989 - Peter Kowald "Silence and Flies"

[...]
As you would expect on a single improvisation that lasts over 45 minutes, Kowald strives to empty his bottomless bag of artistry. Instead, roaming imaginal realms, he invents endlessly, generating melody and sound like a bass database gone berserk. Deep rolling slurs whirl up from the lowest notes, bending and curling. Repetitive patterns form and mutate into dark rough sound. Finger-fracturing runs give way to growls and near-verbalizations. Melodies intertwine chords and drones. Hands explode into a locust plague of notes. Quiet reflective tunes betray strength, not rest. From roaring thunder to feathery overtones, he ends the tour de force with what sounds like Tibetan throat singing over arco.
[...]
All About Jazz

"... he ends the tour de force with what sounds like Tibetan throat singing over arco."

969 - Peter Kowald / William Parker "The Victoriaville Tape"

Peter Kowald : double bass
William Parker : double bass

Arrival (15:57)
Conversation (41:23)
Departure (5:31)
Farewell (6:51)

"There is no doubt that Kowald and Parker generate an expansive sound together....The two men create a slowly shifting field of pure sound, sometimes out of which emerge small moments of furious walking bass or fragments of melody." - Jazz Times

Jouer comme si c'était la dernière fois. Parce que, fatalement, un jour, ce sera la dernière. S'engouffrer dans l'intense, ne plus le lâcher. Laisser la prudence aux caniches. Le calcul aux calculateurs. En bref, vivre. Faire don de soi et de sa musique. Voilà ce que firent Peter Kowald et William Parker un soir de mai 2002 dans le cadre du dix-neuvième festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville au Québec.

A quoi bon détailler ce qui de toute façon ne peut l'être. Dire (écrire) quoi ? l'urgence ? l'appétit d'ogre de ces deux frères de cœur ? les débordements ? l'implication ? l'écorchure ? l'inouï ? l'intense ? l'unité ? Ce soir-là, deux musiciens nous donnaient à entendre le sensible, l'abandon. Ce soir-là, des torrents d'amours (Love Streams) inondaient nos oreilles.
Le 21 septembre 2002, soit quatre mois à peine après ce concert, Peter Kowald décédait d'une crise cardiaque dans l'appartement de William Parker.
Luc Bouquet - Jazzbreak

On May 19, 2002, Peter Kowald and William Parker played a duo set at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. Both bassists had made regular appearances in Victo over the past two decades, but no one in the audience could have guessed that it would be Kowald's last. The German improviser died in New York City four months later. The French-Canadian radio was not recording this concert, but the mixing desk engineer kept a tape rolling, just in case, and negotiations toward the release of this performance were already in progress when fate struck. Now, as the listener, you can decide whether or not to "hear" this album as a normal performance or as a farewell, but it's suggested you choose the latter. Why? Because, all in all, The Victoriaville Tape is a rather ordinary offering from extraordinary musicians. There are moments in "Arrival" and "Conversation" when the sound of the two basses becomes overwhelmingly claustrophobic, each player trapped in his own world without stepping into the other guy's sphere. When Kowald starts singing 24 minutes into the 41-minute "Conversation," it sounds unnecessary. That said, there is magic on this record, especially in the last minutes. The two shorter tracks ending the set are nothing less than fabulous. "Departure" drones in a rapturing way, soothingly beautiful after the monolithically hyperactive monster that came before it. This refreshing dip opened new doors of communication between the bassists for the encore "Farewell." One wishes the concert had started just then, but as it is, The Victoriaville Tape makes a decent album and, circumstances considered, a worthy document.
François Couture, All Music Guide

966 - Sainkho Namtchylak & Peter Kowald "Aura II - Adult Game Duo" -

CD 2

Duo Sainkho Namtchylak and Peter Kowald

1. Introduction (2:00)
2. Leaving Home (5:25)
3. Mute (4:01)
4. Spring Touch (3:58)
5. Making the Idol (4:12)
6. Fruehlingsrolle Mit Filz (2:40)
7. Correct Conversation (7:16)
8. Moscow Bar (4:17)
9. Natural and Virtual (5:37)
10. Burn the Idol (7:40)
11. Tibet (3:57)
12. King of Thoughts (4:07)
13. Coming Home II (5:20)
14. Epilogue (8:17)

@ suivre...

956 - Peter Kowald / Tatsuya Nakatani "13 definitions of Truth"

955 - Carlos Bechegas et Peter Kowald "Open Secrets, a suite in 13 parts"

On his 1998 solo CD Flute Landscapes, Carlos Bechegas was applying extended techniques developed by free improvisers like Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, and bassist Peter Kowald. In the case of the last artist, it led to a fruitful relationship, as Open Secrets testifies. Recorded in a Portuguese studio in October 1999, this CD demonstrates how like minded the two musicians are. Their level of communication is exemplary. Bechegas integrates his voice in his flute playing, something that has become a trademark for Kowald, especially when using the bow. Therefore some of these duets sound like quartets; "Part 10," featuring the bassist's scary basso profondo, is simply stunning. At the beginning of "Part 7," it is the bassist who mimics the flutist, playing the high register. The 13 free improvisations are kept short (nothing over eight minutes), dense, and electrified. In "Part 3," Bechegas' flute jumps all around, unstoppable, while Kowald tries to keep up, obviously amused. The flute's flutter-like exuberance completes the bassist's more introverted playing to a surprising extent — they were born to play together. Some free improv records are inhabited by a magical atmosphere. Open Secrets is one of them. All the promises found in Flute Landscapes have been kept. This is the first release on Bechegas' imprint Forward, and his first recording with a renowned improvisor. Strongly recommended. — by François Couture

542 - Peter Kowald & Jeanne Lee

Jeanne Lee, vocal
Klaus Hovman b
Peter Kowald b
Marilyn Mazur dr

1) The Star
2) Piece Chora
3) Gate, Gate Paragate
4) Subway Couple
5) Stupid fresh
6) Fire Music

C'était le 21 mai 1990, dans un autre siècle, un autre millénaire...
Ecouter Jeanne chanter.
Entendre Peter jouer.
Atteindre.

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206 - Open VIEW (hello Peter)

While the back cover of Open View says “Live at the CCB (Centro Cultural de Belem), Lisbon” and the liner has a picture of Carlos Bechegas and Peter Kowald on a stage, I heard no audience noise or applause on this recording.
Perhaps they meant recorded live with no studio post-processing. In any case, the sheer range of sounds, with and without complementing electronics, is simply amazing.

Yes, Kowald is playing a string instrument, but he makes it growl, moan, screech, dance, slide and slap, all sometimes at breakneck speeds and with total control. The record's first four tracks consist of two solos by Kowald and then two by Bechegas.

Kowald's bowing sound is extremely strong—he presses very hard—and he starts off with a low bowed note mixed with vocalism mixed in. He then is off with a stupendous display of bowing and fingering, drawing air raid sounds and what sounds like cow mooing, only to switch to slapped harmonics, changing to bowed harmonics that sound like a flute. There is much more in the rest of the first solo and the second. He is simply amazing, especially since it sounds as if there are no electronics to add to his blizzards of notes and effects.

Bechegas relies much more on the mix of flutes and electronics, and also with his voice mixing with his playing. How he is set up electronically and how he controls what happens, I have no idea. What is attractive is that, unlike Kowald, Bechegas is limited by his breath, and he manages to press so much into each phrase, sometimes totally distorting his flute, other times playing straight, while occasionally adding a second instrument by the electronics. The effect is fascinating, surprising, and intriguing.

The last three tracks have these two marvels playing together and, after exposure to the solos, the way they work together makes a lot of sense. I again cannot say anything about the notation (if any), the preparation (if any), or the cueing for changes in texture or styles. The music is extremely energetic, and, while the men are partners, I was continually drawn to the things that Kowald was doing, perhaps because I am more familiar with string instruments.
If this really was a live concert and the audience was cut out of the recording, they must have been blown away after the fifty minutes had passed—if they knew what they were getting into—or maybe even if they had no idea what hit them.

Track listing:

solo 1 (6:00), solo 2 (9:52), solo 3 (7:05), solo 6 (5:47), Open View 1 (9:48), Open View 2 (8:20), Open View 3 (3:12)


Personnel:

Carlos Bechegas - flutes, electronics and voice
Peter Kowald - contrabass and voice

Budd Kopman
All About Jazz

Peter KOWALD

Achetez / buy Open VIEW

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