V/A Stockholm, Nov 24

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(sorry, no proper review, just a few photos...)

The old ketchup bottle effect: after a lengthy lull, the local live scene erupted today, with events piled on top of each other. I had to skip both Hanna Hartmann and a festival of female improvisors - and, alas, Jackie-O Motherfucker (who were pretty terrific last time I saw them), opting for a great line-up of Swedish improvisors at the Culture House (1-7 pm, admission free), topped (IMO) by the ubiquitous Mats Gustafsson and trio Strandberg-Thorman-Olsson.


Mats paying homage to Sonny Rollins w/ his very own version of "St Thomas"


Getting ready, l-r: Henrik Olsson, Patric Thorman, Emil Strandberg (well worth the recent praise in The Wire)

Then off for a double feature: Frontroom Ensemble (Stackenäs, Sandell, J Berthling, Sen, Holmlander, Küchen, Hallonsten, A Berthling) performing a lengthy, beautiful piece called "Monologues"



followed my Keith Rowe solo - thrilling to follow the nuts & bolts from up close




Back tonight for Cornelius Cardew's "Treatise", performed by Frontroom Ensemble (minus J Berthling & Stackenäs, plus Henrik Olsson & Erik Carlsson) featuring Mr Rowe. Can't wait.

[likewise]

Thanks, Lars. - Sunday night was in fact even better than Saturday for me, partly because I decided not to bring my camera. Cause as nice at it is to have the pics afterwards, the hassle involved in taking them easily interferes with the listening experience.

Since the whole "Treatise" would have taken a minimum of 15 hours, the band only played a handful of pages from the score. Long quiet and tentative passages paved the way for moments of great presence and intensity. - Talking to some of the musicians during the intermission, and praising the magical interplay, I was baffled to hear that Rowe had instructed the band in "the art of NOT listening", telling them to just stick to their individual cues and instructions.

Second set was a patchier affair, with the band divided into duos, taking turns to interpret one single page of the score. The highpoints for me were Rowe's duo with himself, with two beautiful juxtaposed and overlapping baroque pieces, and Henrik Olsson & Martin Küchen dueling on walkie-talkies and prepared baritone saxophone.

Before the show Mr. Rowe had invited the audience to participate with questions, "even during the music, if you feel like it", and second set slowly dissolved into the musicians walking about, talking and distributing copies of the page they were playing. Rowe then told a funny anecdote about how Cardew's wife, fed up with her composing husband, scribbled on the page, and now he asked the audience for suggestions about how to interpret the score and end the show. Corny as it may sound, it felt like a highly appropriate ending.

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