Antipodes

Multi-woodwind ace, Vinny Golia utilizes his arsenal of saxes and clarinets to wreak controlled havoc, amid climactic overtures and heated interplay with drummer Billy Mintz and bassist/prepared contrabassist, Steuart Liebig for this set brimming with soaring, plaintive cries and bustling momentum. Essentially, the musicians' jab, spar, and coalesce for a series of brawny exchanges atop ominous themes and thoughtful soloing. Not for the faint of heart! Recommended.

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It's not often that one finds bass guitarists - - as opposed to contrabassists - - in tough-nosed musical situations such as this one. But Steuart Liebig, who has long impressed with his contributions to the circle of Southern California musicians associated with Vinny Golia, is not your ordinary bass guitarist. He doesn't treat his axe like a rhythmic generator, but rather as an improvisatory equal, locked in with Golia's arsenal of reeds as both serpentine counterfoil and low-end font of structure. The guy's just got huge ears, and chops to match: one listen to the beautiful interplay with Golia's soprano on "Trioism #2" should convince anyone of his musicality. The program is a mix of the bassist's tunes (the "Trioism" series) and trio improvisations, all of which contain the virtues of structure and freedom alike.

The long "Improvisation #2/Trioism #13" contains some of the disc's most muscular playing, as Golia charges hard with his baritone through the thickets of electronics, tasty bass, and skittering drums courtesy of the super-subtle Billy Mintz. This piece, along with the opener, contains some of the most raucous and combative playing on the program; fans of all-out shrieking intensity a la Brötzmann will drool over these performances. But what makes this trio so outstanding to me is the evocative work heard on spacious creations like "Improvisation #4," with haunting clarinet work and multiple colors. "Trioism #1" has the kind of punchy staggered rhythm of the finest Braxtonian compositions. Altogether, this is trio music of the highest order, played by the kind of group's that's just got to crush people live. Controlled intensity, quiet fire, and brainy abandon all in one . . .

this stuff completely rocks. And along with the beautiful, highly structured offerings found on Liebig's other recent release Pomegranate, this confirms that he's one of the musicians to watch these days.

Jason Bivins, www.onefinalnote.com

 

La copertina accredita questo disco in ugual misura ai tre musicisti coinvolti, ma in realtà titolare dell'incisione è Steuart Liebig, giunto con Antipodes al suo secondo lavoro per la Cadence Jazz Records, dopo No Train, registrato con gli stessi musicisti.

Bassista dedito prevalentemente all'uso della chitarra contrabbasso, a volte filtrata elettronicamente e "preparata", Liebig ha operato sia nel campo del rock, formando nell'area di Los Angeles la band Block, che in quello del jazz, dove si evidenziano le collaborazioni con Les McCann e Julius Hemphill.

L'attribuzione collettiva del lavoro è però quanto mai opportuna, perché il trio si dimostra una vera working band, con una salda unità di intenti e un fitto interplay. La cosa si riflette mirabilmente nei risultati, di notevole forza espressiva e coesione plastica. Il sound della chitarra basso è più ruvido, più granuloso e variegato di quello del contrabbasso, e si insinua tra i fiati di Vinny Golia e la batteria di Billy Mintz, assumendo di volta in volta il ruolo di un contrabbasso, di una chitarra, di uno strumento elettronico. Anche la gamma timbrica e di registri che Liebig sa toccare è ampia, permettendogli di modellare varie situazioni espressive senza però toccare mai quelle forme di eclettismo fini a se stesse, tipiche di molti musicisti in possesso di queste doti.

Al contrario, il bassista lavora con estrema concentrazione e attenzione ai dettagli, trascinando anche gli altri due musicisti in questo clima fecondo.

L'ambito stilistico è quello dell'improvvisazione (e quattro brani si intitolano proprio Improvisation); un'improvvisazione che raggiunge trame fitte e rigogliose attraverso geometrie astratte e spesso rarefatte, attraverso un'attenzione ai timbri e ai contrasti dinamici (certamente gli "antipodi" di cui recita il titolo). In questo anche Golia e Mintz sono maestri: il primo scandagliando con il baritono le sonorità più morbidamente cool e mostrando un suono rotondo e bello con il soprano, per tuffarsi poi in roventi e laceranti escursioni anche con il clarinetto contralto. Il secondo tessendo trasparenti trame con piatti e tamburi chiari, punteggiate da vibranti rintocchi della cassa (Mintz, oltre ad essere batterista raffinato, è apprezzato didatta: ha pubblicato un interessante volume, "Different Drummers", dove analizza con acume lo stile di alcuni grandi della batteria, da Max Roach a Jack DeJohnette).

Emblematico del lavoro dei tre è il lungo "Improvisation #2 / Trioism #13", introdotto da un'intensa cadenza di Liebig di grande gusto timbrico e costruttivo, che si conclude con un denso assalto ricco di trasalimenti e di sorprese. Ma anche in questi momenti di addensamento resta un senso di leggerezza, di attenzione alla spazialità del suono e delle architetture, che fa sempre respirare la musica. Interessante è pure "Improvisation #4", dove fanno capolino in modo astratto, onirico e surreale una scansione calypso e sonorità di gamelan giavanese.

Tre musicisti che si muovono in una libertà controllata dall'intelligenza.

 

[The cover credits this disc in equal measure to the three musicians involved, but in reality the leader of the recording is Steuart Liebig, with Antipodes being his second job for the Cadence Jazz Records, after No Train, recorded with the same musicians.

A bass player dedicated to the use of the contrabassguitar, at times filtered electronically and "prepared," Liebig has operated is in the field of the rock, forming in the area of Los Angeles band the Bloc, and in the jazz arena, where he collaborated with Les McCann and Julius Hemphill.

The collective attribution of this album is very appropriate because the trio shows itself to be a true working band, with a solid unity of intentioned and a full interplay. This is greatly reflected in the results of full expressive force and plastic cohesion. The sound of the bass guitar is rougher, grainier and has more variety than a double bass, and it insinuates between the breaths of Vinny Golia and the drums of Billy Mintz, assuming of time in time the role of a double bass, a guitar or an electronic instrument. Also the variety on tones in the registration that Liebig is able to touch is large, which enables him to model several expressive situations without touching those same, typical fine shapes of eclecticism, typical of many musicians who possess such qualities. To the contrary, the bassist works with extreme concentration and attention to the details, dragging also the others two musicians in this prolific climate.

The style of this group is one of improvisation (and four of the tracks are entitled Improvisation); an improvisation that reaches dense and fruitful themes through often rarefied abstract geometries and, through an attention to tones and dynamic contrasts (sure the "antipodes" for which the title was chosen). In this also Golia and Mintz are masters: the first one sounding with the baritone the smoothest and softly cool sounds, showing a round and beautiful sound with the soprano, in order to then dive into hot and tearing excursions with the contralto clarinet. The second weaving transparent nets with clear drums and cymbals, punctuated from vibrating percussion (Mintz, beyond being a refined drummer and appreciated learner has published an interesting volume, "Different Drummers," where he analyzes with acumen the style of some famous drummers from Max Roach to Jack DeJohnette).

One of the emblematic works of this trio is long "Improvisation #2/Trioism #13," introduced from an intense cadence of Liebig with great taste and constructive tonality, which ends with a dense onslaught rich with and surprises. Even in these moments of accumulation a lightness sense remains, of attention to the spaces of sound and of the architectures, which enables the music to always breathe. Also interesting is "Improvisation # 4," where the abstract and surrealistic modes are heading a calypso scansion and with the sonority of a Javanese gamelan.

Three musicians who move in one freedom controlled from intelligence.]

Valutazione: * * * *

Giuseppe Segala