Larry Ochs / Donald Robinson

Asbury Stabbins Duo

Fire without Bricks

Corbett vs Dempsey CD 067

Good taste is timeless the saying goes and, on the evidence here, so is ardent improvised music. So while Fire without Bricks was recorded in 1976 in London and A Civil Right in 2028/2019 in Oakland, the sessions’ dates could be reversed with no one the wiser. The skill and innovation that went into each of these drums and saxophones sessions is paramount and while timbral expansions have expanded in the subsequent 42 years, the basic paradigm was already set then.

An unjustly obscure one-off, the London disc matches two participants in the so-called second generation of BritImprov, tenor/soprano saxophonist Larry Stabbins and percussionist Roy Ashbury. A member of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Stabbins later studied philosophy before returning to music early in this century with Pat Thomas and others. Ashbury meanwhile subsequently traded music for academe, teaching music at Queen Marys College, including 24 years as head of Media & Film Studies. Much better known are A Civil Right’s participants. Tenor/sopranino saxophonist Larry Ochs is a founding member of the Rova saxophone quartet and leads his own bands, some of which include drummer Donald Robinson.

Hushed and unforced, Fire without Bricks’ five tracks are early instances of paced dynamics. Evolving at low pitches Asbury’s shuffles, clanks and nerve beats emphasize anything but drum skins. As on the concluding “Formants of the Deep” he can build an entire introduction from lug twists, bell pings and woody rim shots. Stabbins’ arching snarls challenge him at that point, but mostly reed improvising is so serene that it appears almost indolent. Preferred are languid, almost motionless, narrowed split tones, snuffles and spills. More active are the disc’s centre selections “Malodor” and especially “Puff!” Stained penny whistle-pitched shrills characterize the first tune. They’re matched by minimal drum slaps and expended cymbal scratches. “Puff!” opens with a mélange of small animals-like squeals and whines, which are enlivened by woody rustles, positioned clatters and more extended strains against cymbal metal.

Just as Asburhy Stabbins’ sounds relate to contemporary lower case minimalist improvisation, so Ochs-Robinson’s sessions from 40 years later could be slotted among the clamorous Energy Music being created in the 1960s and 1970s. With broader techniques and more timbral affiliations, the Californians playing is never as disjointed or vociferous as some of those New Thing offshoots, but it’s hi-fi in contrast to the London session’s lo-fi production. Animated and kinetic, the five tracks also have room for dedicated solo interludes from each player. This is especially obvious on the extended “The Other Dream”. Shaking and slathering reed tones, Ochs twists the exposition with doits and triple-tongued variations and ends it with a long, strident whistle. During that time Robinson’s elevated technique means that reed sprawls are met with responsive ruffs and hard slaps. Earlier and later on the saxophonist almost eviscerates his horn with low-pitched scoops and sprawling basso split tones, as he pushes out thinning Sonny Rollins-like screeches. Squalls and reflux vibrations are also part of his passionate tune definition. Robinson’s bass drum smashes and hi-hat reverb doesn’t stop him from advancing the narration. In the same way as the saxophonist projects an undulating melody among his altissimo cries, the drummer cymbal hammering, pops and drum rolls don’t negate steady alarm-clock-like pacing elsewhere. On the title track however, the two also prove that they can evolve a theme at a less than lento pace. Reed tongue slaps and stops plus hip-hop percussion pulses demonstrate modernity along with mellowness during the performance.

United in sound unity, the freshness in a saxophone-drums duet was expressed profoundly in the 1970s and a couple of years ago.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Fire: 1. Rough Cut 2. Fire without Bricks 3. Wych Elm 4. Malodor 5. Puff! 6. Formants of the Deep

Personnel: Fire: Larry Stabbins (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Roy Ashbury (percussion)

Track Listing: Civil: 1.Arise the Poet 2. Yesterday and Tomorrow3. A Civil Right 4.The Other Dream 5. Regret

Personnel: Civil: Larry Ochs (tenor and sopranino saxophones) and Donald Robinson (drums)