Dancing in times of plague - the Corona Diaries
The Free Jazz Collective 0
By Stef Gijssels
You wonder what's happening in the world. Viruses and Violence. Death and Injustice. Racism and Madness. There are few words that can capture what is happening. There are few words that can capture the danger and the strangeness of the isolation we live in. The lockdown has proven to be a source of inspiration for musicians, with no concerts and no travel, options are limited, but to be productive and creative in other ways. Below is a list of albums that were released dedicated to corona pandemic, its isolation and its consequences for people.
Some music is evokative of the terror of the times, other music offers surprising moments of "light in the darkness". Check them out.
Various Artists in Lockdown - Danse Macabre Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 (Objet-A, 2020) ****
On April 13, we published this post on Gianni Gebbia's initiative to revive the Danse Macabre, the 'danse of the death', as a collective creative project for musicians to share and improvise on each other's music through digital exchange of material.
The collection offers an amalgam of styles and genres, from classical - a beautiful sarabande of viola da gamba and theorbo - over rock music, solemn solo trumpet to electronic turntable madness. If on the previous albums some stylistic unity could be found, it is absent here, apart from the common context of the corona pandemic. The strength of the album is also its weakness, or the opposite. As a listener you are forced to be more open to music that is normally well below your attention radar, illustrating the pandemic's unexpected consequence of connecting people who would never have met otherwise. Confinement leads to openness. A strange observation.
Listen and download on Bandcamp.
Ben Goldberg - Plague Diary (BAG Productions, 2020) ***½
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Brandon Evans - The Grove (2020) ****
The saxophonist and sound artist is possibly best known from his collaborations with Anthony Braxton and Sonny Simmons.
His music is warm and delicate, with the occasional synth sound to give the solo sax some more context.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Toshinori Kondo - Beyond Corona, Volume One (2020) ***
I am not a fan of this kind of music, so I won't judge it either.
Kyle Bruckmann - Draußen ist Feindlich (2020) **½
American oboist Kyle Bruckmann adds his own vision on the corona pandemic, with "Draußen Ist Feindlich" (it's dangerous outside), based on the lyrics by Einsturzende Neubauten:
"Es wird hell
Draussen ist feindlich
Schliess dich ein mit mir
Hier sind wir sicher
Ich liebe dich
Vergiss es"
(It's getting light The outside world is hostile Lock yourself in with me We are safe here I love you Forget it)
Bruckmann insists on the liner notes that these are improvisations, un-overdubbed and unedited. But the tone of his oboe and English horn are duly altered electronically in real time. This results in suppressed sounds, sickening sounds, twirling sounds, reverberating, gliding, multiphonics, unpredictable, strange, eery, synthetic, unreal, quiet and loud, with lots of electronic bleeps and squeaks. The two most acoustic tracks (A3 and A5) get my preference, and I wish the whole album had been like that. But it's of course not the artist's objective to create something pleasant. So you endure the hostile environment. I'm not certain that the cats on the album's cover slept so peacefully during the recording itself.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Kyle Quass & Richard Bonnet & Olivier Hestin - Locked Down (2020) ***
We get more "asynchronous free jazz" from France, with American Kyle Quass on trumpet, and French musicians Richard Bonnet on guitar & banjo, and Olivier Hestin on drums. The three musicians sent sound files to each other and improvised on each other's material. They call it "a shining light in a sea of darkness", the possibility to reach out to each other and to be creative. Even if the context determines the origin of their collaboration, it's hard to find any corona-related content in their music. Some pieces, such as "Wind Chimes" are even joyous and light-hearted. Some pieces are special, such as the unusual duet between banjo and trumpet on "Over Yonder". In short, its a good album, with good quality music and good interaction despite its "asynchonous" creation, but with little emotional reference to the pandemic.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
The Free Jazz Collective 0
By Stef Gijssels
Lebanese trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj offers his own solo performance during corona times, from his lockdown in Berlin where he resides. His "Corona Diaries" include a literal diary that he kept during the period, and which can be read on his own blog. One of the things he writes is the following:
"And this brings in another similarity between this situation and others that I am familiar with: working in confinement, and working in reaction to an extreme situation. Since the first day of the lockdown, I can’t help but draw parallels with life in times of war, and more specifically the 2006 war, where all of Lebanon was closed off and under severe Israeli bombardment for 33 consecutive days. Besides the relative “safety” we have now, we are living in the same confinement (if not a more severe one), and most importantly we are in the same “waiting for something” situation without knowing when and how “what’s next” will arrive. Here, I have to say that for better or worse, I am the kind of artist who works best in reaction to something, and today, just like 2006 or another extreme situation (the assassination of journalist, friend and mentor Samir Kassir in 2005 comes to my mind), I find myself in a rather exciting creative moment".
This is somehow a period of war. Emotional reaction creates art. Kerbaj has always had a 'political' drive in his music, but also a very creative one, going beyond the boundaries of the expected, as in his "Walls Will Fall" album, performed by 49 trumpet players, yet he is equally familiar with solo trumpet albums.
On this album, he uses his usual assortment of little objects to alter the tone of his trumpet, and without seeing him, it's almost impossible to identify how he does it (I can recommend to check out the video at the bottom of his blog to get an idea). Nevertheless, the music is great. It is desolate, intimate, sensitive and moving, despite its austere limitations of the single acoustic instrument.
Check out his blog too. It is very insightful, funny and creative. His comic books and visual art are worth discovering too if you're not familiar with them.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Christian Pruvost & Peter Orins - lund'in fine #1 (Self, 2020) ***½
It has a sequel by Patrick Guionnet on voice and electronics and Peter Orins on drums. It is also aptly called "2". This is not jazz, but performance music, with Guionnet reading, then shouting a text by the controversial French author and performer Jean-Louis Costes. The violence increases as the French text develops and the vocal sounds get changed and amplified by electronics. Screams and heavy drums lead to a sonic tsunami.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Susana Santos Silva - The Same Is Always Different (Bandcamp, 2020) ***
Here is what Susana Santos Silva wrote on Facebook when making the album available, with the current situation in the US and the pandemic creating a feeling of impotence against real virus and the virus of stupidity and racism:
"In moments like this nothing makes sense anymore. The meaning of life gets lost in wars, injustices, suffering, pain, evil and all the other insanities human kind is able to do or let happen for no reason I can possibly understand. I recorded an album during my April/May quarantine and now I don't know what to do with it... because it feels meaningless to even talk about music... or maybe it's a great time to do it after all. This album was planned to be released on June 5th. But, until then I will make it available for download for no money but for some of your love. If you want to buy it, I please ask you to donate the 10 euros that the album would cost (or whatever you can afford) directly to any bail fund, food or crisis fund or any other cause close to you that speaks to your heart. this world is extremely sick and there are innumerable extraordinary people trying to make it better. let's help them. Thank you".
On this 'album' she brings us two short pieces, the first one called "Same", the second "Different". On the first one, the trumpet tone is electronically altered, adding some noise and multiple layers of sound that slowly and monotonously proceed without much change like water flowing down a river, but ending with one fragile high-pitched tone at the end. The second track starts with a ferocious and raw ground tone, the kind of volume for which you require quite some lung capacity to achieve, with timbral multiphonics. Whereas the first track offers a resigned calm, the second has an insistent sense of urgency and nervousness, even if it is equally monotonous. It is the same, in a way, but also different. In a way, like our lives, like this world out there. Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Sun Jun 07 04:00:00 GMT 2020
The Free Jazz Collective 0
By Paul Acquaro and Stef Gijssels
As Covid has continued to wreak havoc on the lives of musicians (yes, actually that could be expanded to the the world, but that's for another day) some have sought other ways to express themselves, make some income, or work on something that that has been in the "if I just had time to..." category. Here are just a few that have caught our ears recently.
John Butcher - Stuck (Takuroku, 2020)
Listen and download from the label.
John Edwards & Caroline Kraabel - Sequestered (Self, 2020) & John Edwards & Caroline Kraabel – Adventures In The Front Room (Self, 2020)
Listen and download here and here.
Gianni Gebbia - Augmenta Vol.3 Early Music (Self, 2020)
Worth looking for.
The duo of Luciano Margorani on electric guitar and Fabrizio Spera on drums bring us four, improvised tracks recorded in Rome in Fabrizio's rehearsal room on June 16th 2020, when the pandemic decreased and getting out of lockdown became possible again.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Luciano Margorani & Fabrizio Spera - Not The Usual Improvised Music (Self, 2020)
I am not 100% sure that this is Covid-inspired music, but the context is also hard to avoid. The styles vary from the gentle opening piece to the harder second track. It's not clear which genre of music this is (more rock but without vocals and mostly without steady rhythms).
It is not your "usual improvised music" as they are keen to let us know, so we thought it was worth mentioning.
"Every once in a while, there is a break in the crazy schedule here at Evil Clown and I have some time to do a solo album. Our grand olde pal, the Corona Virus has provided such a break in spades…", is the introduction of the liner notes to this album. This album offers one one hour track.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Maja S.K. Ratkje - Corona Lockdown Concert For TUSK Festival 2020 (Self, 2020)
Norwegian vocal artist Maja Ratkje created these two pieces for the virtual TUSK Festival. Her explorations of the human voice together with collages and electronics offers a unique listening experience.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
PEK Solo - For Alto (Evil Clown, 2020)
The artist, Dave Peck, also performs under the moniker PEK, and we have reviewed several of his "Leap Of Faith Orchestra" albums in the past.
His mention of "some time to do a solo album" is an understatement. He has released no less than 10 solo albums this year. You can find him performing on a few dozen instruments, including but not limited to clarinet & contrabass clarinet, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, mussette, tarota, contrabassoon, bass tromboon, C flute, Russian wood flute, Christmas flute, sheng, game calls, gongs, bell tree, brontosaurus & tank bells, bells, Englephone, crotales, cymbells, trine, chimes, d[ronin], daxophone, loop pedal, delay, clarinets (soprano, b flat, g albert, alto, metal pipe bass, bass, contralto, contrabass), saxophones (sopranino, soprano, bamboo soprano, alto, tenor, bari, bass), double Reeds (oboe, musette, tarota, dulzaina, shenai, nadaswaram, guanzi, english horn, mini-bassoon, bassoon, contrabassoon, tenor & bass tromboon), flutes & whistles (C flute, alto flute, Christmas flute, large bamboo flute, 3 hole Russian flute, triple slide whistle, penny whistle, ney, hulusi), recorders (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), free-reed aerophones (sheng, melodica, accordion, concertina), other Winds (tarogato, goat horn, fog horn, kazoo, wind & crank sirens), electronics (Moog subsequent, mallet kat, prophet, daxophone, [d]ronin, ms-20, ewi, signal processing, Arp Odyssey), strings (electric cello, electric bass, guyzheng, yangqin), percussion (tabla, ocean drum, talking drum, daiko, chains, gongs, thunder sheet, plate gong, brontosaurus and tank bells, glockenspiel, crotales, cymbells, Englephone, orchestral chimes, hand chimes, chimes, Tibetan bells & bowls, bells, temple bells, bell tree, trines, flex-a-tone, triangle, meinl galaxy, helix bowl, cymbals, finger cymbals, wah wah tube, cow bells, balafon, wood blocks, temple blocks, rachet, log drum, seed pod rattle, castanets, claves, rain stick), and other (aquasonic, game calls, clown horns).
On this album he primarily performs on alto saxophone only, with the occasional use of tenor & bass ocarinas and some digital delay technology.
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Jan Klare - B. C. (Umland Records, 2020)
Listen and download from Bandcamp.
Mon Nov 16 05:00:00 GMT 2020
Patrick Brennan - Ways and Sounds (the book) Audio Edition
NYC based saxophonist Patrick Brennan finally found the time during these past months to collect his writings, which he has been developing since 2011, into a book. Releasing it on Bandcamp as an audio book that he also narrates, the chapters have been unfolding over the past five or six weeks in regular intervals. As described on his Bandcamp site "Ways & Sounds is an inquiry into the nature & condition of music from within the process of doing it. Throughout this book, there’s a reach toward reinventing a language for thinking & talking about music." So, what we have here is a rumination on the construction of music, what it is, what it means, how it's made, how one interacts with it either from the perspective of a listener, musician, and composer. In small audio bites, from a little more than a minute to a little under 10 minutes, Brennan clearly and precisely articulates his thoughts on the topic. Be warned, these are not breezy aphorisms, Brennan has thought deeply about the topics, has done his research, deftly quotes what prominent voices have said in the past, and explains his thinking behind what music is and means. There is a lot to take in and think about, from the personal meaning of music to the invisible dynamics of what drives attitudes to music.
Ways and Sounds (the book) Audio Edition by patrick brennan
Ben Goldberg - NOVEMBER 10 2020 - DEDICATION TO KASEY KNUDSEN from PLAGUE DIARY
Back in June, Stef first wrote about clarinetist and composer Ben Goldberg's Plague Diaries project. At that point, Goldberg, not touring or performing had been making solo recordings and releasing them on his Bandcamp page almost daily. As of June 6th, when the post went up, Goldberg was at 76 recordings. Now, in mid-November, he is at number 183, and the track "NOVEMBER 10 2020 - DEDICATION TO KASEY KNUDSEN" (a saxophonist and colleague of Goldberg's in the Bay Area) is a neat mix of Goldberg's gentle reed playing mixed with some looping and synthesizer work. As Goldberg wrote on his Bandcamp back in August, he felt he was getting comfortable with the technology. This track is certainly evidence of that!
PLAGUE DIARY by Ben Goldberg
Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey - Stir Crazy Episode 34
Like Goldberg, the saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey have been using the unexpected lull in their typically hectic schedules to make the world a little better by recording and releasing their music as a duo on their Bandcamp site. Recorded using a small Zoom digital recorder in the middle of their practice room in their apartment, the duo have been developing ideas and working off excess creative energy, and making these low-fi technically / high-fi musically tracks.
The latest, #34, released just a day ago, also shows a sort of evolution. Having worked through many of their own ideas, they have started to take the music of their friends and peers and working them into into their improvisations. This one contains music from Tim Berne, Henry Threadgill, and Tomeka Reid, as well as Laubrock's own music.Stir Crazy Episode 34 by Ingrid Laubrock
See the previous "Dancing in times of plague - the Corona Diaries" - part 1 here and part 2 here.