Drummer Joe Hertenstein defines polylemma as “a choice from multiple options, each of which is (or appears) equally (un-)acceptable or (un-)favourable.” He then applies the term to one of his compositions here and also to the group, a quartet of European musicians—Germans Hertenstein, quarter-tone trumpeter Thomas Heberer (best known for his subtle presence in Amsterdam’sContinue reading “Joe Hertenstein/Thomas Heberer/Joachim Badenhorst/Pascal Niggenkemper. Polylemma.”
Genre Archives
Toronto’s Standard Form.
Standard Form is a Toronto-based print shop that has been putting out books and music for the past five years, averaging a couple of releases a year that range from avant jazz to post rock, from the likes of Feuermusik, Canaille, and I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can’t. This last year hasContinue reading “Toronto’s Standard Form.”
OK.Quoi?! Contemporary Arts Festival. Sackville, New Brunswick. July 25–31 2011.
The mandate of OK.Quoi?! is to showcase contemporary art by bringing it to the people outside of gallery walls. This raises an important question—are people willing to allow contemporary artwork to exist in public spaces? Community member and artist Elizabeth von Rosenbach thinks so. “Having the work outside,” she maintains, “gives it a certain amountContinue reading “OK.Quoi?! Contemporary Arts Festival. Sackville, New Brunswick. July 25–31 2011.”
Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 27 Edition. Victoriaville, Quebec. May 19–22, 2011.
FIMAV has a distinctive character, from its unlikely location in rustic Victoriaville, an hour’s drive from Quebec City, to its insistence on celebrating so many musical frontiers: free jazz, rock, electroacoustic improvisation, DJs, and sound-art installations. Despite its rich history, “Victo” isn’t resting on its laurels. Following its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2008, there have beenContinue reading “Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 27 Edition. Victoriaville, Quebec. May 19–22, 2011.”
John Wall and Alex Rodgers. Work 2006–2011.
John Wall has been one of the most aggressive of sonic plunderers, shattering recorded electroacoustic improvisations and putting them back as mutated humpty-dumptys in intricate and lively collages. His series of CDs on his own imprint Utterpsalm are essential documents of this meticulous studio style. Since 2006, he has taken up improvisation—remarkable for someone withContinue reading “John Wall and Alex Rodgers. Work 2006–2011.”
Maïkotron Unit. Ex-Voto.
This Montreal-based trio, together since 1984, is a fluent jazz-based ensemble with Michel Coté on saxophones and bass clarinet, Pierre Coté on bass and cello, and Michel Lambert on drums. Michel Coté and Lambert also play maïkotron, a brass-reed hybrid with a saxophone mouthpiece, a combination of valves and keys and multiple bells, with aContinue reading “Maïkotron Unit. Ex-Voto.”
Adam Linson, Systems Quartet. Figures and Grounds.
Currently working in Montreal, Adam Linson is a bassist with a highly developed interest in improvisation that combines the real-time integration of acoustic instruments and sound processing. In the past he’s recorded as a soloist, in duo with sound processor Joel Ryan, and with Evan Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble. First gathered and recorded in Berlin, Linson’sContinue reading “Adam Linson, Systems Quartet. Figures and Grounds.”
Keiji Haino. Un autre chemin vers l’Ultime.
Keiji Haino is a master instrumentalist—particularly of loud instruments—so this album featuring his unamplified voice comes as a bit of a surprise. Recorded by sound artist Eric Cordier, these recordings find Haino improvising in a small church and in a quarry in Normandy. Haino works hard to feature the full range of his voice, fromContinue reading “Keiji Haino. Un autre chemin vers l’Ultime.”
Bill Dixon. Envoi.
American trumpeter Bill Dixon began composing his moody, darkly abstract music in the mid-60s, fusing free jazz with modernist chamber music elements touching on Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Envoi is the last of these works, recorded at the FIMAV festival in Victoriaville just three weeks prior to Dixon’s death in June 2010. Dixon’s failing health requiredContinue reading “Bill Dixon. Envoi.”
Aperture Trio. Sculpin.
The Aperture Trio consists of singer Tena Palmer, saxophonist Paul Cram, and guitarist Arthur Bull, three imaginative improvisers residing in or hailing from Nova Scotia, where the group first came together. The CD’s namesake—sculpin—is an ancient bottom-dwelling fish with venomous spines, whose strongest similarity to this music lies in the element of surprise. That qualityContinue reading “Aperture Trio. Sculpin.”