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GIANNI
GEBBIA
XAVIER
GARCIA
NILS WOGRAM
GIANNI GEBBIA, XAVIER GARCIA, NILS WOGRAM. PRONTO! INTAKT CD 076
This spunky trio pushes the
envelope by interrogating a throng of variegated tonal concepts, partly
due to Xavier GarciaÕs tantalizing sampling escapades. Modern/free-jazz
trombonist Nils Wogram and saxophonist Gianni Gebbia coalesce for jazzy
improvisations and oscillating countercurrents throughout this often
fascinating program, where sounds and motifs seemingly drift into thin
air, only to be realigned and deconstructed into amorphous patterns.
The band abides by a multilateral credo consisting of interlinking dialogues
and off-kilter harmonic forays. To that end, youÕll hear electronic
percussion patches, sublime sax lines, and old- fashioned analogue synth
sounds amid the artistsÕ intensifying passages. The musicians subliminally
merge elements of previously applied electronic maneuvers with forward
thinking tendencies. An obvious fun factor exists during a good portion
of this affair, as Garcia seemingly mimics his partnersÕ acoustic sounds
with chirpy sampling exercises. Consequently, the groupÕs penchant for
discovery comes with a slightly antagonistic disposition that might
be akin to a science project gone awry. Recommended. Visit Intakt Records
on the web. ~
At first blush, a combination
of only sampler, saxophone, and trombone may appear limiting, and if
not in the right hands it might be. Xavier Garcia, Gianni Gebbia, and
Nils Wogram, though, combine to make something special, and incredibly,
there is not a stale moment among these thirteen pieces, which range
in length from just over a minute to more than eleven minutes. The sampler
is a subtle presence, felt implicitly, while the horns take the leadership
roles. Recorded in GebbiaÕs native Sicily, the saxophonist is the dominant
voice, and his elastic lines combined with some incredible trombonisms
deliver the goods with an uncompromising approach that is as thrilling
as it is innovative. It is difficult to believe that there are only
two horns present, as the range of timbre and color cover the waterfront.
Gebbia defies conventional technique, as is customary for him, as he
rolls, spurts, and sputters, while Wogram continues to expand his palette
while remaining true to his highly developed technique. GarciaÕs use
of samplers is surprisingly tame except on a couple of pieces in which
he incorporates vocals. When this was released, Wogram and Gebbia were
two of the most underrated horn players around, perhaps due to their
immersion in so-called Avant Garde styles. The range of musicality,
though unquestionably immersed in the genre of free improvisation, is
astonishingly diverse, and should at the least raise a few eyebrows.
Ein spannender Klang-, Geräusch-
und Artikulations-Kosmos ganz eigener Ausprägung, mit langen, melodisch-balladesken
Sequenzen, aber auch prickelnden Intensitätswechseln, mit spontan er-improvisierten
Ministrukturen, Phrasenfragmenten und Klangfeldern, die immer wieder
von stark wechselnden, punktuellen Ereignisdichten vibrierend fluoreszierender
Soundcollagen geprägt sind, wobei überlegt eingesetztes Sampling das
sich ständig in Fluktuation befindliche, wellenförmige Aufflackern und
Verlöschen der Kontrastebenen noch steigert, gespielt vom Franzosen
Xavier Garcia, sampling, dem Sizilianer Gianni Gebbia, saxophones, und
dem Deutschen Nils Wogram, tb, aufgenommen in Palermo im Februar 2001.
ja (5 Noten)
In Palermo, der Heimalstadt
von GIANNI GEBBIA entstanden in der nicht alltäglichen Besetzung mit
Alto- & Sopraninosaxophon, dem Zoom- & Root 70-Posaunisten NILS WOGRAM
und XAVIER GARCIA am Sampler die dreizehn Imrovisationsminiaturen der
italienisch-deutsch-französischen Kollaboration Pronto! (Intakt 076).
Dabei sehe ich weniger den Einsatz von Sampler als bemerkenswert an.
Der auch als Studioelektroniker renommierte Garcia, der seine Live-Elektronik
im Kontext der Lyoner ARFI-Szene etwa bei L'Effet Vapeur einsetzte,
liegt damit im Trend. Ungewöhnlich ist vielmehr die Kürze der Soundclashes,
von denen immerhin acht mit weniger als drei Minuten im würzigen Single-Hit-Bereich
liegen. Quickes Brainstorming ist also angesagt, Hardcorespritzer wie
'Vite, vite, vite', 'Clonebone', 'Vucciria' und 'Bavardage'. Daneben
aber auch stöchernd-tastende Geräuschexplorationen oder ein gespenstischer
Mini-Thriller wie 'Street of Shit'. Garcia spielt dabei das Phantom,
das viele Namen hat und bei jedem Stück mit anderer Zunge spricht. In
den Bläserstimmen hallen die Erinnerungen an den abgeräumten Jazz- und
Improplunder nach, nie abfällig, aber doch abgeklärt. Zeit, nämlich
11'37", lassen sich die Drei nur für 'A soulful point of view', eine
in lyrischer Gefühlsinnigkeit vibrierende Huldigung an den pathetischen
Zauber von Musik.
Cosa succederebbe se prendessimo
un iceberg e un albero secolare della Nera Foresta germanica ...e poi?,
e poi andassimo nel centro Europa, magari infilandoci nelle arterie
cittadine di Lione, prendendo un auto, qualcosa che fa rumore, ma che
fa anche simpatia e folklore, e decidessimo di trapiantare tutto ciò
per un'oretta, dico anche il tempo di un caffè, in un punto di un'isola,
ecco magari la Sicilia, dove c'è sole, caldo ...e c'è un pure un Gothe
Institute???
URSEL SCHLICHT-STEVE SWELL
4TET Poets of the Now CIMP #272 GARCIA/GEBBIA/WOGRAM Pronto! Intakt
CD 076 After all, it was the German trombonist who studied at New York's New School, before taking more expected gigs with Swiss drummer Lucas Niggli's Zoom, Russian-American pianist Simon Nabatov's bands and Martin Fondse's Dutch Octet. Moreover, Sicilian alto saxophonist Gianni Gebbia has a history of collaboration with experimental players from the Bay area. Sampler player Xavier Garcia from Lyon, with a background in theatre, dance and New Music, may not fit this equation. But who says the French and Americans get along? Just act George Bush and Jacques Chirac. Schlicht, who recorded the CD shortly after gaining her green card as an "alien of extraordinary ability," has moved back and forth to and from the U.S. for years, bringing her experience playing focused EuroImprov with German guitar torturer Han Tammen to situations with Swell among others. Meanwhile trombonist Swell, who often works with drummer Lou Grassi, has also recorded with experimental Portuguese musicians and other Europeans. As an added fillip, bassist Tom Abbs, whose associations include multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore, brought his tuba to the session, and drummer Geoff Mann, who often works with the bassist as a Paul Chambers-Jimmy Cobb combination in downtown New York, brought along his cornet -- an indirect homage to British improviser John Steven, perhaps? It's true that Swell's plunger work references earlier times, but isn't it European who pride themselves on remembering their history? Take his tune "Bluesy," for instance. From its beginning the trombonist slurs dirty, plunger tones all over the place, a lot more Kid Ory than J. C. Higginbotham. Schlicht comes across with some light-fingered, right-handed bop-blues à la Junior Mance or Red Garland and Mann produces breezy swing like a modern day Jo Jones, emphasizing his hi-hat. Growling, Swell exits, reprises the theme first andante, then presto. Other pre-modern wah wahs vie with off-kilter piano sweeps and intentionally (?) muffled drumbeats and shaking chains or a tambourine outline on "Han Bennink," which Swell named for the eccentric Dutch drummer. Later on, though the trombonist's pitch appears particularly elevated as he mixes it up with the unvarying, shofar-like tuba blasts from Abbs. In contrast, the pianist's "12/2," named for its 12:22 length, is a mixture of primitive and modern. Working out pedal pressure high notes with Abbs' string topping a Henry Grimes-like attack, Swell enters with a Peter Gunn theme-style rhythm that resolves itself in a wiggling beboppy line. More intense than elsewhere, Swell's Jungle sound splits into smart bomb shards as Schlicht hammers away at the keys, and the bass and drums double the tempo. Reprising the theme in unison the trombonist and pianist leave room for Mann's drum break filled with rim shots and press rolls. Other pieces encompass march tempo drum tattoos; near static bone drones or double tongued hearty legato lines; breakaways from the pianist that recall romantic Bill Evans at times and powerful McCoy Tyner modal playing elsewhere; and even a point where the massed brass sounds as if it's reading "Maiden Voyage" charts. Poets of the World is definitely POMO. It's also an excellent confirmation of the talents of these musicians. Pronto! doesn't come off as well, not so much because of the horns, but because there's really not enough rhythmic heft from Garcia. Furthermore, while the other band explores only seven tunes, Garcia, Gebbia and Wogram have their way with 13 (!), some of which clock in at little more than one minute and are more a compendium of effects than full statements. "Bavardage" or "blabbering" in French translation, is one of the two shorties with any real life. Here you find all three players grunting, spitting and gurgling as they produce offbeat instrumental toots, slides and whistles. At one point Garcia sounds like he's spinning an orchestral LP backwards. The other, "Clonebone," is
unsurprisingly an example of how the sampler can take Wogram's wide-vibrato
metallic tone and multiple it in such a way that his triplets become
sextuplets and then mutate and split some more. Both are fun but not
exactly notable. Conversely, "Un peu de doucer dans un monde de brutes"
["A little softness in a world of brutality"] is much more interesting.
As the sopranino saxophone slowly advances the fragile melody then turns
to circular breathing, Garcia is able to create mewling samples that
at one point resemble flute tones and at another vibrate like the metal
bars of a vibraharp. "Street of Shit" [sic], on the other hand, features
Wogram's ghostly plunger tones melding with muted rodent-like squeaks
from Gebbia. Garcia replicates the output of both horns, then add a
synthetic drone that sounds like the manufactured cries, labored breathing
and whispered panting from the couplings in a Triple XXX soundtrack.
Maybe the title is best left unexplained. Finally there's "A soulful
point of view," the longest track, at a little more than 111/2 minutes.
With echoes of the era where cool jazz met sophisticated, East Coast
arrangements, Gebbia, as straightahead as you'll ever hear him, playing
largo, comes up with purring grace notes and is soulful enough to reference
"Harlem Nocturne". Wogram, expels mellow chromatic tones in a burnished,
lazy J.J. Johnson-like tone and Garcia's sampler makes like an entire
orchestral string section. Later as the hornmen play higher and are
more abstract in their work -- think Frank Rosolino and Art Pepper as
experimentalists -- the trombonist sustains two alternating pedal tones
for an extended period as the saxophonist squeals his way into an outside
Neapolitan boatman's tune. Besides that, there are enough reed tongue
slaps and tongue flutters from the sax, , growls and air forced through
valves from the trombone and sampled bells, drones, sci-fi clamor and
even sitar/tabla imitations from the sampler to show the trio's versatility.
The challenges of such experimentation is that some attempts do fall
flat. Gebbia and Wogram have recorded solo sets and both seems to thrive
in situations with heartier rhythmic input. Although they hold their
own here, it may be that fewer, longer tunes would have provided a better
display for their capabilities. --
Un disco nato a Palermo da
un progetto assolutamente non pianificato, un set estemporaneo raccolto
attorno al già noto alto-sassofonista siciliano Gianni Gebbia. Questo
pronto! sembra suggerire l'assoluta velocità con cui certe esperienze
prendono piede, come ci aveva già suggerito lo stesso Gianni nel corso
della nostra intervista. Il Goethe Institut e l'Istituto Culturale Francese
hanno chiamato a raccolta Gebbia, Xavier Garcia e Nils Wogram per inserire
un loro intervento all'interno di una serata di inaugurazione delle
due sedi palermitane. Non sappiamo cosa sia successo nel corso di quella
serata (anche se non stentiamo ad immaginarlo), ma sappiamo cosa hanno
combinato i tre il giorno dopo nello studio di Gebbia, dove hanno cercato
di ricreare quel feeling improvvisativo attivato nella serata precedente.
Ne è nato questo disco, pubblicato da Intakt, in cui sono messi ben
in risalto le doti dei tre musicisti. In particolare l'ottimo sax di
Gebbia, sempre capace di mutare colori e impasti, trova due saldi supporti
nei sampler di Garcia (area dell'avanguardia jazzistica francese e appartenente
all'ARFI, Association à la Recherche d'un Foklore Imaginaire) e nel
trombone multifonico di Wogram (musicista con base a Cologna). Come
si dice in questi casi: estensione del vocabolario espressivo, ricerca
dei confini e suoni non convenzionali. Ma si può anche più semplicemente
dire: musiche per nuove orecchie in ascolto.
Audacieux dans le choix de
ses productions, Intakt continue dÕaffiner un catalogue pointu, ouvert
aux improvisateurs européens les plus passionnants, de Barry Guy à Joëlle
Léandre. Ici, le label suisse nous livre lÕenregistrement dÕun trio
hybride composé de Xavier Garcia, Gianni Gebbia et Nils Wogram, soit
une formation à lÕinstrumentation atypique: sampler, saxophones (alto
et sopranino) et trombone. Coutumier de ce genre de projet, ces musiciens,
dÕune grande mobilité, préconisent des rencontres inlassablement ouvertes.
Ils constituent une articulation importante de la scène européenne,
entre lÕItalie, lÕAllemagne et la France. ãPronto!Ò est le reflet de
nombreuses influences, puisées aussi bien dans lÕhéritage de lÕimprovisation
européenne que dans la musique électro-acoustique, mêlant lointains
souvenirs dÕune tradition transalpine, détours orientalistes, folklore
imaginaire et rigueur germanique. Les variations climatiques sont parfois
dominées par les sonorités à la fois aigres et limpides de lÕalto et
du sopranino de Gebbia. Elles sont ciselées par dÕimpérieuses textures
de Nils Wogram au trombone et constamment animées par des mouvements
ondulatoires de lÕéchantillonneur de Xavier Garcia. Ce dernier, qui
utilise aussi parfois son instrument comme un set de percussion aux
sonorités riches et chaotiques, provoque alors de petits incidents rythmiques
abruptes et incisifs, dignes du percussionniste anglais Roger Turner.
Cette suite de treize paysages fait alterner figures incantatoires,
pulsations volubiles et larges espaces teintés de légères envolées orchestrales.
LÕinnocence et la fraîcheur
de jeux dÕenfants, une inventivité dans un bonheur constant quÕon
ne prend jamais en défaut, à tel point que cette musique
fait se demander si, délaissant les recherches, elle ne définit
pas malgré son caractère souvent bruitiste une sorte de
classicisme de notre époque, une musique savante directement
en prise avec son temps, capable dÕexprimer comme un Schubert toutes
les nuances de nos émotions dans leur langue propre. Le titre
, Pronto!, dirait alors que, hors tout sentiment tragique de lÕhistoire,
cÕest là, maintenant, cÕest prêt, et que lÕéventuelle
résistance au temps, le passage à la postérité,
se situe dans une autre Histoire. Plongez!
Kazue Yokoi, Jazztokyo, August 2006
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