reviews
Frank Gratkowski/Chris Brown/William Winant - Wake (Red Toucan)
Sometimes what makes for vivid, exciting free improvisation is not necessarily the foregrounding of a “new” technique, the spontaneous elaboration of an impressive form, or even – perhaps especially – a race to the boiling point, the big rock solo moment in free improv. No, it’s often the case that the documents worth returning to are those made by quirky, idiosyncratic personalities who simply enjoy playing with each other. Energy and oddity, in other words, which sounds so simple and basic but is hard for jaded ears to hear. (And no, you don’t need to go all the way to Misha “quirky.”) Cue up Frank Gratkowski’s associations with the Bay Area scene, especially his long-standing duo with pianist/electronician Chris Brown (of The Room, among many other ensembles). With gentle and judicious use of electronics, Brown is able to shade Gratkowski no matter how intensely the impish reeds master gets intervallic, channeling his inner Elliott Carter. Somewhere along the way, Brown suggested inviting percussion polymath William Winant – a fantastic, imaginative player who sounds as great playing an Alvin Curran piece as he does in the OrkestROVA – and he fits beautifully, knowing just when to rattle the traps and just when to combine tympani and vibraphone in the burbling field of notes. After the carousing energies of the opening, 25-minute “Slide,” the perky contrapuntalism of “Ambitus” is just the ticket, a refreshing palate cleanser before the scruffle, scamper, and spit of – what else? – “Scrabble,” with plenty of zing and slashing metal from sampled bass clarinet. The group moves from there into an aerated space filled with bells and sustained tones on “Parallax.” Finally, the reserve of the closing track was very pleasant on a windy morning, its slow ebb and flow blending nicely with ambient sounds in my neighborhood. A fine record, which opens with (relative) bombast and follows a diverse route from there.
~Jason Bivins
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Nice to see some attention paid to music from the other coast for a change! Haven’t heard this one but the group, live, is fantastic. Chris Brown deserves a lot more recognition for his piano playing as well as his innovative piano+electronics work.
Djll isn’t just cheerleading here. This group is incredible. I am pretty sure I was at the recording session for this. Chris Brown is playing better than ever.
It has also been great to have Willie on the improv scene a lot more lately.