"A" TRIO and AMM ‎– AAMM (Unrock ‎– UnrockLP012 / LP-2018 + 7" Single)

Label: Unrock ‎– UnrockLP012
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album + Vinyl, 7", Single / Limited Edition
Country: Netherlands / Released: 15 May 2018
Style: Free Improvisation, Free Jazz
Recorded by Andreas Pysiewicz at St. Elisabeth Kirche, Berlin on August 27, 2015 in the context of DAAD's Mikromusik Festival
Artwork, Design – Mazen Kerbaj
Mixed abd Mastered By – Fadi Tabbal, Peter Koerfer at Tunefork Studios, Beirut, Lebanon
Producer [Produced By] – Al Maslakh
Recorded By – Andreas Pysiewicz
Matrix / Runout (Side A Etched): UNROCKLP012 - I
Matrix / Runout (Side B Etched): UNROCKLP012 - II

side 1
A - Unholy Elisabeth (Part 1) ................................................................................... 20:34

side 2
B - Unholy Elisabeth (Part 2) ................................................................................... 21:26

AMM:
Eddie Prévost – percussion
John Tilbury – piano

“A” TRIO:
Mazen Kerbaj – trumpet
Sharif Sehnaoui – acoustic guitar
Raed Yassin – double bass

All music improvised by Kerbaj, Prevost, Sehnaoui, Tilbury & Yassin.
No cuts, no overdubs, no use of electronics.

I always see an album cover as an extension of the album itself; the artists intentionally chose a visual component that they wanted to represent their music. When I look at this cover I think of the moon, cave paintings, and plants cells all packed together. All of these images are ancient, organic and an important part of our humanity. The Lebanese "A" Trio and now AMM duo team up in a release that channels that long-lasting energy. The "A" Trio is a group that is composed of Mazen Kerbaj on trumpet, Sharif Sehnaoui on acoustic guitar, and Raed Yassin on double bass. The AMM, now being sustained by veterans Eddie Prévost and John Tilbury, serve as partial mentors to the young improvisers. But thankfully this live recording is not just an example of a master-apprentice relationship, rather it's the joining of two different worlds through the power of improvised music. Tilbury and Prévost serve as a sort of enhanced rhythm section that provides a lot of interesting moments, yet the "A" Trio actually supplies the most flavor and substance throughout the whole piece. This isn't to discredit AMM; they perform fantastically, and I think they really bolster the performance of the other players. There's a real sense of cohesion and fluidity that is brought by these two clashing worlds, the East and West. Just recently released, this performance was over three years ago, completed without any cuts, overdubs, or use of electronics. This just provides further emphasis on the improvisational method of these musicians and helps us understand the development of their music in the moment.

The beginning minutes of "Unholy Elisabeth" are evocative of a quiet night, with the full moon shining down and rain drops falling from leaves above. Tilbury's piano playing is soft and melodic, almost like nature's own improvised nursery rhyme. The general calmness of the music during this introduction can be viewed as either the calm before the storm, or the silent aftermath. Either way, one's anxiety can build up as only the sterile scraping of guitar strings is present. As more musicians join in the tension can truly be felt, while each instrument adds a vital layer to the music that are like gusts of wind felt on the ground and through the branches. During the first quarter of this fifty-one minute piece my attention was almost solely focused Tilbury's serene notes cutting through. The AMM members provide the most obvious instrumentation and sounds, but it may be hard at times to distinguish what instrument is being played. More accurately which instrument is being tested and operated on. The bowed bass is the framework on which all other sounds are being added onto, and there sure are a lot of sounds. I prefer the duos or trio sections within the piece that pop up; a few elements that serve as a playful back-and-forth between musicians. This facet, along with the organic nature of the instruments, makes for a very wild and raw exposition of sound.

Mazen Kerbaj's trumpet is one of the most versatile instruments in the group; acting as a bubbling bog or a pleading prayer voice. The trumpet represents the human relationship with nature. We are always at its mercy but our connection to it is stronger than we think. The pauses in music and return to silence helps clear the mind and allows starting points that flesh out new ideas. Prévost's percussion style is scattered and muted to a degree, it's a hint at something sinister and underlying. About thirty-five minutes in, this playing is joined with steely strings and a beat which seems to be either finger tapping or airy breathing out of the trumpet. The trumpet exposes itself anyways and suddenly goes silent, only starting again with Tilbury's habitual peaceful playing. Kerbaj's playing turns into a true cry for help, an exasperated groan that is a last-ditch effort for an answer. Sharif Sehnaoui's guitar picking is pretty absent until near the end where he enters a mostly duo setting with Tilbury, as the vibrating trumpet serves as the background. Sehnaoui's playing is dusty and in an Eastern style, drawn out notes that sound like they've traveled across miles of sand dunes just to reach your ears. The trumpet moves forward and then everyone else joins in for one last burst of energy, just before dissipating into blowing sand...

Label: Unrock ‎– UnrockLP012 single
Format: Vinyl, 7", Single / Limited Edition
Recorded by Andreas Pysiewicz at St. Elisabeth Kirche, Berlin on August 27, 2015 in the context of DAAD's Mikromusik Festival
Matrix / Runout (Side A Etched): UNROCKLP012 – I single
Matrix / Runout (Side B Etched): UNROCKLP012 – II single

single / side A
C - In The House Of No Lord (Part1) ........................................................................ 5:54

single / side B
D - In The House Of No Lord (Part 2) ....................................................................... 3:19

All music improvised by Kerbaj, Prevost, Sehnaoui, Tilbury & Yassin.
No cuts, no overdubs, no use of electronics.

This uninterrupted live story is surely an adventurous treat, not only for the ears but for the mind. A prehistorical narrative is formed, concerning all humans and pointed towards the world around us. Including all the turmoil and peace that finds its way into our lives. It's puzzling as to why this was just released; either way it's an important release in the AMM catalog and a kindling agent to check out the rest of "A" Trio's releases. There's no doubt that a certain amount of clout is given to this release due to the inclusion of the AMM but besides the memorable playing of its members there is still a lot to absorb. Even in its improvisational style the "A" Trio brings it's Middle Eastern and Arabic music influences into the mix. There are hints of these melodies and playing styles that are projected onto their western instruments. It adheres quite well with the playing of Prévost and Tilbury, to assist in creating a unique and interesting addition to the AMM discography. It's not as harsh as some might expect, and I might even recommend this as a starting point for someone looking to peep into the AMM catalog. I wish more collaborations like this would occur; people of completely different backgrounds coming together through similar medium in order to create compassionate, natural music.

(Review By Kian Banihashemi / The Free Jazz Collective)

If you find it, buy this album!

AMM – Laminal - Aarhus 1969, London 1982, New York 1994 (3CD-1996)

Label: Matchless Recordings – MRCD31.
Format: 3 × CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 1996
Style: Abstract, Free Improvisation, Experimental
Disc 1 recorded in Aarhus on 16th December 1969. 
Disc 2 recorded Goldsmiths' College, London on 20th February 1982. 
Disc 3 recorded at Context Studios, New York on 3rd May 1994.
Front cover artwork: Keith Rowe
Liner Notes – Eddie Prévost, Jim O'Rourke, John Tilbury, Malcolm Le Grice, Victor Schonfield
Mastered By [Restored By] – Adam Skeaping (tracks: 1-1 to 2-2)
Producer – Bruce Lee Gallanter (tracks: 3-1 to 3-6)
Recorded By – James McLean (tracks: 3-1 to 3-6)

 Cornelius Cardew, 1969

 Eddie Prévost, 1982

Keith Rowe, 1982

A triple CD set to mark 30 years of making AMMmusic. Each features an AMM concert performance.

Disc-1
The Aarhus Sequences: Aarhus 1969
Denmark 16th December 1969
1.       51:07
2.       14:23
3.       6:40
Cornelius Cardew ,Chrisoper Hobbs
Lou Gare, Keith Rowe , Eddie Prévost

Disc-2
The Great Hall: London 1982
Goldsmiths' College, London 20th Febrary 1982
1.       36:45
2.       38:56
John Tilbury , Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost

Disc-3
Context Studios
New York 3rd May 1994
1.       71:17
John Tilbury , Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost

John Tilbury / Eddie Prévost

Released in 1995 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of this astonishing improvising cooperative, Laminal contains three complete concerts from the early, middle, and later portions of AMM's career. For all the free music, noise, and what-have-you that was created since, the music from the 1969 Aarhus performance remains striking, assaultive, and sublimely creative. If one tries to give a comparative reference to similar music at the time, the nearest approximation might be to take the wildest, most unearthly Sun Ra explorations and filter them through the prism of Iannis Xenakis' "Bohor" to come close to providing a vague description of what occurs here. Performing as a quintet, the dual percussion of Eddie Prevost and Christopher Hobbs leads the way, solidly buttressed by Keith Rowe's guitar and electronics. Determining which musician does exactly what at any given time is a losing proposition, until a few wails at the close of the piece; if Lou Gare ever makes a remotely "traditional" sound on his tenor sax, it's impossible to detect. The music is loud (roaring, for the most part), uncompromising, enveloping, and entirely selfless -- no solos here, only pure group sound. Warning: Exposure to this recording may make it difficult to listen to much contemporary, so-called avant-garde music again; it will almost seem bloodless in comparison. By the time of the concert captured on the second disc, pianist John Tilbury, arguably the foremost interpreter of the piano music of Morton Feldman, had joined Rowe and Prevost to form the trio that would comprise the essential AMM unit in years to come. It also becomes clear, perhaps in part due to Tilbury's arrival, that a strong tendency toward quiet has asserted itself. Though the piece begins with frantic piano and raucous guitar noise, the moments of calm are more frequent than before, and seem to serve as nodes from which further exploration springs. True, this set features a larger-than-normal amount of relatively straight and loud drumming from Prevost (who is quite capable of going through a show without once making any sounds one usually associates with drums), but there is a much wider sonic palette in play. Tilbury's use of, in this context, surprisingly melodic and Feldman-esque arpeggios and clusters exerts a serene and meditative force that often, not always, persuades Rowe and Prevost to follow suit. Rowe's utilization of a transistor radio injects some humor into the affair as strains of "Love Me Do" and "Heatwave" percolate to the fore. When, from some unknown source, a woman's voice begins intoning a seemingly random series of numbers in German (code?), the effect in conjunction with the live music is nothing short of electrifying. The final recording, with the same trio, shows further steps toward a music centered on stillness, though not so much as other albums from the period such as Newfoundland. Again the set begins aggressively, again Prevost displays his impressive jazz chops, but ever more the trio returns to near silence, a rich minimalism where more and more beauty is found with less and less material. From the maelstrom of sound in its early years, AMM evolved toward a kind of musical kabuki, a sequence of gestures strengthened by extremely deep listening, where any sound, however slight, could be placed with unerring precision to form a whole. While it's impossible to capture all facets of this remarkable band in its entirety, this three-disc set serves wonderfully as both an overview of their art and a brilliant illumination of their immense sound world. Very highly recommended.

_ Review By BRIAN OLEWNICK



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AMM – Sounding Music (2010)

Label: Matchless Recordings – MRCD77
Format: CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 2010
Style: Abstract, Free Improvisation
Recorded at the 'Freedom of the City' festival, Conway Hall, London on Sunday 3rd May 2009.
Artwork [Calligraphy] – Qu Lei Lei
Design – Myah Chun; Liner Notes – Harry Gilonis

The album cover:
鳴 : Ming (Korean : Myung ) means sound – the cry of a bird, or human singing. A starting- point, then, for words and music both, the fact of sound and its sounding.

Review:

So to Sounding Music then, the new album by AMM. The release contains the recording of the quintet performance from last year ’ s Freedom of the City Festival that I wrote about here. The AMM group on that occasion was made up of regular members Eddie Prévost and John Tilbury alongside recent frequent collaborator John Butcher, the American composer and previous occasional AMM collaborator Christian Wolff plus the young London based cellist Ute Kanngiesser, a regular at Prévost ’ s weekly improvisation workshops and here the first woman to appear on an AMM record. I have listened to this CD almost constantly since I received it on Monday, perhaps I have listened to it through some fifteen times already. Going back over the post I wrote following the concert in question I have picked out a few of the thoughts I had at the time. I mentioned in the comments after the post that the music did not feel ground-breaking, but it did feel like AMM Music, perhaps more so than on any of the other occasions I had seen the group since the departure of Keith Rowe. I also mentioned that while he fitted well into the group, Christian Wolff seemed to play the disruptive role in the set, taking things out of what might be perceived as “ safe ” AMM territory more often than not.

Listening back to the recording now, I have mixed feelings about these thoughts now. Certainly in places this sounds like AMM through and through. When Prévost and Tilbury are working together it really cannot be anything else. I find myself hearing the connections between these two musicians through everything else, no matter what other sounds are there to be heard. There are the little climaxes, the slow arcs towards the small explosions of expression, the way Prévost uses his bowed sounds as the scaffold for the others to climb up and over, the sprinkling of Tilbury ’ s piano sounds throughout in just the places Tilbury leaves them, the connections between these two sets of sounds leaves the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. They did eighteen years ago when I first hear them live, they still do now. Then though, there are the elements in this recording that stand out as something new, sounds that do not seem to belong traditionally in AMM, and yes most of them here do come from Wolff, the little burst of pocket harmonica, the tapping of stones together that ends the performance, the single plucked guitar note that ends a section of the music twenty minutes in, but they don ’ t sound so intrusive here, just little elements that catch your ear as unusual. Kanngiesser also stands out now and again as something new, the moment two thirds of the way through when after a mini climax the sounds drop away to find her bowing a series of slow notes in a fluid, almost tuneful manner really catches the ear. So what we have is AMM as we know them, augmented by some new elements. John Butcher by the way, plays wonderfully, and sounds completely at home in the group, none of his contributions sound out of place at all.

No matter how familiar the end results here might end up being, the one thing that has occurred to me over the past few days listening to this music is the amount of risks that were taken in its creation. Risk-taking has always been a part of the AMM philosophy, and the danger involved with potential failure has always been something encouraged rather than shied away from. For this recording, there is the obvious risk taken through the assemblage of a quintet playing percussion, piano. sax. cello and a table top electric guitar. The history the group has with that arrangement of instrumentation left a great weight of expectation hanging over the performance. Then there was the inclusion of Kanngiesser, her gender of course not a risk at all, but her relative inexperience compared to the weight of musical history on stage around her could perhaps been seen as a risk, certainly it is unusual for someone so young and without many years of playing experience to join the group. Then there was the uncertainty concerning the health of John Tilbury, who had been at a hospital that very day and was recovering from a stroke. He played with just one hand on the day. Despite all of these things, some unavoidable, some deliberately created by Prévost and Tilbury the music contained on this album is wonderful. It captures AMM, where AMM are right now, or where they were on the 4th May 2009.

It shows a spirit of invention, a challenge to the musicians involved as new musical relationships needed to be forged, and also a sense of playfully creative mischief in the return to the quintet format. The group has always changed, always evolved, often sounded different, but the underlying ethics, the way the music is approached, considered and subsequently played is as strong here as ever. There is no resting on laurels. The group didn ’ t have to be expanded for this performance but it was. If Trinity was the album that really convinced me that the group was as vital a force as it ever had been, then Sounding Music is the album that shows that the music can still be stretched and expanded outwards into new areas successfully. So not groundbreaking in any wider sense, then that has never really been a goal of AMM, but considered as new ground broken for a group with a forty-five year long history then most certainly. Wonderful people, wonderful music, thoroughly inspirational.

_ Richard Pinnell, The Watchful Ear 15th April 2010



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