Sandy Ewen/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter

Sandy Ewen/Damon Smith/Weasel Walter
UgEXPLODE ug53

Die Dicken Finger

Offroad Core

Gligg Records 012

With more-or-less the same instrumental line-up as a customary Rock power trio, these ensembles nonetheless stretch the expected timbral concord into experimental territory without sacrificing the speed and power associated with Hard Rock.

Cunning in its subtle distortion of electric guitar-electric-bass-drums motifs, the German trio Die Dicken Finger (DDF) or in English “The thickness of the fingers” could likely sneak onto a bill at a Heavy Metal festival until the realization dawned that the all-instrumental band was playing riffs just a little too sophisticated for the show. Committed to interjecting unexpected improvised asides into their music, the Americans on the other CD proclaim their individuality with the miscellaneous percussion brought to the gig by New York’s Weasel Walter plus the laptop and field recordings utilized alongside his 7-string upright bass by Houston’s Damon Smith. At the same time Sandy Ewen, another Houston resident, busies herself creating the expected electric guitar riffs and distortion.

Berlin-based, the members of Die Dicken Finger also have impressive credentials working with more Jazz-oriented players. Guitarist Olaf Rupp for instance is in bands with the likes of trombonist Matthias Müller and drummer Tony Buck; bassist Jan Roder with bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall; and drummer Oli Steidle with pianist Aki Takase and Mahall.

Those associations have to be set aside during the six tracks on DDF’s CD since this is Heavy Metal Jazz at its zenith – or most bombastic – if you prefer. Steidle’s pop, ruffs and forceful backbeat plus cymbal slaps are always audible; Roder’s sluicing bass rumbles plug any holes left in the performances; and Rupp’s guitar lines either twang like they’re trying to reach the top row in a sports arena or vibrate with reed-like sophistication. Throughout whether upfront are slurred fingering, crunching licks or press rolls, the focus is on kinetic coloration – damn the delicacy.

At the same time, when the trio is fully immersed in its particular improv variant as on the more-than-10½- minute “Tilt Shift Capital”, a brutalist subtlety is present as well. Studding the dense sound mosaic is dramatic rasgueado from the guitarist that holds fast to the melody, as the bass and drum somersault through changes in tempo, rhythm and intensity. By the finale the staccato evolution seems as cleansing as it is unstoppable.

Similarly unstoppable, but much less wedded to expected Metal tropes are Ewen, Smith and Walter (ESW). Least known of the three is Ewen, a member of the rock band Weird Weeds, who has also played with improv trombonist David Dove. Initially from the Bay area, Smith has worked with many improvisers including pianist Scott Looney and saxophonist Wolfgang Fuchs; while Walter has gigged with just about everyone ranging from trumpeter Peter Evans to multi-reedist Vinny Golia.

Crackling and scrubbed guitar runs coupled with fuzzy electric bass shuffles or sul ponticello plucks plus unexplained rhythms on unnamed percussion constitute the trio’s game plan on the CD’s eight untitled selections. Nevertheless ESW traffics in less easily identifiable timbres than DDF. With the interface on tracks such as the fourth scurrying from Free Music-like dissonant rustles and rubs to Heavy Metal styled pressurized thumps, the beat is in contrast sometimes arrhythmic. Textures that could be old-time cash registers pinging, ancient doors creaking or signal-processed whistling leech into the improvisations. Here it’s Ewan’s slowed down claw-hammer licks and Smith’s hand pressured strokes that define the piece. Walter’s ratamacues as well as plinks and pops on vibes-like bars define the succeeding track, although it appears that Ewen and Smith are detuning and shaking different string combinations as they dart in and out of the narrative. Blurring the sound picture are static and pre-recorded voices slowed down, sped up and run backwards via Smith’s field recordings. Finally the percussionist’s bravado bounces and rolls knit the parts together.

While aviary cries and metallic thumps appear elsewhere at odd intervals on the disc, ESW gets to expand its strategy to its threshold on the more-than-17½ minute sixth track. Used for idea expression not showy excess, both industrial sound reflections and experimental techniques are taken to logical conclusions. Consequently when a sudden burst of guitar fissure meets over-amplified spiccato plucks from the 7-string, it leads to descending twangs and frailing from Ewen, matched by Smith’s hand-heel hammering. Swelling to an ear-splitting screech that combines frenetic guitar strokes as buzzing bass pops, the narrative is further complicated as blurry laptop oscillations are laid on top of those timbres. Finally using bass drum smacks and hollow conga-like pats, Walter connects the others’ broken-chord improvising long enough to create an ending.

Never to be confused with either a mainstream Jazz guitar-bass-drum trio or a Black Metal trio, each of these bands has created a CD which provides original variants on the sounds usually produced by this instrumental combination.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Sandy: 1. (9:48) 2. (11:37); 3. (9:25); 4. (11:08); 5. (7:51); 6. (17:31) 7. (4:09) 8. (7:19)

Personnel: Sandy: Sandy Ewen (guitar); Damon Smith (7-String electric upright bass, laptop computer and field Recordings) and Weasel Walter (drums)

Track Listing: Offroad: 1. Optimus Prime 2. Carla Munksolm 3. Simsabaling 4. Tilt Shift Capital 5. Bumblebee 6. Gone Forever

Personnel: Offroad: Olaf Rupp (guitar); Jan Roder (electric bass) and Oliver Steidle (drums)

February 17, 2013

Weasel Walter-Mary Halvorson-Peter Evans

Electric Fruit
Thirsty Ear THI 57196

By Ken Waxman

Probably one of the few instances in improvised music where a powerful drummer often has to play more assertively to be heard amid the virtuosic and fortissimo sounds from the guitarist and trumpeter, Electric Fruit is a different take on the a jazz trio conception.

For a start the instrumentation is unusual. More distinctively the six tracks here aren’t designed as chops displays but as a way for three talented free-form improvisers to investigate the tonal possibilities of their instruments while aiming for a tripartite blend. Progenitor of aggressive rock-inflected improv with everyone from bassist Damon Smith to saxophonist Marshall Allen, drummer Weasel Walter is more than a backbeat specialist. Guitarist Mary Halvorson flits from folksy duets with violist Jessica Pavone to sophisticated contributions to composer Anthony Braxton’s ensembles. Known for his spectacular work with saxophonist Evan Parker and Mostly Other People do the Killing, trumpeter Peter Evans can apparently play anything and frequently does.

As a result most tunes here feature some variant of Halvorsen’s intense, distorted fills, near-psychedelic thumping and horizontal twangs, matching Evans’ top-of-range brassy trills or growly inner-horn tone evacuations, as Walter ruffs, rolls and drags. At the same time this mixture of the frenetic and the pointillist promotes unique linkages. “The Stench of Cyber-Durian” for instance finds the guitarist’s strumming so rococo that she could be playing a gavotte, and is sympathetically backed by the drummer’s clunks and rat-tat-tats. Meanwhile the trumpeter’s heraldic crescendos provide contrapuntal commentary. Walter solos most extensively on the more than 15½-minute “Metallic Dragon Fruit”, with hollow shell whacking, clave-like concussion, plus bell and snare popping. But his showcase is firmly in sync with Halvorson’s simple flat-picking which splinters and distorts as it climaxes; and Evans’ stentorian snarls, which bring out multiphonic tone extensions and a texture virtually indistinguishable from guitar intonation.

Less frantic interludes would have been welcome. But for spectacle and musicianship, this CD is a stunning debut.

Tracks: Mangosteen 3000 A.D.; The Stench of Cyber-Durian; The Pseudocarp Walks Among Us; Scuppernong Malfunction; Yantok Salak Kapok; Metallic Dragon Fruit

Personnel: Peter Evans: trumpet; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Weasel Walter: drums

-- For New York City Jazz Record March 2011

March 4, 2011

Hartsaw/Aspelin/Smith/Bryerton

Ausfegen: Dedicated to Joseph Beuys
Balance Point Acoustics bpa012

Lindsay/Mendoza/Smith/Walter

Jus

Balance Point Acoustics bpa013

Like most other generalities, the differences between so-called European and so-called American free music are more purported then real. Especially in the 21st Century when jet planes, the Internet and other advances have shrunk inter-continental chasms, the gulf between the two proposed by musicians like Derek Bailey – who often had an axe as well as his guitar to grind – seem fanciful.

Take these two notable quartet sessions for instance, united by the presence of Bay area bassist Damon Smith. Although Chicago-based Paul Hartsaw, who often works with keyboardist Jim Baker in his home town, brings jazz’s most characteristic instruments – his tenor and soprano saxophones – to the date, his subtle reed bites and blows wouldn’t be confused with the style of Windy City heroes like Johnny Griffin. Chicago-based drummer, Jerome Bryerton says he’s equally influenced by American and European drummers and has played with stylists as difference as Berlin-based multi-reedist Wolfgang Fuchs and Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop. Furthermore the subtitle of Ausfegen, Dedicated to Joseph Beuys, refers to the work of the late [1921-1986] German Conceptual artist; with one track in particular a direct musical homage.

Conversely, while the instrumentation – clarinets, guitar, bass and lloopp and percussion – on Jus may appear more overtly European, the sonic results are as all-American as the microtonal electro-acoustic experiments that have taken place in Northern California since in the early 1960s. Not only that, but Smith, (with guitarist Henry Kaiser) guitarist Ava Mendoza, (with band leader Moe! Staiano) and hyperactive drummer Weasel Walter (with just about everyone) have also been known to play high-velocity rock music as well as more delicate sonic expressions. Additionally, the Ab, Bb, bass and contrabass clarinet improvisations of Lindsay – a long-time Smith-associate – are fully in the tradition of other West Coast reed polymaths such as John Carter, Jimmy Giuffre and Vinny Golia.

More overtly, tapestries of microtonal and adumbrating silences are woven into many of the tracks on Jus. “Quadrophobia” for instance, which unrolls at a pace slower than largo, revels in atonal peeping and chromatic probes from the clarinetist, tick-tock drum pacing and shattering wood-block smacks and blurry electronic looped passages. Eventually as the rasgueado guitar work and intermittent string plucks subside, the tune’s ultimate variant contrasts pure air currents with strident clarinet pops and wind-tunnel puffs that could arise from Walter’s bagpipe-chanter or Smith’s col legno bass strokes.

Overcoming a variety of unconnected timbral movements and reed tongue stops, “Winter Lights” is similarly sonically diffuse. As the growling undertow from the contrabass clarinet remains almost static, a sequence of pitch-sliding string movements takes centrestage. Adagio in tempo, Mendoza’s finger-styled picks and multi effects link up with Smith’s seminal string shaking and Walter’s rolls, pops and drags until the interface fades into intermittent silences.

Almost as low-key, the defining track on the other CD would seem to be “Broom with Red Bristles”. Celebrating Beuys’ own ausfegen when used a broom to sweep Berlin’s Karl Marx Platz, Aspelin strokes his guitar strings with a shop broom and Smith slides two bows on top of prone prepared double basses. Some movements are barely audible, other seems to warble with chromatic string exposition; and all are contrasted with circular breathing from Hartsaw and pitter-patter snare work and reverberating cymbals from Bryerton. Earlier on, unattached cymbals seem to be vibrating by themselves as the strings scratch abrasively – from beneath their respective bridges – and the reedist outputs strained split tones

Even more expansive is the last track, “Pamphlet Printed on Plastic Bag” – which may be another art reference. No echoes of paper or plastic are audible. Instead you hear metallic clatter and bell-ringing from the percussionist; hearty slaps and rustling string motions from the bassist; guitar filigree; plus multiphonic timbres from the saxophonist, that make it appear as if he’s playing both his horns at once. Following an antiphonal middle section – which redirects the tempo – the four mesh for a contrapuntal finale of slurred and chiming fingering from Aspelin; sul tasto bowing from Smith; bell-popping and kit quivering from Bryerton; and tongue slaps and spetrofluctuation from Hartsaw.

Europeanized or North-Americanized free music, the breath of inspiration on these discs may confound identification. Perhaps both should just be labeled as good music and let go at that.

--Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Dedicated: 1. Vitrine 2. Sand 3. Copper 4. Garbage 5. Stone 6. Paper 7. Broom with Red Bristles 8. Pamphlet Printed on Plastic Bag

Personnel: Dedicated: Paul Hartsaw (tenor and soprano saxophones); Kristian Aspelin (guitar and broom); Damon Smith (bass) and Jerome Bryerton (percussion)

Track Listing: Jus: 1. American Current 2. Translucency 3. Quadrophobia 4. Blown Out 5. Discrete Flower Symmetry 6. Winter Light

Personnel: Jus: Jacob Lindsay (Ab, Bb, bass and contrabass clarinets); Ava Mendoza (guitar); Damon Smith (7-string ergo-bass and lloopp) and Weasel Walter (drums, percussion and bagpipe chanter)

July 19, 2009

Lindsay/Mendoza/Smith/Walter

Jus
Balance Point Acoustics bpa013

Hartsaw/Aspelin/Smith/Bryerton

Ausfegen: Dedicated to Joseph Beuys

Balance Point Acoustics bpa012

Like most other generalities, the differences between so-called European and so-called American free music are more purported then real. Especially in the 21st Century when jet planes, the Internet and other advances have shrunk inter-continental chasms, the gulf between the two proposed by musicians like Derek Bailey – who often had an axe as well as his guitar to grind – seem fanciful.

Take these two notable quartet sessions for instance, united by the presence of Bay area bassist Damon Smith. Although Chicago-based Paul Hartsaw, who often works with keyboardist Jim Baker in his home town, brings jazz’s most characteristic instruments – his tenor and soprano saxophones – to the date, his subtle reed bites and blows wouldn’t be confused with the style of Windy City heroes like Johnny Griffin. Chicago-based drummer, Jerome Bryerton says he’s equally influenced by American and European drummers and has played with stylists as difference as Berlin-based multi-reedist Wolfgang Fuchs and Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop. Furthermore the subtitle of Ausfegen, Dedicated to Joseph Beuys, refers to the work of the late [1921-1986] German Conceptual artist; with one track in particular a direct musical homage.

Conversely, while the instrumentation – clarinets, guitar, bass and lloopp and percussion – on Jus may appear more overtly European, the sonic results are as all-American as the microtonal electro-acoustic experiments that have taken place in Northern California since in the early 1960s. Not only that, but Smith, (with guitarist Henry Kaiser) guitarist Ava Mendoza, (with band leader Moe! Staiano) and hyperactive drummer Weasel Walter (with just about everyone) have also been known to play high-velocity rock music as well as more delicate sonic expressions. Additionally, the Ab, Bb, bass and contrabass clarinet improvisations of Lindsay – a long-time Smith-associate – are fully in the tradition of other West Coast reed polymaths such as John Carter, Jimmy Giuffre and Vinny Golia.

More overtly, tapestries of microtonal and adumbrating silences are woven into many of the tracks on Jus. “Quadrophobia” for instance, which unrolls at a pace slower than largo, revels in atonal peeping and chromatic probes from the clarinetist, tick-tock drum pacing and shattering wood-block smacks and blurry electronic looped passages. Eventually as the rasgueado guitar work and intermittent string plucks subside, the tune’s ultimate variant contrasts pure air currents with strident clarinet pops and wind-tunnel puffs that could arise from Walter’s bagpipe-chanter or Smith’s col legno bass strokes.

Overcoming a variety of unconnected timbral movements and reed tongue stops, “Winter Lights” is similarly sonically diffuse. As the growling undertow from the contrabass clarinet remains almost static, a sequence of pitch-sliding string movements takes centrestage. Adagio in tempo, Mendoza’s finger-styled picks and multi effects link up with Smith’s seminal string shaking and Walter’s rolls, pops and drags until the interface fades into intermittent silences.

Almost as low-key, the defining track on the other CD would seem to be “Broom with Red Bristles”. Celebrating Beuys’ own ausfegen when used a broom to sweep Berlin’s Karl Marx Platz, Aspelin strokes his guitar strings with a shop broom and Smith slides two bows on top of prone prepared double basses. Some movements are barely audible, other seems to warble with chromatic string exposition; and all are contrasted with circular breathing from Hartsaw and pitter-patter snare work and reverberating cymbals from Bryerton. Earlier on, unattached cymbals seem to be vibrating by themselves as the strings scratch abrasively – from beneath their respective bridges – and the reedist outputs strained split tones

Even more expansive is the last track, “Pamphlet Printed on Plastic Bag” – which may be another art reference. No echoes of paper or plastic are audible. Instead you hear metallic clatter and bell-ringing from the percussionist; hearty slaps and rustling string motions from the bassist; guitar filigree; plus multiphonic timbres from the saxophonist, that make it appear as if he’s playing both his horns at once. Following an antiphonal middle section – which redirects the tempo – the four mesh for a contrapuntal finale of slurred and chiming fingering from Aspelin; sul tasto bowing from Smith; bell-popping and kit quivering from Bryerton; and tongue slaps and spetrofluctuation from Hartsaw.

Europeanized or North-Americanized free music, the breath of inspiration on these discs may confound identification. Perhaps both should just be labeled as good music and let go at that.

--Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Dedicated: 1. Vitrine 2. Sand 3. Copper 4. Garbage 5. Stone 6. Paper 7. Broom with Red Bristles 8. Pamphlet Printed on Plastic Bag

Personnel: Dedicated: Paul Hartsaw (tenor and soprano saxophones); Kristian Aspelin (guitar and broom); Damon Smith (bass) and Jerome Bryerton (percussion)

Track Listing: Jus: 1. American Current 2. Translucency 3. Quadrophobia 4. Blown Out 5. Discrete Flower Symmetry 6. Winter Light

Personnel: Jus: Jacob Lindsay (Ab, Bb, bass and contrabass clarinets); Ava Mendoza (guitar); Damon Smith (7-string ergo-bass and lloopp) and Weasel Walter (drums, percussion and bagpipe chanter)

July 19, 2009