—at least everyone who enjoy early Ligeti, Penderecki, Roger Reynolds or the AMM of Inexhaustible Document.
Walter Horn
Bagatellen
I think I have written here before about how I consider the duo of Seymour Wright and Sebastian Lexer to be the nearest thing we have, besides of course the Prévost/Tilbury duo, to a continuation of the spirit, sound and approach of AMM. All of the elements are there. They have each spent more than a decade working weekly with Eddie Prévost at the London improvisation workshop. Lexer studied with John Tilbury. Both have played relatively recently with Keith Rowe, and Wright is currently working on a written history/evaluation of the early years of AMM. Crucially though, besides these links they just play with the feel of AMM running through their music. This isn’t to say that the duo do not have their own voices or have arrived where they are at only because of the above mentioned factors, and I have no doubt that much of the continuum of the AMM spirit I hear in their work is a figment of my overactive imagination, but certainly there is something there, and something very wonderful.
The AMM link is amplified on this new CD, named Impossibility in its Purest Form as they are joined by Prévost. There are four pieces here, the three possible duo formations and then a final twenty-three minute trio recording. The instrumentation used is as you would expect, Lexer utilising his piano+ set-up, Prévost on percussion and Wright alto saxophone. This is, I might venture to say, the most organic music I can possibly imagine. It certainly sounds exactly how you think it might, with Prévost bowing metal percussion exactly how he usually does, Wright shifting between harshly textured horn blasts and lighter purring and rattling sounds and Lexer’s sound unmistakeable for all its variety, shifting from glowing tones to the enormous crashes of his duo with Prévost. This CD isn’t about trying to rediscover improvisation or some other major avant grade advance though, this music is about three people, their relationship, their in fact very close musical relationship, and how the trio not only intertwine through their playing but how they work together to unravel problems, to resolve musical situations. This music is organic in that few musical relationship safe this close that that problem solving is quite so immediate and deft as it is here. There are of course no pre-determined ideas at work here. Recorded at the venue of the weekly improv workshop, there can be no other possibility than the there musicians just turning up and playing, intending to record the results. I doubt that there were many other takes done than the four tracks we hear here, and I am certain there has been no editing or the like involved. Much improvisation is fluid and organic, but this might just be as immaculate an example as can be found.
Its gorgeous stuff. Some will hate Prévost’s bowed sounds, but he seems toned down here, letting the music breathe more than usual maybe, even though in the opening duo with Wright his sounds are bold and full of character. Lexer continues to amaze me with the fragility of his sound, the definition he achieves once he has chosen where he wants to go, and the drama, oh the drama of his playing, the sudden shifts from light and airy to cavernous, dark oppression. Wright’s sound falls closer to Prévost, more singularly expressive, sharp lines drawn, soft whispers one minute to hard, sore rasps torn across the middle of the music the next. The individual sounds matter not though. Its an added bonus that the three sets of sounds work nicely together and that Lexer’s in particular catch my ear so much. What really matters is the interaction, the tussle between the three, the playfulness, the stubbornness, the anger in the music, the way the trio combine perfectly and yet also push and pull at one another. Its great to listen to music that evokes AMM in such a way, the internal combustion, the struggles and the harmonies. Its different and youthful, and yet somehow full of history.
This is an album of improvised music, no more, no less. The status of the music, its history and its future are not really changed in any way by this CD release. No huge groundbreaking steps can be declared, just small lessons learned by the musicians just as they have been learning from one another for a decade or so. As examples of improvised music go this is a fine one. Its a fascinating, joyful pleasure to listen to it, and you know, on this occasion that is more than enough for me. Innovation is great, finding new ways to make music is great, but then so is listening and revelling in the fruits of what we have already discovered, and Impossibility in its Purest Form is as wonderful opportunity to do that as you are likely to hear this year.
Richard Pinnell