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Ray Anderson-Han Bennink-Christy Doran: Azurety
recorded 4/21 & 4/22, 1994 by Peter Pfister at Radio DRS, Zurich
hatART 6155
Ray Anderson - trombone & tuba
Han Bennink - drums
Christy Doran - guitars
sister album to the 1995 recording Cheer Up. Each has a standard, Ellington's "Just Squeeze Me" while the later recording has a Horace Silver tune.
Compositionally based music with a high degree of madness, virtuosic to the extreme - I mean Han Bennink and Ray Anderson and if you never heard this Christy Doran dude, not a normal jazz guitarist by any stretch - - he cranks the volume high quite often and gets a variety of moods and textures - chack out B & D - a 4 and a half minute improvised duet with Doran & Bennink - and like on both records, Bennink is all business - no that there isn't humour in his playing - he alwys has fun - but here he sometimes swings and grooves, he sometimes plays counterpoint to the other members of the trio - and never is Han Bennink better than on Ray Anderson's remarkable "March of the Hipsters" with the hornman tearing it up on the tuba - nobody today can play with the true spirit of New Orleans like the *great* Ray Anderson.
And some doubters may shy away from the instrumentation - well there was a time when many see the trombone/tuba - guitar - drums configuration and go on their merry way. At least around here these days, that it not often the case among most listeners who are into today's jazz and various related improvised music. And if you're looking for swinging music - when Han does swing, he grooves in the famous Bennink style. But his strength on these recordings is his musicality - the guy plays melodies and actual notes on the drums - I swear it - and the power *and* force of his playing - on Christy Doran's longish (for this band - as they keep things pretty tight - the recordings have 8 & 9 tracks and running times between 50 - 55 minutes) "Heights" , I swear that Bennink knows what Doran plays before Doran knows what he is gonna play.
and the short solo about two thirds inot "Heights" by Han with the other dudes gradually joining in is pretty damn amazing but what follows as the trio hits a crescendo before returning to the theme is even more exciting - yes - this music is alive and EXCITING - and for those familiar with the much more well known long time working/touring (sadly disbanded) Clusone 3, Han plays a more aggressive role than he normally does with the quieter trio with Moore and Reijseger - not that he doesn't sometimes crank it up with Clusone - or cool it down with this trio - but it is about 25/75 compared to 75/25 if you cna figure out what the hell I'm talking about!
now to beat a drum (HA!) that I've beaten before. First off, when great musicians play their instruments, the first thing I notice live (and also on record) is how good they *sound*. Han Bennink and Ray Anderson are two great examples. Han Bennink can sound good (if he's interested and focused and not clowning around) playing the floor, a chair, or whatever is in the room. Note that here he stays behind his kit the whole time.
I've heard many albums by many different musicians on many labels recorded and engineered by many different people.
Peter Pfister is numero uno - and among his strengths, the one thing he does better than anything else - even better than the cound he gets from the acoustic bass - is how great drummers sound on his recordings - Han Bennink on Eleven Ghosts (with Myra Melford) and Han on Dissonant Characters (with Ellery Eskelin) and on these two records - I don't know where you will ever hear a drummer sound better - kinda spoils it when I listen to some hack engineer
Open House, baby
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