Gjerstad/Stephens Round-Up

Two of Europe’s most active free improvisers are, sadly, two of its least acknowledged (at least, that is, relative to their accomplishments). Both bassist Nick Stephens and saxophonist/clarinetist Frode Gjerstad actively document their work – which often finds them playing together – on their respective labels, Loose Torque and Circulasione Totale, in addition to appearances elsewhere. There is much excellent work that slips through the cracks.

Loose Torque 010

Trio F O consists of flautist Neil Metcalfe, Stephens, and drummer Tony
Marsh, whose six-part suite Breaking Silence is a lovely display of the virtues of restraint. Metcalfe doesn’t fight overmuch against his instrument’s idiomatic properties, which is a good thing. Rather, like Robert Dick in a bucolic mood, he incorporates a modest number of extended techniques into a very lyrical approach to free improvisation. This sits well with Stephens, who is wont to construct very complicated lines just as often as he is likely to clatter or saw away. And Marsh more than matches his mates’ versatility. Throughout the
different segments of this long improvisation, the trio move through lightly dancing pointillism, somber Bartokian complexity (where, midway through the second part, there is a lovely moment where tuned low-end percussion stalks twittering birds), and lush long tones set adrift in vast open air. But the penultimate section is simply a bravura performance. Marsh plays with such extraordinary wit, inventiveness, and color that flute-haters owe it to themselves to hear what this instrument can bring to the table. A fine, rich disc.

Loose Torque 090

By contrast, Live at the Termite Club is the most muscular disc of this batch, featuring an intense, hard-hitting trio comprised of Gjerstad, Stephens, and drummer Paul Hession (who’s stoked the fires of many a Simon H. Fell session). Comprised of two very long improvisations bookending an 8-minute incision, these pieces take their time working themselves up. Gjerstad propels things into a fine frenzy with some white-hot clarinet. Like a lot of these kinds of dates, the music breathes in and out, and there are more than a few dull patches. But in general these fellows are too canny to tread water for much of the time, concentrating not just on blowtorch heat but on softer textural moments (including some thoughtful solo and duo passages, including a marvelous statement by Hession on “Brewers Tap”) that bring balance to the
music.

FMR 177

The first disc by the group Calling Signals was released on Stephens’ Loose Torque label. Comprised of Gjerstad (who sticks to clarinet here), Stephens, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, the quartet is rounded out by accordionist Elvin One Pedersen (who replaces guitarist Hasse Poulsen) on Dreams in Dreams. The interaction between Gjerstad and Stephens is what really compels about this group, each responding to the other’s subtlest gesture with the kind of sensitivity and alertness that only comes through long-standing partnerships. With Poulsen’s vast soundscapes out of the picture, the music becomes more intimate. Pedersen interestingly forgoes the use of his instrument’s non-idiomatic properties for the most, giving these five improvisations the sense of a small-scale social panic unfolding atop a street fair (although he occasionally whips out some intense solos, mashing it up like a Threadgill band). The rich woody tones of clarinets, resonant bass, and accordion make for an intriguing blend, which Nilssen-Love complements dexterously and tastefully. It is perhaps a few minutes too long, but this is a nice disc, capped of by a lightly funky romp that will please most listeners.

Circulasione Totale 8

The group sessions Gjerstad leads are also fairly energetic. He changes up his instrumental rotations for Mothers & Fathers, a nicely raucous trio date with bassist Oeyvind Storesund and Nilssen-Love. Bringing not just his usual clarinet and alto, Gjerstad opens the set (from February 2005 in Stavanger) with some wondrously nasty bass saxophone. In some ways it’s a shame that the three don’t spend more time in this dirty territory; but at the same time it’s hard to deny the pleasures of the post-Ornette dances like the long “Fathers &,” which opens with a splendid alto/bass duet passage.

I guess the lesson is that sometimes you just have to rock out with some hot, bustling free saxophone trio. These guys provide just the thing on momentum heavy churners like “Lovers &,” the slashes and rough cuts of “Wives &,” and the quizzical clarinet perambulations of “Sisters &.” Nice stuff, all the way round.

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Born to Collapse is in some sense the least conventional of these group recordings. That’s mostly because this group incorporates electronics (Gjerstad on alto and clarinet, Anders Hana on guitar, Morten Olsen on drums, and Per Zanussi on bass and live electronics), even though their methodology is pretty standard, more or less in the quick fire, insectoid improvisation school. It consists of three lengthy improvisations from a 2003 live date in Stavanger, and it’s pretty invigorating stuff.

Gjerstad’s distinctively avian style blends well with each player, particularly his dipping and gliding clarinet on the concluding piece. But your fondness for this record will probably depend on your tolerance for Zanussi’s live processing, which sometimes sounds a bit amateurish as it relies heavily on whooshy wah-wah noises. For me it doesn’t always work, but the disc is redeemed by the wonderful second piece. It begins with Gjerstad and Zanussi probing the air tensely, but the music is suddenly shot out of a cannon, with Hana whipping up a wonderful metallic frenzy alongside Olsen – they stop on a dime too! With this, it’s a mixed bag but fans of Brötzmann’s work with Nielsen and Uuskyla will dig this a lot.

FMR 162

This batch is rounded out by several Gjerstad duo recordings. Perhaps the most intense of these is Keep on Playing, where Gjerstad (sticking to his alto) teams up with the late drummer and cornetist John Stevens, with whom Gjerstad had played in Detail (with the lamented Johnny Dyani on bass). It’s not really that these five improvisations (from 1994, in what surely must have been one of Stevens’ final sessions) spit copious fire or that they exude a deep (or at least obvious) emotionalism; rather, their intensity is evident in the richness of the interplay, the subtlety of communication built on years of playing together. The bulk of the album consists of beautiful, rolling improvisations which recall some great Lyons/Cyrille duets. The music is often intensely subtle, as the two explore the contours of a single phrase, the simplest of motifs, all of whose myriad possibilities are harvested. Still, I’m especially fond of the somber alto/cornet duo on the second track. Really nice.

FMR 175

On the other hand, saxophone duo recordings never do a whole lot for me. I
realize that’s a pretty major generalization, and my own collection reveals a number of exceptions to the rule, but it’s not a beloved format. On Good Question, Gjerstad brings his alto to a meeting with multi-reedist Sabir Mateen. This date features a fairly conventional mix of birdsong with overblowing and similar free techniques (heard, say, on the squawky chatter of tracks like “Naughty Question”). The most successful tracks are those – like “What Question” or “False Question” – when the instrumental sonorities blend most lushly (at times recalling some Joe McPhee/Ken Vandermark duo). This tends to catalyze things, shaking them loose from the staggered runs, trilling, and so forth that often dominate. Another pleasant exception is the languorous and slightly melancholy “No Question,” with Mateen’s burbling low-register clarinet contrasting pleasantly with Gjerstad’s altissimo. A competent, if
unremarkable duo (but bear in mind my prejudice).

FMR 130

Rivers in Time, Gjerstad’s meeting with hyperactive pianist Borah Bergman, is much more like the real deal. Bergman’s spiky virtuosity is always a bit mind-boggling, but here he seems to reign it in somewhat, inflecting it with a craggy lyricism that is at times almost Monk-like. He’s got a couple of solos (the rambunctious “Exhuberation” and the lovely, reflective “Memory of Gil Evans”) that are great. The duos range from the twisted melancholy of “Dark Passage” to the squeaking bat-cries of “Trolls” to the heated double-helix coiling of the title track (the kind of bludgeoning marathon that you only need to hear every once in a while but which, when you’re in the mood, can be exhilarating). Good raw meat.

FMR 155

The quirkiest of these duos pairs Gjerstad (here on alto and clarinet) with organist Nils Henrik Asheim. The Shortest Night, likely a punning reference to the old Evan Parker/John Stevens duos, the two occupy territory between post-Larry Young freakouts and deep medievalism (all of it recorded in a single session at a hugely reverberant church in Norway). Gjerstad’s bats in the belfry twitterings don’t always sound convincing amid the organ’s dark perambulations and my impression is that the sonic innovation wears pretty thin after the first couple tracks. At times there is a compelling flurry of activity, as on the mash up of “The Longest Day Part 2.” And the organ’s chimes sounds on “The Shortest Night Part 1” sound fine up against Gjerstad’s tart alto. But overall this interesting experiment is not altogether a successful one.

Taken on balance, this is a nicely varied and rich set of recordings by
players who deserve more attention.

~ Jason Bivins

Posted by derek on June 30, 2006 10:02 AM