Record Reviews

OLIE BRICE ~ IMMUNE TO CLOCKWORK MULTIKULTI MPI 026 (Barcode: 5907796319529) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by a quintet led by British Jazz bassist / composer Olie BriceFind albums by this artist, which also includes saxophonist Mark HanslipFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Alex BonneyFind albums by this artist, drummer Jeff WilliamsFind albums by this artist and leading Polish clarinetist Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, all by Brice. Brice has been active on the British (mostly London based) Improvised Music scene since a few years and is involved with several ensembles in parallel, some as a leader and others as a band member. He also cooperated with the Polish Jazz saxophonist / clarinetists / composer Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist in the past, expanding the British / Polish Improvised Music interaction, which often produces excellent results. The music is surprising, and contrary to the accepted image of Improvised Music, beautifully lyrical and melody based. The three soloists are featured extensively, playing long and well constructed solo improvisations and collective improvisations. Most notably Zimpel, who plays here more explicitly and vividly than on the Polish albums he lately recorded as a leader, those being more contemplative and less Jazz oriented than this recording. Therefore Zimpel followers can hear some of his the best moments captured in a long time. Brice, apart from being the composer, also sets the overall direction of the album with his solid bass lines, which are the backbone of this music. He sets the tempo variations and the passage between the unisono theme statements, the solos and the group improvisation parts. Therefore he fulfills his role as a leader in full in addition to being part of the ensemble. Williams also deserves praise for following Brice´s moves closely and applying his rhythmic layer with grace and obvious sympathy. Although he does anything but keeping time, the result is well in check, with him keeping time without actually keeping time, a rare gift which only the best drummers can handle really well. In many respects this album sounds a bit retrograde, and I mean it in the most positive sense, bringing back fond memories of the wonderful British Jazz recordings by early Free Jazz / Improvised Music ensembles in the late 1960s. There was the same level of serenity and non-aggressiveness present than, which was almost completely lost over the years with Improvised Music musicians often trying to outshout each other rather than integrate. Overall this album is a beautiful and pleasing listening experience, which serves well the image of Improvised Music at its best. Congrats Olie for doing your thing and selecting the right folk to do it with. Well done indeed!

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FLETCHER / BRICE / JOZWIAK ~ NICK OF TIME SLAM 295 (Barcode: 5028386029526) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by British Jazz trio consisting of saxophonist / flautist Mike FletcherFind albums by this artist, bassist Olie BriceFind albums by this artist and Polish (residing in UK) drummer Tymoteusz JozwiakFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original pieces, all co-composed by the three trio members. Jozwiak arrived in UK to study with the legendary British Jazz drummer Tony LevinFind albums by this artist, now sadly departed, and stayed on. He met Fletcher and Brice in 2013 and they struck an immediate rapport as musical partners, which led to this recording. The music is a typical Free Jazz / Improvised Music setting, which presents three individual musicians trying to find a common ground and cooperate sonically in order to create an expression, which is a sum of their individual inputs. Judging by the result they definitely both enjoyed this meeting and managed to produce some excellent music together. Although obviously improvised, the music includes enough melodic contents to keep listeners from beyond the strict Avant-Garde scene receptive to this music. Fletcher´s playing is remarkably mellow and non aggressive and both Brice and Jozwiak engage with the front soloist constantly and yet manage to remain at least partly in the background, which saves the music from becoming cacophonous. Obviously Fletcher draws most of the listener´s attention, but his playing without the support of his two cohorts would have been most probably much less impressive. Brice builds up a respected position among the Improvised Music community members in the last few years, appearing on several very strong recording dates, like the trio with Polish saxophonist / clarinetist Mikolaj Trzaska called "Inem Gortn", which should be most interesting to people listening to this album. He is surely a player worth watching in the years to come, following his impressive start-up achievements. Jozwiak is relatively anonymous as of now, but judging by his performances herein, we´ll definitely hear more about him in years to come. Overall this is an interesting and aesthetically pleasing debut presenting ambitious music, which is definitely worth hearing. The album was released on the small independent label called SlamFind albums on this label Records, which was founded and is operated by British baritone saxophonist George HaslamFind albums by this artist, and which in the last 25 years released some of the most fascinating Avant-Garde music recorded on the British Isles.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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RIVERLOAM TRIO ~ INEM GORTN FMR 374 (Barcode: 700175749833) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is the second album by the Riverloam TrioFind albums by this artist, which consists of Polish Improvised Music legend, saxophonist / clarinetists Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist and two British musicians from the same sphere: young bassist Olie BriceFind albums by this artist and drummer Mark SandersFind albums by this artist. The trio´s live debut released a couple of years earlier (as a double LP – no CD release so far) was very warmly received at the time and this studio effort should solidify their reputation. The album consists of seven original compositions, all credited to the trio members. With dozens of albums behind him, it is increasingly difficult to describe each specific new project involving Trzaska and remain open-minded and focused enough to pinpoint the often subtle differences between the various parts of such an immense body of work. However, from the very first notes on this album it becomes perfectly clear that this is one of the most expressive and emotional settings that Trzaska is involved with lately. His playing and improvising is simply overwhelming and it is quite obvious that this happens due to the superb rapport between him and the rhythm section, especially so with Brice, whose arco work is simply stunning (nothing wrong with his pizzicato of course) and their duets are the absolute highlights of this album. Trzaska switches between the saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, as he often does these days, to achieve a different mood and power of expression. The rhythm section follows his lead amicably, adjusting the volume and intensity of their performances to the lead instrument, which is a sign of mutual respect and solidarity, which are unfortunately often forgotten in the Improvised Music environment. Sanders, who is a seasoned improviser, always finds just the proper percussive ambience to support Trzaska and Brice and elegantly takes a step back when they get involved in intimate duos. Personally I think this is an ideal Improvised Music album, which keeps the anarchy well in check, shows the individual expressions of the musicians involved and glues them together to create a whole greater than the sum of its ingredients. Emotionally and artistically this is definitely one of the best albums Trzaska recorded in his long and impressive career. This music is also beautifully recorded, with a perfect balance between the instruments and a wonderful room ambience, which enables the listener to hear every little detail of the entire sonic contents. Improvised Music recording sadly often suffer from poor recording quality and this one is an example of how things should be done and how important it is to be able to hear absolutely everything. All that remains is to thank these wonderful Artists for their gift to us, mere mortals, who have the privilege to enjoy this music. Well done indeed, gentlemen!

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