GEORG GRÄWE with MARCIO MATTOS and MICHAEL VATCHER – Subsymbolism (1998)

 

Label: Nuscope Recordings – nuscope CD 1002 

Format: CD, Album; Country: US - Released: 1998 

Style: Free Improvisation, Free Jazz

Recorded in Cologne, Germany on March 15 and 16, 1995 at the LOFT.

Front cover (reproduced above) ceramics by – Marcio Mattos

Producer and Graphic Design by – Russell Summers

Recorded by, Mastered by – Ansgar Ballhorn

Georg Gräwe – Hamburg Steinway D piano

Marcio Mattos – acoustic bass

Michael Vatcher – drums, percussion

"So good to finally see a new American label, run by journalist & friend from Victo fest-Russ Summers, releasing a CD by the cream of European improv-an incredible trio with heavy credentials and the magic to pull it off so successfully. Outstanding pianist-Mr. Graewe has been paving the way for meetings like this to happen by living in Chicago and interacting with its healthy scene for improvisers. His large GrubenKlangOrchestra were a revelation at the old Knit-sitting in a circle in the audience, so the audience felt like it was part of the piece. Bassist-Marcio Mattos-is another contender for free/Euro acoustic storm of sounds, he has played with Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Elton Dean and Derek Bailey. The ever-marvelous drummer-Michael Vatcher is based in Amsterdam, he has knocked me out on various gigs and recordings-Zorn's Spy Vs. Spy band, the Maarten Altena Ensemble and Tom Cora's The Roof! This is an all powerful improv trio-each one an equal explorer-as secrets unfold- illuminating the depths. Sublime, lines spinning, spilling, slow rocking waves of notes, delicate fragments to vast towers, three masters painting the environment. The crisp and clear recording, as well as the austere grey kettle on the cover, show the release to be well thought out all round. Brilliant playing throughout!"  

–  BLG

Here, we celebrate the first of 2 releases on the newly formed NUSCOPE record label. NUSCOPE records dutifully conveys the flavor of modern improvised jazz with smart packaging, photos of modern artwork gracing the CD inserts and superior audiophile sound quality.

Veteran modern jazz pianist Georg Graewe aligns himself with London based Marcio Mattos (bass) and American drummer Michael Vatcher. “ Subsymbolism ” was originally intended to be a series of Monk interpretations but traversed a different path ultimately evolving into free improvisational performances. Graewe, Mattos and Vatcher have produced a winner! Colorful, spacious, intense and full of depth, Subsymbolism is a mighty foray into modern improvised jazz. “ Region BQ II ” finds Pianist; Graewe experimenting with unconventional phrasing while bassist Mattos compliments with sensational walking bass lines which cover the full spectrum of the instruments capabilities. Here, drummer Vatcher puts on a drum clinic featuring crisp multi-textured snare drum work. Vatcher fluctuates behind his kit, employing rimshots, delicate cymbal work, odd meter rhythms but never deviates from the explosive pulse of Mattos ’ pivotal bass structure. Mattos is the glue that bonds Graewe and Vatcher. Despite the “ free ” motifs, there is a strong suggestion of rhythmic cohesiveness throughout this recording. “ Region BQ II ” serves a s prime example of the group ’ s frequent tempo changes that evolve in a seamless fashion. “ Allures ” teases at first with a few grandiose chords from Graewe but quickly develops into a call and response exercise between the pianist and Vatcher. “ Allures ” evokes images of a lover ’ s quarrel. Vatcher often matches Graewe in a seemingly argumentative dialogue. The pace accelerates into a furious tirade of perpetual motion. “ Stream ” as the title may implicate takes the listener down a winding path that initially reminded this reviewer of Keith Jarrett ’ s acclaimed “ Standards Trio ” ; however, the pianist raises the intensity several notches augmented by a supercharged rhythm section, not to mention an exhilarating polyrhythmic drum solo by Vatcher. “

Subsymbolism ” is an exquisite work that breathes new life into the current state of modern improvised jazz. The tonal quality, performances and top-notch production are superb. A world class effort that challenges perceptions of what jazz should be. Highly Recommended.

_ By GLENN ASTARITA, Published: January 1, 1999 (AAJ)



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FRANK GRATKOWSKI PROJEKT – Loft Exil V (2CD-2003)

Label: Leo Records – LR 410/411
Format: 2CD, Album; Country: US - Release: 2004
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded live at the 32nd New Jazz Festival Moers (Germany) on June 7th (CD 1) and June 8th (CD 2) 2003 by Stefan Deistler
New Design by ART&JAZZ Studio SALVARICA, Designer by VITKO - 2012
Mixed and mastered by Wolfgang Stach

Review:

Milestone birthdays are as fine a catalyst as any for convening all-star aggregates of improvisers. Evan Parker teamed with colleagues from his two longstanding trio associations for his 50th. The results released on the Leo label were memorable and still rank in the top tier of his discography. Paul Dunmall followed suit when he hit his own half-century mark by conscripting his Moksha big band for a BBC-commissioned concert. German reed maven Frank Gratkowski, a guy who can count both men as peers, marked his 40th in similar fashion. Coordinating celebratory gigs as part of the 2003 Moers Jazz Festival, he assembled a formidable septet fronted jointly by his own horns, trumpeter Herb Robertson, and trombonist Wolter Wierbos. A dyadic rhythm section comprised of Dieter Manderscheid and Wilber de Joode on basses and drummers Gerry Hemingway and Michael Vatcher, divided into separate stereo channels, completes what reads on paper as a powerhouse collective. And as if that weren ’ t enough marshaled might, the set ’ s second disc finds Tobias Delius joining in on both tenor and clarinet, further swelling the band to octet size.

Loft Exile V also celebrates Gratkowski ’ s enduring relationship with H.M. Müller, proprietor of the Loft, a performance space where the reedman got his start along with a still-growing alumni of other European musicians. Assembling his dream band in a crowded formation against one wall (pictured in a landscape shot in the liners), Gratkowski largely eschews his customary compositional intricacy, opting instead for looser free-range blowing. The two dates captured each carry an ad hoc feel, with the players tossing out the formalities of a rigid, premeditated roadmap and simply seeing where there shared ingenuity takes them. Gratkowski supplies the single ‘ composed ’ piece with the closing “ Out of the Loom ” . It works as a fitting capstone to the mammoth slabs of free improv that precede it. Point-of- entry track demarcations further leaven the density by allowing for easy episodic listening. The first disc ’ s hour plus “The Morning Beckons” contains ten such tags.

The music is much too sprawling and discursive to reconstruct an accurate itinerary within the space of a review (and why read a faulty facsimile when one can take the trip in person for the price of a parting with a small stack of bills?). Arresting moments are numerous, starting with the opening fracas that finds the horns bristling and blustering atop a stomping crosshatch of snap-plucked basses and stentorian drums. But there are also a fair number of quietly palaverous passages too, still strung with tension. A loping two-prong pizzicato groove surfaces and Wierbos ’ mute-socketed brass spreads metallic glisses. Arco harmonics weave with floating flute-like sonorities in a creaky dance of ethereal tones only to turn knotty and diffusive once again with the ‘ rhythm ’ section thwacking and smacking away at its instruments. Gratkowski ’ s all-stops-pulled alto solo in the crowning closing section represents an energized apogee. Delius ’ presence on the second disc also helps in shoring up the more meandering sections too.

Some listeners will probably second-guess Gratkowski ’ s decision to mostly suppress his composerly urges in favor of freewheeling improv. For those doubters there are plenty of places in his existing catalog to find solace. His jubilee shindig might not place on par with the likes of Parker ’ s, but there ’ s still much enjoyment to be had. With luck Gratkowski ’ s own 50th will stir up an even more potent habanero heat.

_  by DEREK TAYLOR, 17 January 2005 (AAJ)



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ROOF - Trace (1999) - Live At Bremen and Amsterdam 1997

Label: Red Note – Catalog ID: RN 7
Format: CD, Album; Country: Netherlands Released: 1999
Style: Free Jazz, Alternative Rock, Avantgarde
Artwork – Isabelle Vigier; Vatcher Engineer – Gisela Kniemeyer (tracks: 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9); Liner Notes – Kevin Whitehead; Mastered By – Zlaya Saguvic
Music By – Roof; Producer – Peter Schulze (tracks: 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9); Recording Supervisor – Torsten Müller (3) (tracks: 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9); Technician – Inge Schmidt (tracks: 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9), Rolf Osis (tracks: 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9)

Notes:
Track 1, 5 and 7 recorded live at Bimhuis, Amsterdam on June 21, 1997. 
Intro of 1, 2 to 4, 6, 8, 9 recorded live at Lagerhaus, Bremen on June 25, 1997. 

Issued in gatefold cardboard sleeve, including thin folded paper insert with individual photographs of each artist (printed on one side only).

Musicians:
Tom Cora - cello
Luc Ex - bass
Phil Minton - vocals
Michael Vatcher - drums

Tom Cora described himself as "a musician who happens to play cello." That humble description belies the fury of his cello, but points to the overall musicality and excellence that he demonstrated as a musician. A seminal figure in the early downtown NY scene of the 70's Cora played with seemingly everyone of note, both in and around that scene. His early work had him playing with Lee Konitz and Don Cherry. He then formed the band Curlew with George Cartwright and Bill Laswell, arguably that band's best period. Moving to Manhattan in 1979 he fell in with artists like Steve Beresford, Fred Frith, Kramer, Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn, and Butch Morris. He and Fred Frith created the incredible band Skeleton Crew, and with Samm Bennett the excellent "virtual trio" band Third Person. He collaborated with the Dutch band The Ex, and formed The Hat Shoes with wife/avant vocalist Catherine Jauniaux. With Phil Minton he formed the unusual band Roof which toured the European avant/free- improv scene to acclaim (and continues to under the name "4 Walls." His untimely death from melanoma robbed the world of a tremendous musician, a charismatic and vigorous player who is still missed.

Tracklist:
1 Trace  (7:28),  2 Halts  (7:16),  3 A Plinth  (0:39),  4 Buda Buda  (2:42),  5 Spit Pedro  (8:02),  6 Janna Li(v)e  (7:49),  7 Magnifique  (4:28),  8 Glory Too  (3:06),  9 Blind Spots  (4:22)

Amazing band that ended far too early in their creative cycle due to the early demise of Tom Cora. The band continued as 4Walls, but the recordings under the name Roof remain stellar achievements.




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