INTAKT RECORDS – CD-REVIEWS
LEIMGRUBER-DORAN-BURRI-STUDER
OM
WILLISAU. Intakt CD 170

 

 

 

 

Manfred Papst, NZZ am Sonntag, Schweiz, 28. März 2010

Frank von Niederhäusern, Kulturtipp Nr. 7, Schweiz, März/April 2010

 

Twaalf delen, 68 minuten ****
Het Zwitserse Intakt Records is een van de schaarse labels die zich koppig blijven wijden aan experimentele, al dan niet vrije jazz. Wie zich eens flink de oren wil laten wassen kan terecht bij recente releases zoals deze.
OM is een groep geformeerd rond saxofonist Urs Leimgruber, maar in feite een collectief, dat door rock beïnvloede improvisaties speelt. De band was oorspronkelijk actief van 1972 tot 1982, maar is onlangs heropgericht, en nam deze set live op tijdens het festival van Willisau.
Het is een naamloos stuk in twaalf delen, 68 minuten lang, maar met een duidelijk te volgen spanningsboog. Het begint geestig met door elkaar praten, roepen en jodelen van de vier leden. Daarna produceren Leimgruber, gitarist Christy Doran, bassist Bobby Burri en drummer Fredy Studer abstracte geluiden, soms duister en dreigend, soms atmosferisch als de vroege Pink Floyd, pointillistisch of met grote vegen. Geregeld borrelt hier een smakelijke groove uit op.
Vooral op tenorsax benadrukt Leimgruber weer de link tussen free jazz en rhythm & blues, met grommende of fluitende uitbarstingen. Burri’s furieuze gestreken solo’s en Dorans ruige maar doordachte spel vormen andere hoogtepunten.
Frank van Herk, The Volkskrant, 8. April 2010, Amsterdam, NL

 

Das Drums-Guitar-Couple im Hendrix Project bot Anlass für Erinnerungen an die alten Zeiten von 1972-82, aber die legendären CH-Fusionisten OM sind längst auch leibhaftig wieder da. Für ihr Comeback 2008 beim Jazzfestival Willisau (Intakt CD 170) wählten Fredy Studer und Christy Doran, wiedervereint mit dem Kontrabassisten Bobby Burri und Urs Leimgruber an Soprano- & Tenorsaxophon, einen provokanten Einstieg, Dada a capella, Schlagwörter als V-Effekt. Danach wird aber improvisiert und gefetzt, dass einem der Lahmarsch auf Grundeis geht. Nicht retro im üblichen Sinn, der Sound von damals ist konsequent weiter gedacht. Der Umgang mit Rhythmik und Dynamik ist sehr flexibel und aufgeladen mit aller Kakophonie und fickrig-flickrigem Nervenkitzel versierten Freispiels. Um bei 'Part IV' dann umso rummsiger zu rocken, mit Schmiedehammerschlägen von Studer und Brummbassvierteln, zu denen Leimgruber ins Feuer spuckt und Doran die Saiten bekrabbelt wie ein spastischer Blueser, der nur jede siebte Note trifft, aber auch nicht mehr braucht. Die Ikons sind dabei nur Behelfsmarkierungen in einem durchgehenden Spielfluss. 'Part V' ist ein verschnarchter Dreamscape, bei denen der eine Nasenhaare zupft, Studer tickt und tockt, Leimgruber steuert Geflöte ohne Flöte bei und dann doch sonores Tenorgesumme, Burri fingert Spieluhrpizzikatos, während die Gitarre nun Engelstaub von Wolke 7 streut. Mit dumpfen Pulsschlag und furiosem Gebrötze geht's weiter, Gitarrentöne kaskadieren und kitzeln dann Studers Marschbeat mit immer abgedrehteren und rasenderen Arpeggios. Das Soprano flatterzüngelt aufgeregt, weil es immer noch zu dick für's Nadelöhr ist, die Gitarre flirrt wie ein Hackbrett und spritzt unberechenbar um sich, während Studer als Gerölllawine abgeht. Und dann ist da plötzlich wieder ein 1-2-Rockgroove, den allerdings der Bass absägt. Mit Besengeklopfe und -wischern geht's weiter durch einen neuen Engpass, das Soprano führt den Gänsemarsch, die Gitarre streut Brösel als Wegmarke, die Zeit hält still, um blaue Blümchen zu pflücken. Dann wieder Gekrabbel, Spitfire und rasendes Cymbalgeflirr, das Tenorsax übernimmt pumpend und mit aufsteigenden Tonleitern den jetzt wieder gedämpfteren und entschleunigten Groove, Doran unkt Wahwahsounds, schabt die Saiten. Letzte Atempause vor dem Sturm - der nicht folgt. OM verharrt in einem Schwebezustand. Der Sturm wäre jetzt unser Ding, unsere Konsequenz aus dieser kompromisslosen Musik.
Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy Magazin 66, Deutschland, Frühling 2010

 

 

Das Quartett OM ist eine Legende im europäischen Jazz. Damals, 1972-82, standen die vier Schweizer für kraftvollen Jazzrock, ein wenig Ethno, Jimi Hendrix und John Coltrane. 2008 hat die Band einen Relaunch versucht, und das Ergebnis, der Livemitschnitt eines Konzerts beim Jazzfestival in Willisau, ist bei Intakt erschienen. Für die Fans von anno dazumals mag es eine Enttäuschung sein, dass OM nicht dort anknüpfen, wo sie aufgehört haben. Vielmehr haben die vier die gemachten Erfahrungen in Avantgarde und Freejazz in ihr Spiel eingebaut und sehr interessant umgesetzt. Nach einem etwas dadaistischen Sprachwirrwarr gibt’s auf der CD viel Gezirpe und Gezwitscher, allmählich entstehen dann doch dynamischere Spielformen in der als zwölfteilige Suite angelegten Aufnahme (Tracks 4 und 6). Insgesamt ein sehr gelungenes und sicher auch überraschendes Comeback. (haun)
haun, freiStil, Österreich, 31, 2010

 

 

Forbearers in the fringe mergers of free jazz and rock in the early the Seventies, the Swiss quartet OM blazed a trail in Europe for the better part of a decade before disbanding in favor of solo careers. For those listeners who weren’t around for that heady first go round this summer of 2008 reunion set recorded at the titular annual jazz event suggests that while time may have passed, the foursome is still fearsome as a collective. The potential foibles of undertaking such an unstable stylistic alloy remain extant and evident in the risk-taking program the ensemble decides upon.
Saxophonist Urs Leimgruber and guitarist Christy Doran have similarly pan-glossal approaches to their instruments. Leimgruber plies soprano and tenor from a post-Evan Parker perspective, moving comfortably from minimalist to maximalist and bringing in a host of extended techniques from slap-tonguing to circular breathing. Doran uses an array of devices on his strings to create a rainbow of a/tonal effects. Coupled to a conceptual creativity that rarely stays rooted in one spot for so long, his heavily embroidered-playing can occasionally be a chore though there’s no denying the craftsmanship behind in his creations. Bassist Bobby Burri also uses electric and acoustic modification on his upright. Drummer Fredy Studer sustains a dynamic range from whisper to roar behind his kit and is particularly adept at a signature staccato cymbal pattern that’s an aural approximation of humming bird wings, which he employs whenever the tension requires ramping. A rock backbeat serves as fallback at various points in the program, cueing plectral firepower from Doran’s corner.
Comprised of a dozen parts, the performance segues between guiding themes in a largely seamless fashion. The four accord the audience no quarter from the start, opening with a madrigal-like exchange of Dadaist verse and voice effects. At just over three-minutes it feels thrice as long and gives way to a relay-structured free exchange that spans the next several segments until the chugging, fractured groove of “Part IV”. The set’s middle sections, Parts V-VII specifically, are most satisfying to my ears, but then again they’re also arguably the most accessible in terms of form. Leimgruber latches on a mournful minor-key motive reminiscent of Fred Anderson’s cerulean style of phrasing and the others shape atmospheric embellishments around him. The next section builds on this prevailing mood, Leimgruber growing agitated against an undulating accompaniment hinging on Burri’s corpulent bass ostinato. The delicate soprano and guitar dialogue at the center of “Part VII” offers yet another permutation on the ensemble’s inclusive playbook.
As is usually the case, the free improv and rock elements aren’t the most complementary bedfellows, but it’s that tension that feeds the performance’s unpredictability. Rather than shy from those moments of collision and potential implosion, the quartet embraces them. While not all of what transpires sticks as memorable, the shared courage present in throwing it all at the audience to begin with elicits easy admiration.
Derek Taylor, MASTER OF A SMALL HOUSE, USA, APRIL 13, 2010

 

Pirmin Bossart, Jazz 'n' More, Schweiz, Mai/Juni 2010

 

Artikel von Pirmin Bossart, Jazz 'n' More, Schweiz, Mai/Juni 2010

 

Artikel von Thorsten Meyer, Jazzpodium, Deutschland, Mai 2010

 

Thorsten Meyer, Jazzpodium, Deutschland, Mai 2010

 

Christoph Fellmann, Tagesanzeiger, Schweiz, 5. Mai 2010

 

Rolf Thomas, Jazzthetik, Deutschland, Mai-Juni 2010

 

Florian Bissig, Schaffhauser Nachrichten, Schweiz, 7. Mai 2010

 

Schrankenlos in Form
Luzerns «Supergroup» ist wieder erwacht. Sporadisch erhebt sie sich aus dem Schatten der Mainstreamorgien und elitären Kunstdiskurse und schlägt zu. Weder hier noch dort zugehörig, dafür voll da, wenn die Stunde schlägt, sind OM in ihrer neuen Inkarnation mehr denn je für ein nahrhaftes Musikerlebnis gut.
Luzerner Urgestein
Am Sonntag gastierten die vier Luzerner Urgesteine Urs Leimgruber (s), Christy Doran (g), Bobby Burri (b) und Fredy Studer (dr, perc) als OM im KKL Luzern. Nur bei der Zugabe wurden Motive und Patterns geprobt. Der Rest war frei gespielt. 400 Zuschauer waren begeistert.
Natürlich fusionieren OM im Kern weiter an den Schnittstellen von Jazz, Rock und Sound und treiben Versatzstücke ihrer damaligen Sprache in den Strudeln ihres aktuellen Idioms. Dennoch ist das so neu verwoben und mit zeitgenössischen Infusionen durchwirkt, dass die Musik jederzeit auf der Höhe der Zeit ist. Abgeschmackte Reunion? Dafür sind andere zuständig.
Fiebrige Kurven
Spielfreudig, konzentriert, fantasievoll, vielseitig und fern von akustischer Selbstbefriedigung entfalteten OM die Schichtungen und Richtungen ihrer Soundvorstellungen in klar umrissenen Prozessen und guten Bögen. Ob treibende Vorwärtsenergie, oszillierende Geräuschzonen, subtilste Verwebungen, fiebrige Kurven oder melodische Verzahnungen über technoiden Grooves: OM gaben sich schrankenlos, aber behielten Form.
Die vier Musiker liessen sich hineinwerfen in eine gemeinsame Geschichte und eine gewachsene Vertrautheit. Zusammen mit der kohärenten Entwicklung, die jeder Musiker seit dem Ende der ersten OMPhase persönlich durchlaufen hat, ergab das ein musikalisches Potenzial, das die vier Old Boys der Improvisation in beneidenswerter Hochform expandieren und explodieren liessen.
Pirmin Bossart, Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Schweiz, Mai 2010

 

pd/nis, Anzeiger Luzern, Schweiz, 7. Mai 2010

 

The Swiss improvised music scene is often unfairly overlooked. Whilst the efforts of other musicians from western European countries—principally perhaps Germany and Holland—have long since staked a claim to international attention, the same isn't true of Switzerland, at least until now. This isn't to suggest that the music on OM's Willisau has any kind of nationalistic aspirations, but there is something singularly compelling about it. Recorded live for Swiss Radio DRS, at the festival that gives the disc its title, this is a program that covers aspects of the free as well as dealing in mutant funk and a strain of musical Dadaism.
For all the ground covered here it's not difficult to see how the program might have been spontaneously conceived as a single entity. The discontinuities between one part and the next—exemplified most graphically by the break between "Part I" and "Part II"—somehow cohere into a unified whole, the substance of which is set by the musical personalities of the players involved. Because of this, the fractious nature of Urs Leimgruber's tenor sax on "Part IV" is not so much accompanied as it is complemented by Christy Doran's guitar shredding, within that feel of mutant funk. This is one of those touches that ensure a sense of fun; something not readily apparent in a lot of the music with which this program might cohabit, and an integral part of the proceedings.
The stealth and small sounds of "Part V" are in marked contrast with this, but that point about the ground covered comes into its own. The established mood carries over into "Part VI," but the music is marked not only by restraint, but by an obviously shared sense of dynamics. Coherence isn't sacrificed on "Part IX" either, where the devices that both Doran and bassist Bobby Burri are credited with come into play. Indeed, the augmentation of the basic reeds-guitar-bass-drums quartet that OM represents also amounts to a willful subversion of anything that lineup might imply. As a result, time is not so much suspended as dispensed with, acknowledging a denial of the potency of the fleeting moment.
There can be resolution, however. On "Part XI" the passing moments drip with the potency of group interplay—all refined, even while that funk reemerges, with the music's flow, such as it is; a mere fancy, before the delights of abstraction prove all too seductive in the closing "Part XII."
Nic Jones, www.allaboutjazz.com, USA, May 22, 2010

 

OM déversa sa bouillonnante improvisation free rock entre 1972 et 1982. En attestent quelques vieux vinyls Japo dont ECM publia, il y a quelques mois, une compilation (OM – A Retrospective). Le 28 août 2008, Urs Leimgruber (saxophones), Christy Doran (guitare), Bobby Burri (contrebasse) et Fredy Studer (batterie) se retrouvaient dans le cadre du Jazzfestival Willisau.
De cette improvisation indexée en douze parties, on retiendra les fulgurances (Part VI & X) ; transes portées avec autorité et où se déchaînent les violences d’un saxophone et d’une guitare tribales. On retiendra aussi ces moments d’attente inquiète avant implosion, ce saxophone aux décrochages salivaires vérolés, cette folie d’un métallique foudroyant. Peut-être pourra-t-on regretter ces crescendos obligés, ces tentations de faire couple mais, jamais, on ne les surprendra à douter ou à cadenasser une action. Ici, ils passent d’un fiel à l’autre, les mains, toujours sales, d’un cambouis épais et résistant. OM est de retour et en bon archéologue de la chose sonique, fouille et arpente inlassablement, chaos, stridences et périls passant à sa portée. Pour la tendresse, on repassera…
Luc Bouquet, Le son du grisli, France, May 2010

 

Swiss saxophonist Urs Leimgruber has a watchmaker's sense of time. His works create the sense of listening to a watch's inner workings up close, with his collaborators coming in on cue with the surety of little weights and wheels. Four new releases—two quartets, a trio and a solo—offer an opportunity to catch the master, born in 1952, at a point where he is at the top of his game but still evolving, rife with fresh ideas.
...
Willisau is a reunion concert of the great '70s band OM, with Christy Doran (guitar), Bobby Burri (bass) and Fredy Studer (drums). It begins with overlaid vocal incantations by the bandmembers, including each other's names. Even this simple effort foreshadows the temporal inventiveness at hand. Channeling heavy rock and free jazz, its dynamics are also impressive, quieting down for periods and then reawakening into bouts of funk. Far from the orgy of a band such as Last Exit, everything is calibrated here, Studer's spot-on percussive punctuation particularly noteworthy.
...
Leimgruber thinks through music, as most improvisers do, but there is a philosophical dimension at work, wherein he reflects on the value of time—which implies not least of all the time spent listening to music. Music of Leimgruber's rigor shows us how, rather than waste it, time grows out of this listening.
Gordon Marshall, www.allaboutjazz.com, USA, June 12, 2010

 

Martin Schuster, Concerto, Österreich, Juni/Juli 2010

 

CST, Le Mag de Courrier, Suisse, 1er Mai 2010

 

Jason Bivins, Signal to Noise, USA/Canada, Summer 2010

 

HAUN, Freistil, Österreich, Juni/Juli 2010

 

Mit diesem Konzert vom August 2008 kam die Schweizer Improv-Free-Rock-Legende wieder zurück auf die Agenda. Eindrucksvoll performt das Quartett hier die Dialektik zwischen Groove und Gerüst, zerlegen und zerfließen lassen und Fundament und gasförmig, eindrücklich werden die verschiedensten Aggregats- und Bewusstseinszustände demonstriert. Die wiedergeborenen OM zeigen sich erneut als Meisterkollektiv des Klangreichtums und der Möglichkeiten, geräuschhafte Improvisation als Bandgefüge vorzuführen, am meisten aber überzeugen sie, wenn sie im psychedelischen Free-Rock-Rausch zusammenfinden. OM sind heute Vorbild für viele frei improvisierenden Youngster, und eine Live-Vorführung und Archivierung ihrer Energie ist essentiell, sie sind Übersetzer der potenziellen Energien der unendlichen Klangräume - ganz ge- und entspannt im Hier und Jetzt.
by HONKER, www.terz.org, Deutschland, Juli 2010

 

Acknowledged as one of the most accomplished architects of unique reed timbre treatments within improvised music Luzern, Switzerland-based saxophonist Urs Leimgruber’s playing is outstanding in both solo and group situations.
Someone who rarely limits himself when seeking musical partners in ensemble situations, Leimgruber’s strategies are particularly notable on these CD. A nod to the saxophonist’s past, Willisau, recorded in 2008 at the Jazz festival in the Swiss city of the same name, is a reunion gig by the original members of OM, the electrified-Free Jazz quartet which existed from 1972-1982. Recorded four months earlier in Leipzig at another festival, the other CD matches Leimgruber’s skills with those of three younger German players.
Aurona Arona is actually a live follow-up to a fine earlier CD with the same personnel from 2006. Moving force behind Ember and other differently constituted improvised ensembles is keyboardist/percussionist Oliver Schwerdt, who has also recorded with German drummer Günter “Baby” Sommer. However during the two years that separate the Ember discs, Alexander Schubert, who still plays percussion and electronics, has morphed from being a guitarist to a violinist. Furthermore drummer Christian Lillinger has moved to Berlin and now works as part of the Hyperactive Kid trio as well as the bands of clarinetist Rolf Kühn and trombonist Gerhard Gschlöbl.
Varied experiences such as these are noticeable in Lillinger’s playing on the Ember CD. With the pieces evolving quickly and cerebrally, the drummer must be instantaneously prepared to patch together an accompaniment encompassing variegated patterns and resonations culled from bass drum bumps, snare drums rattles and rim shot strokes on one hand, as well as cymbal shrieks and clatters and vibraphone or marimba-like pings with the other.
Timbre exploration from the other musicians is in the forefront from all sides as well. For starters there are Leimgruber’s emotional bleats, multiphonic tongue fluttering, circular breathing and nearly soundless reed expansions. Schubert not only adds skittering fiddle spiccato, but also electronic shimmy and/or granular whooshes to every one of the five tracks. These meandering voltage clangs exist as blurry undercurrents to all the improvisations as well as providing commentary on Schwerdt’s playing. Additionally and on his own, Schwerdt’s distinctive playing ranges from calming, low-frequency patterning to kinetic and metronomic keyboard runs plus electrified harpsichord-like tone fanning and electric organ-like reverberations. Often hard objects are pressed against the piano’s inner strings producing stretches, stops and slides.
For instance, pulsating dual keyboard chording characterizes “Etherlorbien”. Yet these tones appear at the same time as the internal strings clatter percussively. Those unexpected rebounds are the result of hard balls being mashed against or soft mallets striking the wound strings. Simultaneously Lillinger contributes distanced drum beats and cymbal shakes, while Leimgruber’s narrowed trills make up a broken-octave interface that may include additional abrasive scrapes along the outside of his horn. When the piano line downshift to mock-serious processional chording, cymbal squeezes signal the tune’s finale.
Elsewhere, contrapuntal timbral slurs and splatters are inflated. But the ensemble cooperates so well that the result is as much a product of Schubert’s patched shimmies and Lillinger’s percussive prestidigitation as Leimgruber’s tongue-and-air strategies. The pianist fans his keys and plucks internal strings, the drummer exposes ratamacues and rumbles and the saxophonist’s parts range from strident vibrations and peeping split tones to double-tongued polyphony. During the course of “Begen Bginn Fllt” for instance, voltage pitch changes and granular whooshes from Schubert, high-frequency piano syncopation, the drummer’s nerve beats and rim shots, plus bird-twittering from the reedist produce an unmatched textural improvisation. By the final variant, inchoate nonsense syllables mouthed by one or more of the players are added to further thicken the improvisational interface.
Mouth and tongue vocal improvisations are present as well during the exposition for the 12-part suite that make up OM’s reunion concert and CD. Vying with Bronx cheers, onomatopoeia and whistles is rapid verbalization in English and German which eventually foreshadows similar noisy discourses from the quartet’s instruments. Harsh vamping squeaks characterize the saxophonist’s playing here; rattles, splats and shudders make up drummer and percussionist Fredy Studer’s contributions; bassist Bobby Burri outputs a speedy sul tasto bass line; and guitarist Christy Doran produces ringing, choked string licks.
Initially organized before the excesses of Jazz-Rock Fusion hardened into clichés, the OM quartet continues overall to emphasize good taste and compositional construction. Albeit this is done in an atmosphere where Studer, now part of Koch-Schütz-Studer’s Hard Core Chamber Music and Doran, whose most recent band with the percussionist involves Jimi Hendrix tunes, are allowed some pseudo rock-star posturing. At times the guitarist leans into the whammy bar to create distorted flanges and reverb, while the drummer specializes in tough frails, hard cymbal resonation and rolls, strokes and drags. Unexpectedly in one instance Leimgruber adds to the fray, using flutter-tonguing and flattement for tenor saxophone licks that could come from a 21st Century King Curtis.
Fortunately most of the time, Leimgruber continues to work out parts that are either flat-line legato or incorporate an atonal vocabulary of dog-whistle squeals and bear-like growls. Meanwhile, almost oblivious to the sonic shenanigans of the others, Burri maintain a steady rhythmic pace with his sluicing bass line. He carries this regularizing into his solo work, which granted, is spiced with a few sul ponticello runs.
Proving that he too isn’t limited by Fusion strictures, at one juncture Studer bounces out a Latinesque beat, which is swiftly met by expressive pitch variations, flutter tonguing and side-slipping reed bites from Leimgruber, which is a rugged contrast to his usual and more cerebral solo work. Further differentiating his solos from those of most reedists who play in this style however, Leimgruber adds elements of commitment and menace. Ferocious agitato bleats and sound barrier-breaking squeals posit that these forays into the so-called mainstream aren’t that different from his usual styling.
Multiphonic extensions from all concerned occur once the suite moves into its final phrases. Fittingly as well, Leimgruber’s harsh obbligatos are matched with spiky guitar reverb and amp distortion from Doran plus brutal stokes and backbeat pounding from Studer. With the reedist’s continuous peeps add to the shimmering lines created by the others, “Willisau” concludes with a satisfying polytonal thump.
Proving his versatility once again, Leimgruber fully expresses two sides of his personality as a saxophonist on these notable sessions. Hopefully they will lead those unexposed to his multi-talents – perhaps OM’s Fusion-oriented fans – to seek out other and different instances of Leimgruber’s extensive work.

Ken Waxman, www.jazzword.com, July 23, 2010

 

Portrait über Christy Doran, Thomas Hein, Concerto, Österreich, August / September 2010

 

El cuarteto suizo OM, en activo entre 1972 y 1982, retomó su actividad en el año 2008 con un concierto en el mítico festival suizo de Willisau. Al contrario de otras reuniones, dicho reencuentro tuvo poco de nostálgico. Más bien sirvió para demostrar que esos más de 25 años simplemente habían sido una pausa en su carrera.En el CD el concierto aparece dividido en doce partes más por cuestiones de edición, que por otros motivos. Esos 68 minutos son una pieza sólida de principio a fin, en la que el cuarteto muestra su fusión de elementos del jazz, la libre improvisación, el rock e incluso levemente alguna aproximación a algo parecido a la world music. 
Retorno sin concesiones, Willisau sirve para que el cuarteto retome su propuesta y la ponga al día logrando que suene absolutamente actual. El resultado es uno de los CD candidatos a la categoría de reencuentro del año.
Pachi Tapiz
, bun.tomajazz.com, Spain, 1 de septiembre de 2010

 

Il festival jazz di Willisau di fine agosto 2008 è stata l'occasione per la riunificazione del gruppo Om che negli anni settanta aveva evidenziato al mondo intero la fertile attività di alcuni gruppi radicali nella patria del cioccolato e del formaggio coi buchi.
La radio svizzera non si è lasciata sfuggire una ghiotta occasione come questa e il tutto è stato fedelmente registrato per essere poi pubblicato dalla Intakt Records. Sul palco il quartetto sembra essere ancora più radicale e intransigente, mollando in buona parte l'aspetto ipnotico che aveva caratterizzato la loro musica negli anni settanta, per far emergere in maniera netta la deriva free e il concetto di improvvisazione collettiva e totale.
La divisione in dodici episodi appare funzionale a dare un senso d'ordine al procedere della musica ma in realtà quella che ascoltiamo è una lunga suite dedicata per l'appunto a Willisau. L'interplay fra i quattro musicisti è di primissimo livello e il grugnire dei sax di Urs Leimgruber si sposa alla perfezione con i suoni ruvidi e cartavetrati che emergono come per magia dalla chitarra elettrica di Christy Doran e dal basso spiritato di Bobby Burry, spesso stimolato con l'archetto. Ad amalgamare il tutto pensa come al solito la batteria molto percussiva ed espressiva di Fredy Studer.
Non mancano momenti quasi funky (per esempio nelle "Part IV" e "Part XI") ma complessivamente il procedere è piuttosto astratto e informale, dilatato e grumoso come un bel quadro di Jackson Pollock: e allora lasciamo sgocciolare i loro suoni e godiamoci il risultato.
Valutazione: 3.5 stelle
Maurizio Comandini,
All about Jazz Italia, Italy, 29-05-2010

 

Bjarne Soltoft, Jazznytt, Norway, Nr. 4 / 2010

 

Guido Festinese, Il giornale della musica, Italia, Ott 2010

 

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