Eisenbeil/Kugel/Robinson/Evans/Greene - Carnival Skin

Nemu 003

Carnival Skin (Nemu) presents a strong inside-outside date featuring guards young and new, and American and European, on six original compositions. The ensemble consists of veteran clarinetist Perry Robinson, trumpeter Peter Evans (whose unaccompanied disc on Psi, More is More, is an excellent introduction to his work), guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, bassist Hill Greene and German drummer Klaus Kugel (who has worked with Kent Carter, Karl Berger and the Ganelin Trio, among others), though ostensibly the group is co-led by Kugel and Eisenbeil. The group’s aesthetic ranges from pan-tempo interdependence a la the New York Art Quartet to tumultuous free improvisation, sometimes channeling opposite poles within what feels like a heartbeat. Each member of the group contributes one tune, and a short collective improvisation (credited to all five players) closes the disc.

Robinson’s “Journey to Strange” opens the proceedings, clarinet, trumpet and guitar in loose comment/conversation over loping singsong rhythm. It’s no secret the compositional bag Robinson springs from – having worked alongside figures like Carla (and Paul) Bley and Steve Lacy in the ‘60s and vibraphonist Bobby Naughton in the ‘70s his writing has a devilish penchant for turnarounds and a ragged push-pull swing. There’s a discontinuity between Evans’ brittle smears (think Dörner, McPhee and Dixon rolled into one) and occasional bebop, as he darts and yelps atop Eisenbeil’s comp-dialogue. Eisenbeil’s solo builds from gentle, disparate harmonic plucks to ringing, broken chords, and Kugel’s response to tense strata are swells almost Elvin-like. Robinson’s solo is a mixture of braying growls and bubbly lyricism, a reminder of how classic his work on The Call and Funk Dumpling truly is.

Evans’ “Monster” is a dusky meditation on drawn-out tones, Greene and Eisenbeil gently propelling forward through jabs of energy, guiding Robinson upward but halting as Evans’ “fuck in a cathedral” multiphonics (and then some) so singularly alters the course of the tune. Greene’s “Iono” is delicate, martial freedom, a mournful theme that leads into a show of his prodigious arco technique, group firestorm to follow. Eisenbeil’s coiled strums stretch the aural rubber band, lending parts Sharrock and Ray Russell to an already dangerous sonic brew. He's got a tendency to both embrace delicate interaction and use delicacy to stoke the furnace, as he does on "Diagonal People," in a lengthy joust with Robinson. Carnival Skin is an excellent date, a canvas of subtly rare palette among many adept monochromes. It’s well worth seeking out.