Alliance for Improvised Music

New Show


Mats Gustafsson, Michael Zerang, and Jaap Blonk
Tuesday, May 11, 9 pm, $5, The Wherehouse, Winston-Salem. Co-sponsored by the Alliance for Improvised Music


FREEDONIAN JAZZ
by Walt Davis

They're gonna kill me. Mats is gonna turn all red in the face, and Michael's gonna have one of his puppets smack me in the head, and I don't know what Jaap's gonna do, but that makes it even scarier. You see, I have no idea how to describe this music to you. Abstract? Sure. Sound-based? OK, I can live with that. Interesting use of space? Yep. Innovative, technically astounding, head-scratching? All those. But you better bring your sense of humor.

gustafsson, blonk, and zerangCuz I keep thinking about the Marx Brothers when I listen to this disk (Improvisors on the Kontrans label). I think to myself "OK, now if the Marx Brothers were an improv trio, Groucho (sax) and Chico (percussion) would be tossing out musical comments left and right. Since Groucho and Chico don't speak, Harpo, instead of being silent, would be a 'voice performer and sound poet, a la Jaap Blonk." He provides the vocal equivalent of goo-goo eyes and doesn't need a horn to honk sardonically.

And I'm afraid that too many of you are going to take that description as a reason not to go, and that would be a real shame. Because that description, while highlighting the genuine humor and good nature of this music (similar in spirit to so much Dutch jazz), may be read as downplaying its artistic "seriousness." And that's too bad. Because surprise is not only the source of much humor, it's also the source of much beauty and insight, and this music is full of surprises.

And they have interesting bios. Jaap Blonk is a self-taught musician, voice performer, and sound poet. "His unfinished studies in physics, mathematics, and musicology mainly created a penchant for activities in a Dada vein, as did several unsuccessful jobs in offices and other well-organized systems." Mats's bio reminds us that maybe we're just a little too isolated here in the US: "Mats Gustafsson was born in Umea, a town in the north of Sweden with a rich cultural life and an inspiring jazz scene. From an early age, Gustafsson was able to hear leading improvisers such as saxist Lars Goran Ulander, pianist Per Henrik Wallin, and the group Lokomotiv Konkret with saxist Dror Feiler." I need to get out more. Michael Zerang, in addition to being a world-class percussionist, is a world-class puppeteer, having received many awards and grants for his work in staging puppet theater at Chicago's renowned Steppenwolf Theater. (He's not bringing any puppets, so I really have no reason to fear a puppet attack.)

Not that the musical credentials aren't just as interesting. Mats Gustafsson we already know. He came to town in January of 98 with his AALY trio with special guest Ken Vandermark and that same group released a cd on Wobbly Rail. His performance that night was simply breathtaking, and I became a huge fan. Now much more familiar with his work, I consider him probably the finest young saxist out there, certainly the most varied and original. Barry Guy, Paul Lovens, Peter Brotzmann, and Georg Graewe seem to be in agreement. Zerang has played with everyone in Chicago, from his annual sunrise solstice shows with Hamid Drake to Fred Anderson to Fred Lonberg-Holm, and non-Chicagoans like Barre Phillips, Luc Houtkamp, and Raymond Strid. He has cd's on Okkadisk, boxMEDIA, Southport, and many other labels. And Blonk has collaborated with musicians such as John Tchicai, Tristan Honsinger, the Ebony Band, and is a member of BRAAXTAAL and leader of Splinks, a 13-piece orchestra.

So please make the drive out to the Wherehouse in Winston-Salem. I guarantee an ear-opening night.

More info:

Photo credit: Arthur Nieuwenhuijs


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