Mathieu Werchowski

A more profound memorial than if it was from a fellow guitarist, French violin/violist Mathieu Werchowski’s homage to UK guitarist John Russell is more than a masterclass in advanced techniques. By emphasizing instant creativity with his string sets, Werchowski, who recorded with Russell as well as being part of bands like The Bedmakers, highlights the welcome the guitarist afforded to improvisers on any instrument who played in his Quaqua ensemble or were part of Mopomoso, London’s longest running improv series.

Adding appropriate French verses about individuality and searching to his output the fiddler makes the disc as much a celebration as a commemoration. Emphatic and adept when improvising, Werchowski’s sidestepping glissandi can be extended so that string whines underscore its energized potency. Brittle harshness is emphasized and is often so pressurized that it appears as if the finish is bring pried off the strings. At points bringing the bridge, neck and fingerboard into expanded expression, Werchowski’s barbed tones are frequently subdivided so that both arco and pizzicato motifs come into play. Yet even as the tempo reaches allegrissimo, as on “Tenir debout” with brief pops that seem to hit each single string in turn, harmonic understanding completes the sequence.

Werchowski’s coordinated sweeps also encompass lyrical and linear passages that on the concluding “Régals” for instance, project tremolo lines that take on empirical timbres that could come from an accordion or a bagpipe. This melodic default is given its most alfresco affirmation on the connected “La roue” and “Le rêve”. On the first, poetics and slow-moving string strains vanish into the sounds of bird chirps. This aviary output introduces “Le rêve”, where constant woody plucks are soon joined by arco extensions and melodic affirmation.

Overall the oxymoron of Noir Paradis is appropriate since in memory and application, the disc honors two improvisers – the violinist as well as the guitarist.  

–Ken  Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Password 2. Once upon a time 3. Tenir debout 4. La roue 5. Le rêve 6. Dersouzala 7. Bouche d’ombre 8. Jusqu’où la nuit  9. Régals

Personnel: Mathieu Werchowski (violin, viola and voice)