Arkady Gotesman

An exceptional percussionist, veteran Lithuanian Arkady Gotesman should be better known on the international stage. But this 12-track, more 72-minute musical anthology by the Vilnius-based musician should rectify the situation. With tracks recorded from 2000 to 2025, 66-year-old Gotesman is featured in solo, duo, trio and quartet situations. Most associates are Lithuanian, but some tracks feature American, Swedish and Russian players.

Two of the standouts are “It’s Coming”, a duo with Lithuanian baritone saxophonist Liudas Mockūnas, and “Duo 4” with Swedish tenor saxophonist Martin Küchen. A fervent improviser for whom the term Ecstatic Jazz seems to have been invented, Küchen slides and spits out notes skywards with the same ferocity he snarls and tongue stops from the bottom of his horn. Seemingly unstoppable with knife-sharp thrusts and burbling cries, the saxophonist’s screaming leaves Gotesman unperturbed as his introduction of varied slaps, pops and ruffs is amplified throughout with woody clips and speedy cross pulses. Meanwhile  Mockūnas’ brawny blowing also includes moderated and responsive honks. Maintaining this broken octave forward motion, the drummer is in sync with woody slaps, thick ruffs, plastic-sounding pings and hanging bells reverberations providing equivalent power and patterning.

Queerly enough, earlier duets with Americans, tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle, who epitomized Free Jazz and trumpeter Nate Wooley, whose creative adaptations are more studied are restrained aren’t as ferocious. The drummer’s challenges include nerve beats and press rolls to enliven Wooley’s quiet and mostly portamento grace notes. Meanwhile as Gayle’s distended shrieks and spetrofluctuation appear searching for a tonal centre the drummer’s progressive pacing keeps the duets balanced and linear.

Two trio situations recorded 17 years apart with different personal demonstrate Gotesman’s adaptability. Partnering American also saxophonist Ned Rothenberg and Russian bassist Vladimir Volkov on “Trio 3” and Lithuanians Vyacheslav Ganelin on piano and electronics and soprano saxophonist Petras Vyšniauskas many year later on “Trio 1” conclusively prove this. Full on Free Jazz, which in this case surpasses the Gayle-Gotesman duet, “Trio 3” finds Rothenberg cramming ever more textures into his playing with frenetic triple tonguing, overblowing and circular breathing in the penultimate minutes. Responding with a percussion exposition that’s midway between junkeroo and Jazz groove, Gotesman judders cadences as whaps on metal and molded pliant and bell-like pulses from his kit while steadily maintaining a metered tempo. The final climax joins percussion with Volkov’s elastic string stops so that even the saxophonist’s tremolo variations join what could be a Jazz ballad. These moves among groove, gallops and go-for-broke are also highlighted with Ganelin as the latter’s rolling electronic whooshes suggest Soul Jazz just as his treble piano glissandi and Vyšniauskas’ note-bending twitters become more experimental. Wrapping up both sonic streams, is Gotesman’s percussion inventive  while holding on to the beat. Other affiliations like Tomas Kutavičius’ pianism that constantly up improvisational pressure and Eugenijus Kanevičus’ resonating double bass which separately demonstrate how the drummer also projects and then tames group pressure can also be mentioned.

Demonstrating Gotesman’s multiple percussion personalities, this disc should be a revelatory experience for those who don’t yet know his work and a confirmation of his skills for those who do.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Stiklo Gabaliukai (excerpt from A. Šenderov piece “after Chagall”) 2. It’s Coming 3. Duo 1 4. Trio 1 5. Duo 2 6. Quartet 7. Trio 2 8. 7th Track 9. Duo 3 10. Duo 4 11. Trio 3 12. Stiklo Gabaliukai (excerpt from A. Šenderov piece “after Chagall”

Personnel: Arkady Gotesman (drums, percussion and stained-glass pieces*) with Nate Wooley (trumpet [track 9); Liudas Mockūnas [track 2]; Petras Vyšniauskas [tracks 4, 6+ piano]; Vytautas Labutis  [track 6]+ piano [track 6]; Jan Maksimovič [track 7]; Charles Gayle [track 8]; Martin Küchen [track 10]; Ned Rothenberg.[track 11] (reeds); Tomas Kutavičius (piano); Vyacheslav Ganelin (piano, electronics); Eugenijus Kanevičus, Vladimir Volkov (bass); Mark Sanders (drums, percussion)