10.1.10

Wadada Leo Smith / Walter Quintus / Katya Quintus / Miroslav Tadic / Mark Nauseef "Snakish"


Wadada Leo Smith : trumpet

Walter Quintus : computer & processing

Katya Quintus : voice

Miroslav Tadic : classical & baritone guitar

Mark Nauseef : percussion & live electronics.

Tracks : Uncoiling; Cosmoil; Disembodyism; Over the Influence; Yopa; Black Bell Mother; Majounish; Kawami Wama; Speeds Per Coil; Neither Liquid Nor Gaseous, Torn; Green Gold Melt; Gangah Wallah; Rivers of Swan; Coiling.

It's been a good couple of years for trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, whose involvement with the Yo! Miles project, Spring Heel Jackand his own Golden Quartet has seen him return to the public ear after years of lower key projects.

Smith rates this particular project as one of his favourites, and it's easy to see why. While the Yo Miles! project paid an explicit homage to 70s Miles Davis, 'Snakish' imagines how that music may have sounded if Miles had been more influenced by Stockhausen than Sly Stone or Jimi Hendrix.

This isn't just Smith's baby though; it's a collective effort from percussionist/electronicist Mark Nauseef, guitarist Miroslav Tadic and most crucially, engineer Walter Quintus. His processing places the trio's realtime playing in impossible acoustic environments; one moment in deep space, the next at the bottom of a sulphurous alien sea. Tadic's spidery acoustic guitar sits halfway between John McLaughlin and Derek Bailey; his chords are pretty in a sour kind of way, and are the perfect ground for Smith's glowing, lyrical flights.

While both Tadic and Smith veer off into free improv fluttering and at times, Nauseef's spluttering, primitive electronics provide the most abstraction. Spirals of white, pink and brown noise fleck the soundscape. Bells, chimes, rustles, clicks and cavernous thumps replace grooves. Quintus' processing acts as a kind of aural zoom lens, shifting focus from one element to another. Occasional spoken interventions from Katya Quintus (sometimes in English, sometimes not) add to the hallucinatory atmosphere.

Leo records boss Leo Feigin reckons this album will take its place as one of the best in the label's catalogue. That's a pretty big statement given the brilliance and scope of much of Leo's output, but I reckon it'll hold true. 'Snakish' is a seductive, involving listen for devotees of everyone from Supersilent to Miles to Evan Parker's electro-acoustic work. Great stuff.

Peter Marsh

With Quintus’ ambient sounds crackling and rushing around them, Wadada Leo Smith and the Snakish band have tapped into the music of wonder.

Rex Butters /allaboutjazz.com

Buy it

2 commentaires:

EdkOb a dit…

Débat loin d'être terminé, si Miles avait été moins "fusion", aurait-il proposé ces plages de méditations et de poésies sonores ? Débat pour initiés et / ou amateurs, mais débat quand même inutile, car si Miles avait ou n'avait pas, est-ce l'amorce d'un débat ?
Ici, WLS et les 4 musiciens qui l'accompagnent proposent une "expérience" sonore loin de laisser indifférent. Douleur / douceur, plaintes et mots, bruitages et silences... un vaste monde enchanteur qui nous emmène, sous réserve de le vouloir. Nos codifications intérieures parfois nous éloignent, mais c'est pour mieux y revenir (mon enfant ?).

Bref, comme des étoiles. De celles qui mettent des éternités, avant que des photons nous parviennent et nous traversent, déposant ici et là quelques rumeurs incertaines et fragiles, mélancoliques et sereines. Par petites touches hésitantes, comme un duvet qui prend tout son temps pour chuter, lentement, légèrement, quelques notes éparses et atténuées, retenues, en suspension, cette musique éclaire dans toutes les directions à la fois, arrivant là où personne ne l'attend.

Comme des étoiles, même celles qui nous seront à jamais invisibles.

http://rapidshare.com/files/333137377/WLS_S.rar

Anonyme a dit…

Hello from Greece.
Thank you so much for this outstanding album.
Thanks for sharing.

KONSTANTiNOS