VLADIMIR ESTRAGON (Alfred 23 Harth) – Three Quarks For Muster Mark (LP-1989 / Tiptoe ‎– TIP-807 803)

Label: Tiptoe ‎– TIP-807 803

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: Germany / Released: 1989

Style: Experimental, Free Jazz

Recorded By Thomas Stern at Woodhouse Studios, 1988, Dortmund, Germany.

Illustration – Alfred 23 Harth

Mastered By – Walter Brüssow

Producer [Uncredited] – Alfred Harth

Executive-Producer – Gerd Filtgen

Recorded By, Mixed By – Thomas Stern

Parent Label: Enja Records Matthias Winckelmann GmbH

Matrix / Runout (Side A): 807 803 – A

Matrix / Runout (Side B): 807 803 – B

side 1:

A1/A2 - The Warten > Lucky ...................................................................................... 6:22

A3/A4 - Remark > Das letzte Band ............................................................................ 3:42

      A5 - Nichts zu machen ......................................................................................... 0:56

      A6 - Das Lethargische .......................................................................................... 3:28

      A7 - Wiegenlied .................................................................................................... 2:27

side 2:

B1 - Streetscenes ..................................................................................................... 12:33

        a)   Seine Freunde  ................................................ 1:45

        b)   Seine Register ................................................. 0:51

        c)   Seine Angst ..................................................... 3:42

        d)   Ich libbe Leben ................................................ 2:20

        e)   Seine Korrespondenten ................................... 0:39

        f)   Der verbleibende Haufen .................................. 3:14

B2 - March der Three Quarks .................................................................................... 2:40

B3 - Die Nachtigall ..................................................................................................... 0:29

B4 - Pozzo ................................................................................................................. 5:33

Personnel:

Alfred 23 Harth – clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, reeds

Ulrike Haage – keyboards, sampler, sequenced by [sequenzerprogramme], grand piano

Phil Minton – trumpet, vocals

F.M. Einheit – electronics, drums, percussion [metall, steine, schrank]

Impressive project with only one amazing album in their discography. The name of the band is derived from the two characters Vladimir and Estragon from Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot". Title of the album is a quotation from "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce. This gem was released in 1989.

Album Three Quarks For Muster Mark (went completely unnoticed) is unsung treasure trove of good ideas, lively irony and astonishing artistry. Consisting of Alfred Harth (tenor sax and clarinets), Phil Minton (voice and trumpet), F.M. Einheit (metals and electronics) and the excellent Ulrike Haage (keyboards, sequencer programming and samples), Vladimir Estragon were a paradise of lusty electronic arrangements whose preset-derived poetry was poisoned by oblique complexities and sudden animations entering the picture when less expected; there are also some charming repetitions of parts of the song, but always in a different environment, and this is only a fraction of the whole. Minton's typical parades of vocal characters depict a series of alternative abnormalities, as he accompanies absurd harmonic sequences with nonchalant schizophreny, often meshing his garbled glottology with the less consonant fruits from the rest of the group. And what about Harth's immediately recognizable, charming-but-challenging lines? Be it in a profound duo with Haage's piano (like in the initial "The warten") or leading a double-edge thematic exposition together with Minton's fiery trumpet, his playing remains connected with something that words can't give justice to, and that I can only define as "lyrically corporeal". Given Einheit's slightly more obscure role - but his duet with Minton in "Der verbleibende Haufen" is great - a special mention goes to Ulrike Haage, who composed the large part of the material with Harth; her programming sapience is a strong point of the LP's, constituting an entertaining springboard for all members to unveil their more disguised influences; she also plays a mean piano and writes in styles that respectfully nod to Lars Hollmer and Lindsay Cooper, with an additional touch of tangential sweetness...

(Review By Massimo Ricci)

If you find it, buy this album!