The Squid's Ear Magazine

Boneshaker

Thinking Out Loud [VINYL-DAMAGED]

Boneshaker: Thinking Out Loud [VINYL-DAMAGED] (Trost Records)

The third album from this international trio of powerful improvisers--Norwegian drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, Chicago bassist Kent Kessler, and Chicago/NY saxophonist Mars William-- in four odysseys that take the listener from introspective playing to out and out blowing, using technique to serve their incredible dialog.
 

Price: $19.00



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 24.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Mars Williams-reeds, toy instruments

Paal Nilssen-Love-drums, percussion

Kent Kessler-bass


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 9120036682436

Label: Trost Records
Catalog ID: TROST 158LP
Squidco Product Code: 26466

Format: LP
Condition: G
Released: 2017
Country: Austria
Packaging: LP
No recording data listed.

This is a USED (previously owned) item

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

The following album was damaged in transport and we're selling it at cost. All of the vinyl is in new (mint) condition, but the outer jacket has had some damage in the post. You can see the damage at the link below, just look for the album you're interested in from the pictures shown. The jackets are not severely damaged, but we can't in good faith sell them as new. If you don't mind a wrinkle, bend or cut and want this album at a great price, we're happy to sell it to you: it wasn't pressed to sit in a box at Squidco, it should be spinning on your turntable for you to enjoy!

See Album Damage

"Boneshaker are Mars Williams (reeds, toy instruments), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums, percussion) and Kent Kessler (bass), three prolific powerhouse musicians, carrying among them a Grammy nomination and decades of experience with the top ensembles in the world. Thinking Out Loud is their third album."-Trost

Also available on CD.

"Boneshaker is a small yet very powerful group in which drummer and percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love is involved. Nilssen-Love who's playing with 'everyone' on the free jazz scene (The Thing, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Large Unit, Pan-Scan Ensemble) seem to have a bit more hours in a day than the rest of us. In addition to being part of an impressive number of small and big groups, he's also running his own record label; PNL Records and is a co-organizer of the annual All Ears festival in Oslo, Norway.

In Boneshaker PNL is joined by Mars Williams on reeds and toy instruments and Kent Kessler on bass. Mars who's impressive CV reveals a grammy nominated musician with collaborations spanning across a broad range of genres and artists. On the free jazz scene he has played with Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Joe McPhee and Ken Vandermark just to mention a selected few. He can be heard with the Vandermark 5, Chicago Reed Quartet but also with the grammy nominated group 'Liquid Soul' who's 20+ years history is well worth considering.

Last but definitely not least bass player Kent Kessler who can be heard on many highly regarded albums reviewed here on FJB (DEK Trio, Rodrigo Amado, and Peter Brötzmann's Tentet) and who I must admit I haven't paid enough attention to.

The album kicks starts with PNL leading the way on the 14 minute song 'Brain Freeze' and then it just takes off. Boneshaker truly makes the bones shake. This is full throttle free jazz right from the start. Variations in tempo, short improvised melody lines with the trio traveling together with sudden bursts of energy, all comes together in an intense mix. But suddenly they seem to run out of notes and Kessler is left alone. Slowly but surely he's painting a relaxed picture of sounds up and down the scale. Then Nilssen-Love and Williams joins in. They're tip-toeing carefully through the soundstage as to not awaken the beast. I'm like a cat on hot bricks waiting for things to explode. I've heard these musicians before. They're not afraid of waiting for just the right moment for the hammer to fall. But I'm left wondering if this was their intention. The song stops. Baffling!

The second song, 'Puffy Fluffy' brings me back to reality immediately. Kessler, Williams and Nilssen-Love gives me an exhausting 6 minute show-down. It's like three trains going full speed ahead as a unified whole, yet each on its own track. During the last minute they ascend to the surface and slowly come to a halt.

The third track; 'Salty Fruity' is a different creature entirely. It starts off dark, with bells, cracks and chirps. Kesslers bow provides a dark foundation beneath it all. Then there's suddenly what sounds like a dentist drill (scary!) and more trills, cheeps and warbling. We're taken to a very dark place and I'm left alone waiting for what will come next. A sad melody line from Williams travels through thin air but only briefly. Nilssen-Love takes the song into a different direction. Williams joins back to the changed scenery. And then the trio are all dancing together. I'd say this is free and improvised music when it is at its very best. Unexpected turns, changes in tempo, intensity and in character.

The fourth and final song on this album is the 5 minute 'Wabi-Sabi'. This has Williams presenting questions or perhaps statements over the first minute. PNL provides both structure but also dissonance yet without disturbing Williams who comes into full bloom half-way through the performance. Boneshaker ends this great album vibrating and shivering at a calmer pace. Highly recommended."-Gustav Lindqvist, The Free Jazz Collective


Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective

Artist Biographies

"Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, Billy Squier, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scoffield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago's and New York City's "downtown" scene.

John Zorn credits Mars as "one of the true saxophone players--someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player."

In 2001 Mars received a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Record with his group Liquid Soul.

Despite his busy touring schedule with Liquid Soul and The Psychedelic Furs, Mars manages to stay active on the Chicago underground improvising scene. In recent years he has toured and recorded with the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, Switchback, Full Blast, Scorch Trio, the Vandermark 5, Boneshaker, Chicago Reed Quartet and Cinghiale, teaming him with such musicians as Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, William Parker, Ikue Mori, Kent Kessler, Fredric Lonberg Holm, Peter Brotzmann, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ab Baars, Mike Reed, Jeb Bishop, Harrison Bankhead, Dave Rempis, Kidd Jordan and Matts Gustafson.

He performs weekly in Chicago along with Jim Baker, Steve Hunt, and Brian Sandstrom in the improvising quartet "Extraordinary Popular Delusions". As a bandleader, he continues to perform and record CDs with his own free-jazz groups, the NRG Ensemble, Witches & Devils, Slam, XmarsX, Mars Trio, Boneshaker and The Soul Sonic Sirkus which features improvising musicians and aerial circus performers. Along with Die Warsau's Van Christie, Mars has started Ratking Music, a production company focusing on music for film and television.

In addition to performing and creating music, Mars has been an educator in the field of woodwinds and jazz improvisation for over thirty years. Mars held the position of Woodwind Instructor at Bard College for two years. In the last few years Mars has presented Master classes and clinics to a number of private and public institutions including, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the University of Chicago, Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL), and June Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art (Auburn, AL)."

-Mars Williams Website (http://www.marswilliams.com/about/)
3/13/2024

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

"Paal Nilssen-Love was born in Molde, Norway, Dec 24. 1974, and raised at a jazz club in Stavanger, run by his parents. It was natural to choose his fathers drums as his instrument and jazz as his work. From 1990 on he took actively part in the jazz milieu in Stavanger and joined bands with established musicians such as trumpeter Didrik Ingvaldsen and saxophonist Frode Gjerstad. In many ways, these collaborations were essential as they pointed out the directions for Paal's later musical development and career. During his studies at the Jazz dept at the University in Trondheim, where the first self initiated bands were established, things developed really fast - and Paal was nationally acknowledged at the age of 20.

The forming of the quartet Element in 1993 in many ways represented the start of a new phase in Paal's musical life. Element musically became a platform for several other groups with bassist Flaten and pianist Wiik, and lead to collaborations with Iain Ballamy and Chris Potter, amongst others. Paal moved to Oslo in 1996, where he joined and/or took part in the forming of bands like Vindaloo, SAN, Håkon Kornstad Tio, The Quintet and Frode Gjerstad Trio. He later on got more into self initiated projects and collaborations with Swedish musicians, such as pianist Sten Sandell and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson.

Paal played his first solo concert in 1999, and since then the solo concept has been an important part of his work: "Everyone should try doing some solo work, just to feel who you really are and what gets you going". His solo album "Sticks and stones" was put out in 2001 on SOFA Rec.

Being active in several bands at the same time has always been Paal's deliberate working method. He is constantly conscious about the projects he is in, as his participation in each and one of them is fully dedicated. Playing is not about getting from start to goal, but rather being in an everlasting process, a continuous movement where each new piece of music performed is a prolongation of the latest. Hence, keeping focused and concentrating all energy around what's happening there and then is of greatest importance - as is the freedom in the music, the ability of being free within the expression.

All bands, although various styles and musical versatility in general, represent important pieces that make up a total, and all bands are formed or joined with a clear vision. Today Paal's portfolio includes Atomic, School Days, The Thing, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Sten Sandell Trio, Scorch Trio, Territory Band, FME, and various duo projects such as with reedmen Ken Vandermark, John Butcher, Mats Gustafsson, organist Nils Henrik Asheim and noise wizard Lasse Marhaug. And not to forget the recently joined Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet."

-Paal Nilssen-Love Website (http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/biography.php)
3/13/2024

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

"Kent Kessler (born January 28, 1957 in Crawfordsville, Indiana) is an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work in the Chicago avant-garde jazz scene.

Kessler, born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, grew up on Cape Cod and began playing trombone at age ten. He and his family moved to Chicago when he was 13, and a few years later Kessler became intensely interested in jazz. While attending St. Mary Center for Learning High School, he began taking lessons from Kestutis Stanciauskas (Streetdancer) in electric bass and jazz theory in the middle of the 1970s. In 1977 he formed the ensemble Neutrino Orchestra with percussionist Michael Zerang and guitarists Dan Scanlan and Norbert Funk. He spent three months in Brazil during 1980-81 and spent time studying intermittently at Roosevelt University in Chicago; he and Zerang also formed a group called Musica Menta, which played regularly at Link's Hall.

Kessler began playing double bass in the 1980s and it became his primary instrument when he was asked in 1985 to join the NRG Ensemble, who toured Europe and recorded for ECM Records under the leadership of Hal Russell until his death in 1992. In 1991, he gigged with Zerang and guitarist Chris DeChiara; in need of a hornist, they called Ken Vandermark, who had been considering leaving the Chicago scene. Kessler and Vandermark would go on to collaborate extensively on free jazz and improvisational projects such as the Vandermark 5, the DKV Trio and the Steelwool Trio. In the 1990s and afterwards he worked with Chicago musicians such as Hamid Drake, Fred Anderson, and Joe McPhee, and also with European musicians such as Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Misha Mengelberg, and Luc Houtkamp.

In 2003, Kessler released a solo album, Bull Fiddle, on Okka Disk. Kessler performs alone on nine of the twelve tracks, and with Michael Zerang on three."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Kessler)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Brain Freeze 14:12

2. Puffy Fluffy 06:01

SIDE B



1. Salty Fruity 16:11

2. Wabi Sabi 05:19

Related Categories of Interest:

New Vinyl Albums with Damaged Jackets

Search for other titles on the label:
Trost Records.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Williams, Mars / Hamid Drake
I Know You Are But What Am I?
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
The second of three archival albums from late saxophonist Mars Williams' vaults, this 1996 recording is a rare duet with Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, and is also one of the first concerts of the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music series, a diverse set of four improvisations marked by energetic enthusiasm, doubling of reeds, and wild playing from both.
Brotzmann, Peter / Paal Nilssen-Love
Chicken Shit Bingo [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings with Brötzmann particularly on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.
Brotzmann, Peter / Paal Nilssen-Love
Chicken Shit Bingo
(Trost Records)
Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings with Brötzmann particularly on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.
Ballister (Rempis / Lonberg-Holm / Nilssen-Love)
Smash And Grab [VINYL]
(Aerophonic)
"Smash", "Even More Smashing" and "Grab" sums up the intense energy that the Ballister trio brought to their 2022 performance at Elastic Arts in Chicago as part of the Catalytic Sound Festival, impelled by Paul Nilssen-Love's powerful drumming and Fred Lonberg-Holm's demanding cello work, with Dave Rempis roaring on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; wow!
Swell, Steve
Dances with Questions [3-CD SET]
(Not Two)
Recorded during the 2019 Kraków Jazz Autumn Festival, NY trombonist Steve Swell leads a series of small groups and a large ensemble, recording at Radio Kraków and at Alchemia with some of Europe's most active improvisers: Gebhard Ullmannm, Elisabeth Harnik, Niklas Barno, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jon Rune Strom, Carlos Zingaro, Mikolaj Trzaska, Signe Emmeluth, Hanne de Backer, Elisabeth Coudoux, & Per Ake Holmlander.
Williams, Mars / Vasco Trilla
Critical Mass
(Not Two)
The second release from the duo of Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla and Chicago reedist Mars Williams, the latter performing both on reeds and on toy instruments, each using extraordinary and extended technique to create exotically energetic conversations and beautifully meditative environments, in five creative, playful and impressively informed dialogs.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
Clusterfuck
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here improvising over a work of graphic notation where the composed structures are balanced with blocks of improvisation, allowing for quick dynamic shifts in direction.
Large Unit (Paal Nilssen-Love)
New Map
(PNL)
One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here performing a work where the improvisers are provided with a series of open-form "cells"--concrete ideas, notes and directions--to which they must respond.
Ballister (Dave Rempis / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Paal Nilssen-Love)
Chrysopoeia
(Not Two)
Two burning improvisations from the Chicago / Norwegian trio Ballister of Dave Rempis on alto & tenor saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello & electronics and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion, performing live at Alchemia in Krakow, Poland in 2019 in an exuberantly assertive concert from three incredibly active artists in the trans-Atlantic community of improvising musicians.
Williams, Mars Presents
An Ayler Xmas Vol.5
(Astral Spirits / Soul What Records)
This year's An Ayler Xmas is the 5th in the series from saxophonist Mars Williams, mashing holiday classics with works by saxophonist Albert Ayler, with the amazing sextet of Josh Berman on cornet, Jim Baker on piano, viola & Arp Synth, Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar & trumpet, Steve Hunt on drums, Peter Maunu on violin and Kent Kessler or Krzysztof Pabian on bass.
Brotzmann, Peter Chicago Tentet
Ultraman vs. Alien Metron [SINGLE SIDED VINYL]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded during the 2002 studio sessions that yielded the albums A Short Visit to Nowhere and Broken English, this unreleased recording of a Mars Williams composition is issued as a 1-sided LP with the stellar lineup of Brötzmann with Williams, Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Kent Kessler, Michael Zerang, Hamid Drake, Mats Gustafsson and Joe McPhee.
Neumann, Calle / Ketil Gutvik / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love
New Dance
(PNL)
After the 2019 retrospective box-set of the late 90s, legendary band The Quintet, and after the sad passing of bassist Bjornar Andresen, saxophonist Carl Magnus Neumann, guitarist Ketil Gutvik and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love decided to form a new quartet, adding bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, commencing their organization with this outstanding 2020 live concert in Oslo.
Thing, The (Gustafsson / McPhee / Haker Flaten / Nilssen-Love)
She Knows...
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Named for a Don Cherry composition included on this album, the core trio of The Thing--Mats Gustafsson on reeds, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums--is joined by saxophonist and pocket trumpter Joe McPhee, recording classic free jazz and harmolodic pieces by Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, & Joe McPhee.
Ballister
Znachki Stilyag
(Aerophonic)
The tenth year of the working and touring international Ballister trio of Dave Rempis on alto & tenor saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello & electronics, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion, here in an outrageously powerful yet explorative concert at Dom Cultural Center, in Moscow, Russia in 2019, a fierce example of what this band is capable of.
Stirrup + 6 (Lonberg-Holdm / Macri / Rumback)
The Avondale Addition
(Cuneiform)
The Stirrup trio of cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, Nick Macri (bass), and Charles Rumback (drums) is merged with improvisers from Lonberg-Holm's Lightbox Orchestra project--Keefe Jackson & Mars Williams on reeds, guitarist Peter Maunu, violist Jen Clare Paulson, trumpeter Russ Johnson & Zoots Houston on electronics -for this compelling structured performance at Elastic Arts.
D'Agaro, Daniele
Chicago Overtones
(Hatology)
Arashi (Akira Sakata / Johan Berthling / Paal Nilseen-Love)
Jikan
(PNL)
The third album from the Arashi trio of Akira Sakata on alto saxophone, Bb clarinet & vocals, Johan Berthling on double bass, and Paal Nilssen on Love on drums & percussion, formed in 2013 at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway and touring steadily since, here captured live at Pit Inn, in Tokyo for four intense free improvisations of inspired power.
Gjerstad, Frode Trio + Steve Swell
Bop Stop
(Clean Feed)
The indefatigable Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad invites trombonist Steve Swell, with whom he collaborated in 2011 on the live album "At Constellation", to join his trio with Jon Rune Strom on double bass and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, at Cleveland's Bop stop during their 2017 tour, recording this impressive concert of exemplary collective free jazz.
Boneshaker (Mars Williams / Paal Nilssen-Love / Kent Kessler)
Unusual Words
(Soul What Records)
A CD intended to sell at concerts from Mars Williams' own Soul What Records label, a studio recording in 2012 from the powerhouse trio of Chicago multi-reedist Mars Williams, in-demand Norwegian drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, and Chicago bassist Kent Kessler, running the gamut from furious blowing to introspective interaction.
Williams, Mars presents (w/ Berman / Lonberg-Holm / Baker / Kessler / Sandstrom / Hunt)
An Ayler Xmas: The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas
(Soul What Records)
Chicago saxophonist Mars Williams directs his Albert Ayler tribute band, Witches and Devils, to merge Ayler-esque compositions with Christmas songs, performed by Josh Berman (cornet) Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Jim Baker (keys, viola), Kent Kessler (bass), Brian Sandstrom (bass, guitar, trumpet); an unexpected and welcome present for your free jazz festivities!
Large Unit
Fluku
(PNL)
The 3rd album from Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love's big band Large Unit, here in a 12-member configuration, adding saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts (Starlite Motel, Cortex) to the band, in an album centered on Nillsen-Love's penned title track "Fluku", and the equally impressive "Playgo", large complex works that showcase the group's collective and individual voices.
Chicago Reed Quartet (Mazzarella / Rempis / Williams / Vandermark)
Western Automatic
(Aerophonic)
Four generations of Chicago saxophonists--Dave Rempis, Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams, and Nick Mazzarella--come together in an interactive saxophone quartet with each player providing 2 compositions of well-developed, powerful, engaging free and lyrical jazz.
Kowald, Peter / Kent Kessler / Fred Lonberg-Holm
Flats Fixed
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Three bassists converged on WNUR Studios, in Evanston, Illinois in 1998 to record these tracks, finally released after 16 years: 5 freely improvised trio sessions, 6 miniatures suggested by Kowald and performed by the trio, and 6 duos between Kowald and Lonberg-Holm.
Lacerda / Manso / Nilssen-Love / Zenicola
Bota Fogo
(Bocian Records 2014/QTV/PNL)
A live recording of two extended improvisations at Audio Rebel's Quintavant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the quartet of Arthur Lacerda on guitar and electronics, electric bassist Felipe Zenicola, guitarist Eduardo Manso, and drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love.
Lean Left
Live At Area Sismica
(Unsounds)
The amazing combination of Ex guitarists Terrie Ex and Andy Moor with drummer Paal Nilssen-love and Chicago saxophonist Ken Vandermark in their 5th release, a live album from Italy showing the aggressive and exuberantly determined band in excellent form.
Vandermark / Gregorio / Bishop / Morris / &c
Pipeline
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
In 2000, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and curator John Corbett organized a 16-piece free music big-band featuring key members of the Chicago and Swedish scenes, recording these two impressive, ecstatic, and explosive works.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC