Foster/Weber/Griener

With its cover art and track titles a homage to hard boiled detective novelist/screenwriter David Goodis (1917-1967), perversely Selections from the Gutter’s vitality suggests Energy Music of the 1960s-1970s. Filtered through 21^st Century sensibilities this variant of so-called Ecstatic Jazz features the go-for-broke improvising of players from three countries. Tenor/soprano saxophonist Michael Foster is an American who has worked with everyone from Lydia Lunch to John Blum; Swiss bassist Christian Weber with among others Alfred Vogel and Omri Ziegele; while German drummer Michael Griener has been involved with numerous creative musicians from Alexander von Schlippenbach to Lina Allemano

Like Spinal Tap’s guitarist explaining that his zero to 10 control knobs goes to 11, the trio begins playing with thick bass strokes, booming drum rubles and overblowing frequently altissimo reed smears and whines and goes on – and up – from there. Although most tracks intensify this concept at its most elevated pace with positioned rim shots, pressurized arco string stretches and both spetrofluctuation and mouse-like squeals from the saxophonist, the three players do occasionally slow down the pace and sidle up to near harmony. In the case of the miniature “Fire in the Flesh” almost all of the track is devoted to near-lyrical soprano cries backed by cymbal splashes and a vibrating bass line.

More broken octave blitzkriegs however are more oriented towards Free Jazz expression. While evolving in a horizontal fashion, there appears to no texture that can’t be mutated and stretched with slapping and stopping tongue vibrations, spittle encrusted whines or heavily breathed scoops on Foster’s part; stacked frails, light twangs or formal pumps from Weber and pops, patterns and clunks from Griener.

Segueing from one extreme to another, “Moon in the Gutter” highlights the trio members textural pungency, especially Foster’s. Alongside the drummer paced rumbles and hi-hat clanks plus the bassist’s stops and sweeps, the saxophonist projects a conveyer belt of extended techniques. Moving from reed bites that seem to be eviscerating his tenor’s innards, his output descends and thins to hockets, screeches and quadruple tonguing to climax with paced multiphonics until note bending devolves into tongue stops.

Despite what some political traffickers in faux-nostalgia may hope the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s will never return. However with Selections from the Gutter, Foster, Weber and Griener have managed to sonically transmit the promise and pressure of those times by assimilating them with contemporary improvisation.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. The Raving Beauty 2. Dark Chase 3. Fire in the Flesh 4. Moon in the Gutter 5. Of Tender Sin 6. Street of the Lost

Personnel: Michael Foster (tenor and soprano saxophones); Christian Weber (bass) and Michael Griener (drums)