The Squid's Ear Magazine


Denzler, Bertrand / Antonin Gerbal: Sbatax (Umlaut Records)

A burning album of free jazz caught live at Au Topsi Pohl, in Berlin, Germany in 2019 between the long-running duo of tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and drummer Antonin Gerbal, best known for their work in Zoor or Denzler-Gerbal-Dorner, here working an "Interstellar Space" area of strength and energy through intense interaction and cathartic playing.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Bertrand Denzler-tenor saxophone

Antonin Gerbal-drums


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UPC: 3341348163116

Label: Umlaut Records
Catalog ID: UMFR-CD33
Squidco Product Code: 30283

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: Sweden / France / Germany
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded live at Au Topsi Pohl, in Berlin, Germany, on October 26th, 2019, by Andrew Levine.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"With six and one-half minutes remaining in this single thirty-eight minute live tenor saxophone/drums recording, an audience member at a club in Berlin begins howling. Listeners to this recording will probably be saying to themselves, "where have you been? I've been shouting encouragement since I pressed play!" It's that kind of record.

The two Parisians, tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and drummer Antonin Gerbal work regularly in Zoor with guitarist Jean-Sébastien Mariage, and as a pair released Le Ring (Confront, 2016) with Axel Dorner. Sbatax finds the duo in sharp contrast with their very quiet, almost minimalist duo session Heretofore (Umlaut Records, 2015).

From the first snare drum strike, they take no prisoners à la John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, and for the entire album they go toe-to-toe as if this were a tag team wrestling match. Gerbal is in constant motion here, more Hamid Drake than Ali, and more Billy Higgins than Sunny Murray. His performance is the accelerant for Denzler's tenor exploits, who drops whole notes then pushes his horn to the brink, working the edges of overblown intensity. It is not until the halfway point that Denzler pauses for the drum solo. Which of course is not a solo at all, but a continuation of Gerbal's attack. As the pair drive on to the conclusion (and the shouting patrons) the musicians, and by now the listeners, must wring the water out of their sweat-soaked garments."-Mark Corroto


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"Bertrand Denzler is a tenor saxophone player. He has played in Europe and Latin America both as a solo act and with musicians such as Xavier Charles, Peter Frils Nielsen, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Barry Guy, Ninh Lê Quan, Urs Leimgruber, Günter Müller, Bob Ostertag, Norbert Pfammatter, Hasse Poulsen, Mark Sanders, Mathieu Werchowski, and Otomo Yoshihide. He is a member of the groups Hubbub, Nanocluster, Laps, Denzler-Mariage, A3/1, and Chamaeleo Vulgaris. He has put out a number of compact discs on various labels."-ActuelleCD.com (http://www.actuellecd.com/en/bio/denzler_be/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Since the release of File under: Bebop - Peeping Tom in 2009, Antonin Gerbal has developed his own approach of the drums - reinterpreting history of jazz drumming through the prism of european musical improvisation. Improviser, composer, teacher and performer, Antonin Gerbal is associated with the vitality of the Parisian music scene, notably through Umlaut Records. He has performed in Europe, U.S., Russia and Japan, with many original projects such as Nakasanye, Zoor, ISM or Peeping Tom. Involved in large ensembles such as ONCEIM (playing pieces Eliane Radigue or Stephen O'Malley) and Umlaut Big Band (swing dancing band), Antonin Gerbal works regularly with English, German, Swiss and Japanese artists. At the begining of 2016, he releases his solo works called Sound of Drums."

-Antonin Gerbal Website (http://antoningerbal.com/about)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Sbatax 38:40

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Duo Recordings
Saxophone & Drummer / Percussionist Duos
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