Record Reviews

AN ON BAST ~ SONGS FOR RUNNING THROUGH GRASS GHOST KITCHEN 01 ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 Polish Jazz enthusiasts are familiar with electronic producer and live performer An On BastFind albums by this artist (real name Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) thanks to a series of wonderful recordings she made with trumpeter Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist, where her extraordinary creations met the Jazz idiom. But before recording with Fortuna she was already a world famous artists, performer and recording artist of her own accord with an ongoing career since 2006. An On Bast recorded this solo album after the recordings with Fortuna and its release also marks a debut on her own record label called Ghost Kitchen. It includes eleven relatively short tracks, all composed by her. Contemporary electronic / ambient music is rarely interesting to me, as it is based mostly on schematic, very predictable sound formulas and rhythmic patterns. The great Godfathers of electronic music, like Karlheinz StockhausenFind albums by this artist, Edgar VareseFind albums by this artist and many others, started the electronic explorations to expand the borders of sound as known to the human ear, but by the end of the 20th Century it was completely bastardized, commercialized and vandalized by the Pop (non)Culture of the time, becoming more of a noise pollution than music in any respect. Of course there are always exceptions and An On Bast is for me one of them. Her electronic / ambient sounds are aesthetically pleasing; non aggressive and diverse enough to keep the attention of the listener rather than hypnotize him by a drone like repetitious mechanical sound poison. There is enough melodic element, development and variety to keep things interesting for the duration of the album, and listening to it becomes quite a fun after a while, especially in a relaxed, hassle-free environment, like driving or late night listening. Although I hope An On Bast will continue her involvement with the Jazz world in the future, her electronic works are now another avenue of soundscapes I find worth following. Well done!

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JOHN ZORN ~ COBRA HATOLOGY 580 (Barcode: 752156058021) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1985 - 1986 Released: 2002 This is a long overdue reissue of the legendary album by American musician / composer / bandleader John ZornFind albums by this artist, one of the most iconic figures of the late 20th Century Avant-Garde and music experimentation scenes. "CobraFind albums with this title" is one of the earlier monumental works by Zorn, which established him as a member of the "major" league of contemporary composers, such as Morton FeldmanFind albums by this artist, Frederic RzewskiFind albums by this artist, Karlheinz StockhausenFind albums by this artist and other icons of the "new" serious contemporary music. Many of the compositional devices used by his contemporaries are present here, as the music is basically a freely improvised collage of sounds made by electronic, electric and acoustic instruments and human voices. In places it is similar to musique concrète, in others to an ambient soundtrack, and so on, changing constantly. However, what sets it apart from most Avant-Garde music is an intrinsic connection to Jazz and Rock, evident clearly at places, especially in phrases played by the electric guitars (played by Bill FrisellFind albums by this artist, Arto LindseyFind albums by this artist and Elliott SharpFind albums by this artist. This album includes two quite different versions of the music, the earlier one recorded live and the slightly later one recorded in the studio. It´s fascinating to compare the two, as they are truly revealing as to the process of music creation in an improvised environment. This is not an easy listening experience and it was never intended to be one – total open-mindedness is absolutely required, but the intellectual reward is exhilarating and elating. Come on you brave-hearted…

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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