INTAKT
RECORDS –
CD-REVIEWS
STEPHAN CRUMP-MARY HALVORSON
SECRET KEEPER
EMERGE
Intakt CD 249 / 2015
Wie soll das gut enden, was hier mit einer schluchzenden Gitarre im Brooklyner Regen beginnt: What'll I do with just a photograph / to tell my troubles to? / When I'm alone / With only dream of you / That won't come true / What'll I do? Aber MARY HALVORSON ist, wenn sie da Irving Berlins Oldie seufzt, gar nicht allein, STEPHEN CRUMP hilft ihr, das Taschentuch auszuwringen, und zu zweit kommt man auch leichter auf andere Gedanken. Jedenfalls entspinnt sich Emerge (Intakt CD 249) im vertrauensvollen Miteinander von Gitarre und Kontrabass, ihr zweites, das die beiden als Secret Keeper veröffentlichen. Ohne das als weibliche Eigentümlichkeit auffassen zu wollen, zeigt Halvorson da wieder, wie soll ich sagen, das schillerndere, heiklere, ungewöhnlichere der beiden Temperamente. Während Crumb keinen Ton pflückt oder streicht, der nicht sonor, warm und bedacht klingt, bleibt es bei Halvorson nie lange bei solchem Einklang. Unweigerlich verlieren ihre Noten die harmonische Rundung, um gekrümmt zu schillern, und ebenso unweigerlich geraten ihre Läufe aus der geraden Spur. Man möchte dieses Schiefe, Ungleichmäßige, Merkwürdige fast barocco nennen und die Farbtöne el-grecoesk. Eine bessere Spur für die Imagination legen aber die Musiker selber, nämlich mit 'Nakata' in die phantastische Welt von Murakamis Kafka am Strand. Was die beiden evozieren, ist jedenfalls immer mit intimer Rücksicht und träumerischer Einsicht verbunden, ohne das Poetische zu sehr fixieren zu wollen. Zwar wird beim alchemistischen 'Turns to White Gold' der Nachdruck kurz mal fast rockend erhöht, doch bei 'Erie' verschwimmt der Strich zwischen Wasser und Himmel wieder in zartem Gefunkel und tagträumerischem Ungefähr. Als weiteres Exempel des harmonischen Schwebezustands, in dem Crump das Schnurren der Katzen des Phantastischen hörbar macht und Halvorson versucht, die Krümmung ihres Lächelns nachzuzeichnen. Nur noch Joann Sfar kann das so schön, so treffend, wie sie.
Philippe Carles, Jazz Magazine, Avril 2015
Secret Keeper has built its aesthetic on what might be viewed as a contradiction. Stylistically, guitarist Mary Halvorson and bassist Stephan Crump have perfected the art of inhabiting different worlds simultaneously. The former’s allegiance to the various forms of creative improvisation remain visible but blurred as her sound has morphed over time. The latter works along similar lines and both have been involved in more musical diversity than can be documented here. Consequently, when they present Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” as the opening track on their sophomore disc, it is neither wholly unexpected nor predictable. As what sounds like rain in the background, adding a layer of homespun ambiance, the music emerges with a sense of quiet whimsy as it’s almost plunderphonically dismembered. Halvorson’s trademark pedal work and Crump’s frenetic high-register bowing fracture the melody but sometimes present it as a warped mirror image, which almost slides into plain focus before shattering again. The duo shares compositional credits throughout the rest of the disc, but they also bandy melody and harmonic implication back and forth with humorous dignity. Listen to them trading pointilisms on “In Time You Yell”, Halvorson nodding toward bebop for good historical measure even as each tone’s double skews the picture. Yet fun and games disappear for the beautifully chamber-like textures of “Disproportionate Endings”. The players function as a unit, mirroring the other’s subtlest dynamic shifts as the neo-Romantic melody slithers its serpentine way forward. The recording is close but not claustrophobic, detailed in a way that brings out the harmonies implied by each note. “Nakata” rings with harmonic ramifications as Crump’s Scott LaFaro-like sonorities support the intricate chords Halvorson lays down. Crump’s overtones on “Erie” are just that and, again, the two instruments merge in the service of triads and unisons that may as well be interchangeable at strategic moments. This blues-inflected track ends an album as diverse as it is enjoyable. Such loose but precise music is difficult to execute well and the fact that the compositions are also uniformly excellent simply adds to the disc’s overall effect.
Das Duo Secret Keeper mit dem Bassisten Stephan Crump und der famosen Gitarristin Mary Halvorson folgt mit Emerge konsequent dem akustischen Weg. Keine elektronische Verfremdung lenkt von den zarten, duftigen Klangwölkchen ab, die die beiden produzieren. Das wächst gut zusammen, lässt sich und den Zuhörern Zeit, ist von großer Intimität und souveräner Gelassenheit. Crump streicht den Bass zärtlich, nutzt die Klangpalette von den dunkelsten Tiefen bis in lichte Höhen. Dazu zupft Halvorson feine single notes. Keiner verfällt der Verführung, der manche Instrumentalkollegen erliegen, in möglichst kurzer Zeit möglichst viele Noten zu spielen, nach dem Motto, „seht her, was ich noch alles kann“. So entstehen Geschichten und sorgsam gebaute, im besten Sinne schöne Miniaturen, die immer wieder doch auch eine gewisse Widerborstigkeit aufweisen. Sehr schöne CD.
Pirmin Bossart, Jazz'n'More, Zürich, Mai 2015
Harmoniquement de toutes les zones à risques, mais avec une sonorité qui maîtrise la tradition, voire carrément classique, la musique de la guitariste américaine Mary Halvorson démantibule. Le talent de l’exploratrice aux lunettes de prof engendre plaisir des inflexions déroutantes, trouvailles pleines d’invention, phrases imprévisibles. Née à Boston en 1980, l’agitatrice, renouvelle l’aventure du duo Secret Keeper avec Stephan Crump, le contrebassiste trublion de la scène new yorkaise (Trio Rosetta, deux guitaristes!). Cet accompagnateur chevronné du pianiste Vijay Iyer, et la complice attitrée d’Anthony Braxton, attisent une alchimie pionnière. S’arc-boutant sur la prolixité du vis-à-vis, chacun digresse, percute, échafaude, enfin ramène au préliminaire. Le duo concocte une improvisation magique, en quasi-télépathie. Un morceau de bravoure.
Alexander Schmitz, Jazzpodium, Mai 2015 (Foto: Wilfried Heckmann)
Marc Medin, The New York City Jazz Record, May 2015
Aaron Cohen, Downbeat, Chicago, July 2015 There are no points of reference for what this duo, Secret Keeper, is doing. You might say that the Jimmy Giuffre trio with Steve Swallow and Paul Bley come to mind in the absolute daring of their recordings and I think there were just three recordings by that iconic trio. Now Secret Keeper, with Stephan Crump and Mary Halvorson are, in fact, making music as audacious as that trio did and path-breaking as well. I don’t think that I will be returning to Jimmy Giuffre’s recordings in a hurry. I have to savour this record first. And I am besotted. Mary Halvorson’s technical command of the guitar and the contemporary improvised idiom is impressive. She understands the underlying rhetoric, musical textures and expressive power of its ornamentation practices. Stephan Crump is no less of a master of his instrument. This is manifested in his imaginative use of dynamics. His is an individual voice, whose ability to surprise the listener, at every turn, is remarkable. His pizzicato playing is sharp and angular. He makes use of colour in a most novel way and it shows in his magnificent arco playing. The programme on Emerge, the duo’s second disc as Secret Keeper begins with “What’ll I Do”. Opening with a standard and that too one where surprise is the only constant throughout is a stroke of genius. Still nothing could prepare you for what’s in store from one track to another. Music for this duo seems to be like taking a figure that we have just heard and turning it on its head. Case in point: the Irving Berlin classic played a lot slower than any other version that I have heard and yet making it retain all of its tenderness. It’s nothing short of genius. From now on the listener can expect more exquisite work from this duo on this album. And they do not disappoint. Not in the least bit. Ms. Halvorson and Mr. Crump are simply astonishing from one song to the next. Triumphantly so. What a joy it is to hear mysterious pieces such as “Emerge” and “Bridge Loss Sequence” played by fine players such as these, scrupulously attentive to the music, the angularity of the idiom and with nimble technique. Even the more quirky pieces “In Time You Yell” and “A Muddle of Hope” become admirable little gems. I have enjoyed individual discs by these artists and although Emerge is my first exposure to them as a duo, I find myself enjoying it enormously the more I listen to it. Mary Halvorson and Stephan Crump, the members of Secret Keeper parley with the familiarity of old friends. And yet their playing always retains the feeling that something brand new and exciting is happening every time they are together. Nothing is forced or overly mannered; song tempos, duo playing and balance – all seem effortlessly and intuitively right. The string sound from both guitarist and bassist is lucid and warm. These are, in sum, sincere and poised accounts, fitting tributes to the exciting and faultless character of composers and their music. A disc to die for.
Interview with Mary Halvorson, Ron Schepper, www.textura.org, October 2013
Kay Friedrichs, Print Klenkes 15/6, Deutschland
Ulrich Steinmetzger, Leipziger Volkszeitung, 13.6.2015, Deutschland
Secret Keeper nennt sich das Duo des Kontrabassisten Stephan Crump und der Gitarristin Mary Halvorson; „Emerge“ ist das zweite Album der beiden. Das erste war das Ergebnis spontanen Miteinander-Improvisierens, ein naheliegendes Prozedere bei der jeweiligen Entwicklung der beiden an die Speerspitze der neuen Frei-Spieler-Avantgarde der Brooklyn-Szene. Der 43-jährige Bassvirtuose lernte sein Handwerk zuerst bei einigen der großen Bebop-Legenden, dann bei zeitgenösischen Meistern und stürzte sich alsbald in das Abenteuer der vitalen neutönerischen New Yorker Szene. Halvorson, die zierliche, examinierte Jazzgitarristin mit der riesigen Full-Body-Gitarre, kommt aus der Free-Music-Schule und pflegt durchaus auch Progrock, Noise und andere Grenzüberschreitungen.
Secret Keeper has served as a collective sobriquet for bassist Stephen Crump and guitarist Mary Halvorson’s musical activities together for the last several years. Independently, the two remain among the busiest New York-based improvisors in the business. Crump holds a standing post in pianist Vijay Iyer’s trio and was a founding member of the Rosetta Trio with guitarists Liberty Ellman and Jamie Fox. Halvorson’s credits continue to accumulate at a near-exponential rate under her leadership and in the company of regular associates like Tom Rainey, Ingrid Laubrock and Marc Ribot. Both musicians are experienced in the art of spontaneous dialogue, a shared affinity that found a wider audience in the spring of 2013 via Super 8, their first record together and a thoroughly improvised affair. Emerge continues the conversation where the pair left off, but this time in a decidedly more tuneful and composed direction developed in part through a series of concert performances undertaken in the interim. They begin with a rendering of Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” with Halvorson torquing the pitch of her strings like sorghum taffy to keep things from sounding too circumspect. That extreme malleability can sometimes be disorienting as during her dizzying lead on “A Muddle of Hope”, but Halvorson dials down the effect in service of the melody when needed. Crump’s sound is more consistently conventional by comparison, a ripe, woody, resonant boom when plucking and a precise, glissando-rich texturing when brandishing bow. The pieces here may conform closer to the parameters of discrete compositions, but carefully parceled space and silence are just as important to the proceedings. Documented in Crump’s home studio, the music radiates both immediacy and intimacy. On the Berlin-penned ballad the gentle percussion of rainfall is clearly audible in the background as environmental accompaniment. Four pieces from each of the musicians follow in an interspersed sequence. Sudden stops and slight miscues are discernable on occasion in the interplay, but rather than being redacted by Crump in the post-recording mix they remain indelible parts of the performance. Each player gives over to preserving a personalized sound throughout, Halvorson pulling a variety of warble-etched progressions from her Guild hollow body and Crump releasing thick, rhythm-infused ribbons around her. A loping elastic groove that materializes on the tail-end of the title piece signals a thematic about-face and they even find the occasion to rock out as on the vapor-trail tangled freakout that erupts in the final minutes of “Turns to White Gold”. Different still, the tinkling timbral icicles that coalesce at end of “Erie” touch on the sublime.
O duo de cordas Secret Keeper é um dos projetos mais interessantes em atividade que conta com a participação da guitarrista Mary Halvorson. A seu lado está Stephan Crump (baixo), com quem cria uma música de difícil definição, com seu ar camerístico marcado por muita improvisação e composições de harmonias intrigantes. Neste segundo registro da dupla, há momentos realmente desafiadores aos ouvidos, como “In Time You Yell”, “Nakata” e a incrível “A Muddle of Hope”.
The Wire, London, June 2015
Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise, London, July 2015
The concert for Secret Keeper's latest recording Emerge was at the Cornelia Street Cafe - and down in the cozy basement club space, it felt a bit like being in on a well kept secret itself. It was an intimate show as the duo of guitarist Mary Halvorson and bassist Stephen Crump captivated the attentive crowd for the evening. Emerge is the pair's second recording under the name Secret Keeper and it is a another great example of their sympathetic and telepathic playing. The duo delivers composed and intricate melodies, with nice balanced counter motions, but they also surprise by suddenly throwing caution to the wind and diving into some aggressive passages. The opener "What'll I Do" begins tentatively, Crump provides a loose foundation and Halvorson slowly drops musical pieces into place. They are building up to something: the squiggles of guitar and the bass runs become stronger and the music denser as the track continues. 'Emerge' starts big with vibrant chords and melody from the guitar and deep sells from the bass and 'In Time You Yell', things become agitated and the playing heavier. Halvorson leans on her inner rocker and uses power chords and purposeful slashing strumming before quickly pivoting to pointy arpeggiated lines and unusual chord voicings. Meanwhile Crump is a often a grounding element, providing a base that sometimes just cracks wide open. This is a keeper of an album, literally dripping with atmosphere. Paul Acquaro, Freejazzblog, USA, June 30, 2015
C'est sur une note étrange que débute Emerge, deuxième rencontre de la guitariste Mary Halvorson et du contrebassiste Stephan Crump. Un détail qui souligne la poésie intimiste nourrissant la discussion entre ces deux symboles de la scène new-yorkaise, déjà aperçue dans Super Eight, leur premier album, déjà pour Intakt Records : alors qu'ils enregistrent « What'll I Do » (Irving Berlin), seule reprise d'un disque où les compositions sont à parité, la pluie se met à tomber dru à l'extérieur du studio, laissant filtrer un crépitement ininterrompu ; ce déluge impromptu lie en profondeur l'inimitable style serpentin d'Halvorson et l'intensité rugueuse de Crump, et emplit le studio d'un spleen voluptueux. Les tintements et échos de la guitariste rappellent la version de Chet Baker et façonnent à merveille cette atmosphère. Puis, lorsque l'archet la rejoint, on se surprend à écouter cette musique comme on trahirait quelques confidences, avec une curiosité attentive.
Les disques qui vous ont (peut-être) échappé durant l'année passée Le Schlippenbach Trio est un groupe de briscards de la free music, le pianiste et ses compères Evan Parker (ténor sax) et Paul Lovens (batterie) jouent ensemble depuis 45 ans ! Mais les uns comme les autres ont évolué et pris du recul ; ce n'est plus le free dévastateur des années 70, et leurs quinze pièces directement improvisées sont à la fois très différentes et parfaitement cohérentes. On appréciera particulièrement le jeu lyrique et "coltranien" de Parker. Trois géants : « Features » (Intakt 250). Déjà auteur de deux disques en trio (avec Niggli et Michel Godard), l'accordéoniste italien Luciano Biondini se présente cette fois en solo et réinterprète – il compose également – une série de belles mélodies populaires italiennes, en jouant sur la tradition folklorique méditerranéenne et l'improvisation jazz ; toute la nostalgie poétique que véhicule cet instrument quand il est si bien joué se retrouve dans « Senza fine » (Intakt 255) (OUI, on aime !) Enfin, nous sommes toujours heureux de retrouver ce beau duo de vingt ans, Marilyn Crispell (piano) et Gerry Hemingway (batterie, percussion, vibraphone), qui ne s'attache qu'à l'essentiel : une musique totale, remarquable et passionnante : « Table of Changes » (Intakt 246). …
|