February 21, 2010

Günter Baby Sommer

Live in Jerusalem
Kadima Collective KCR 19

Ulher/Shibolet/Snir/Brenner/Mayer/Smith/Bymel

Yclept

Balance Point Acoustics BPA 014

Fraught with extra-musical baggage, the idea of a co-operative session between German and Israeli improvisers seems bizarre. Yet, as these first-rate CDs demonstrate, commitment to free-form experimentation and open-minded sound extension overcomes any number of polemics. The only people who likely will be surprised, shocked or offended by such cross-cultural understanding are those whose ignorance of Middle Eastern realpolitik is likewise endemic. MORE