Record Reviews

GLUE ~ CHATS WITH THE REAL MCCOY CREATIVE SOURCES 257 (Barcode: 5609063402575) ~ UK ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the second album by the Improvised Music trio GlueFind albums by this artist, consisting of three Berlin based musicians: British trumpeter Tom ArthursFind albums by this artist, Canadian bassist Miles PerkinFind albums by this artist and Greek drummer Yorgos DimitriadisFind albums by this artist. Together they perform eight original pieces all attributed collectively to the trio members and of course all improvised. The music is an intimate conversation between three musicians, who give each other a lot of space and respect, creating an on the fly trialogue of rare beauty. Listening to this music is like eavesdropping on a tête-à-tête by three friends, who are freely exchanging ideas and supporting each other to express them. In complete contrast to most Improvised Music recordings, this music is so minimalistic and non aggressive, that listening to it requires nothing more than an open mind and pushing conventional approach to music aside. The trumpet work by Arthurs is obviously the most impressive piece of the puzzle, with futuristic sound vistas, virtuosic triads and single notes thrown in the air like fireworks and innovative approach to the trumpet, changing its role within the Free Jazz / Improvised Music idioms, like Don CherryFind albums by this artist did five decades earlier. But of course Glue is all about communal experience and the work of Perkin and Dimitriadis is an integral part of the end result. Both play little of what might be considered as traditional role of the rhythm section, exploring their degrees of freedom to the max. The bass, used very percussively, in addition to the usual plucking, adds an entire layer which gives this music its bodily essence, whereas the percussion plays constantly, but never any steady rhythmic patters, simply ornamenting the overall result with a myriad of one note accents and pulsations. The resulting music becomes a one of its kind experience, which miraculously holds water after it was recorded. Most of Improvised Music may be communicative or fascinating enough to be heard live but fails to retain the magic on record. This album proves that creating a lasting Improvised Music piece is possible. Although Improvised Music connoisseurs are a tiny minority even among the Jazz lovers, they tend to be extremely faithful as fans, and therefore I hardly recommend to all of them to listen to this album as this music is truly worth being discovered and followed in the future.

Updated: 18/09/2016Posted: 18/09/2016

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