The Squid's Ear Magazine


Thing, The: Garage [VINYL] (The Thing Records)

Heavy free jazz in the 3rd release from the trio of Mats Gustafsson on tenor and baritone sax, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, covering an eclectic set of punk and free jazz titles including covers of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Sonics, White Stripes, Norman Howard and Brotzmann; thick and sick free improvisation.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Mats Gustafsson-tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten-bass

Paal Nilssen-Love-drums


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UPC: 9120036681705

Label: The Thing Records
Catalog ID: TTR 004LP
Squidco Product Code: 19561

Format: LP
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: Norway
Packaging: lpLP
Recorded on January 3rd and 4th, 2004. Mixed on February 21st, 2004 at Atlethic Sound by Kai Andersen.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Garage is the third release by The Thing (a trio named after Don Cherry's seminal piece "The Thing"), following two hard-to-find releases on Swedish reed master Mats Gustafsson's now defunct Crazy Wisdom label ( The Thing , 2000 and with Joe McPhee, She Knows... , 2001). It consists of high-energy, slightly extended covers of left-of-center art/punk songs and free jazz gems. The Thing is Gustafsson, here on baritone and tenor saxophones, with one of the best rhythm sections active today-Norwegians Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, percussion and sampler; and Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on double-bass; the rhythm section of Chicagoan Ken Vandermark's School Days, Finnish/American guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim's Scorch Trio and the Norwegian-Swedish quintet Atomic-adapting the garage rock aesthetic and breathing more life into songs than I thought was possible. You cannot but surrender to The Thing's heated energy.

Nilssen-Love's thunderous drumming is the perfect introduction to the opening cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' contempt-laden "Art Star," while Gustafsson's baritone saxophone fleshes the song's guitar riff with fiery playing. In the same vein, The Thing covers The White Stripes' "Aluminum," and Flaten outlines the simple chords on his buzzing bass, captured beautifully in an analog recording by engineer Kai Andersen. Robert Berry and The Sonics' sixties hit "Have Love Will Travel" is covered in a tongue-in-cheek mode, keeping the original raunchy, rhythmic drive while Gustafsson switches between a soulful tenor delivery of the song's chorus and soloing in the upper registers of the instrument.

The Thing opts to cover some obscure free jazz gems. The Thing selects the mysterious Norman Howard's "Haunted," which it already covered in a much longer version as a one-time incarnation of The Thing with School Days two years ago ( The Music of Norman Howard , Anagram, a limited-edition LP only, 2001). Howard played briefly with Albert Ayler and released only a cassette recording, and "Haunted" is covered in an uplifting Aylerian mode. Peter Brotzmann's "Eine Kleine Marschmusik," from his 1976 FMP album Solo, is covered in forceful, sometimes ironic upbeat mode.

The two originals, composed by all of the members of The Thing, present the trio in two modes: the more focused and tight drone of "Hey Flask," and the almost twelve-minute free improvisation of "Garage," where The Thing summarizes all its influences, from the fiery tradition of Ayler and Brotzmann to the reckless onslaught of punk rockers.

Garage is a clear example of why the term jazz is sometimes too reductive to such a free-minded unit. My only complaint is related the length of Garage -why only 39 minutes of such noisy bliss?"-Eyal Hareuveni, All About Jazz


Artist Biographies

"Born 1964 in Umeå, Northern Sweden.Saxplayer, improviser and composer. Solo artist and international tours and projects with a.o. Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O´Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Yoshimi, Ken Vandermark and in working groups The Thing, FIRE!, Gush, Boots Brown, Swedish Azz and Fake (the facts). Large ensemble work with Barry Guy New Orchestra,FIRE! Orchestra and the NU - ensemble.over 1800 concerts and over 200 record productions in Europe, Australia, Africa, North & South America and Asia.Collaborations with contemporary dance, theater, art, poetry as well as projects with noise, electronica, contemporary rock and free jazz.Discaholic - running the discaholic corner website.Producer of international festivals and concert tours as well as work with own record labels Slottet, OlofBright Editions and Blue Tower Records."-Mats Gustafsson Website (http://matsgus.com/archives/category/bio)
3/13/2024

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

"Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (b. 1971, Oppdal) - studied Jazz at the Music Consevatory in Trondheim, Norway (1992-1995) under the tutelage of bassplayer Odd Magne Gridseth.

When one listens to the great bassists in modern jazz history, a striking thing (though it may not be immediately arrived at) is that greatness is reached through open-mindedness and diversity. William Parker, Malachi Favors Maghostut, Peter Kowald, Wilbur Ware, Bertram Turetsky, Buell Neidlinger - all of these bass players have embraced a lifestyle of playing all sorts of music and the breadth of each musicians' technique is a testament to those experiences. Norwegian bassist and composer Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is also a musician whose experience is both geographical and aesthetic. While the fertile Scandinavian new jazz scene offered a vast amount of opportunities to work in different bands with musicians whose concepts are as individual as the grains in a reed, Flaten has found home and on-the-bandstand education in places as far flung as Chicago and his current residence Austin, Texas.

A muscular player whose tone and attack run the gamut from Paul Chambers to Buschi Niebergall, his sense of both openness and control serves ensembles as diverse as The Thing, Free Fall, Atomic, Scorch Trio and the Kornstad/Håker Flaten Duo. In addition to his own Chicago Sextet and Austin-centric Young Mothers, Flaten has also recorded and performed with Frode Gjerstad, Dave Rempis, Bobby Bradford, the AALY Trio, Ken Vandermark, Stephen Gauci, Tony Malaby, Daniel Levin, Dennis Gonzalez and numerous others. Flaten studied at the Conservatory in Trondheim (1992-1995), turning professional shortly afterward, yet his hunger to play in new situations with new musicians - schooled or amateur, frequently recorded or just starting out - puts him in a rare class, that of a truly broad-minded artist. That mettle has served him well, living and developing the music under his own steam and drawing from influences as diverse as Derek Bailey, George Russell, Chris McGregor, filmmakers Ingmar Bergman, contemporary pop melody and gritty punk music as well as everyday sights and sounds.

There is a calmness and self-assuredness that imbues all great artists, in that the diversity of their work comes with very little ego. Flaten's artistry is often in collective, leaderless ensembles and in fact, following a decade of professional musicianship it wasn't until 2004 that his leader-debut was released - Quintet (Jazzland, followed in 2008 by The Year of the Boar, and a Sextet recording is upcoming). This latter fact is partly due to the necessity of a copacetic situation - in an interview in 2010 with the Austinist he noted that "I use people where I'm located. It's inspiring to have your own band to write for, but you have to make sure that people feel free and not limited by the music; the compositions should lead the way to a player's open mind, and that is a challenge." Certainly not every bandleader/composer thinks this way.

In 2011, he formed another ensemble, The Young Mothers, which includes drummers Stefan Gonzalez (Dallas) and Frank Rosaly (Chicago), trumpeter/poet/rapper Jawaad Taylor (New York), saxophonist Jason Jackson (Houston), and Jonathan Horne (Austin) on guitar. It's a group of varying levels and influences and as it grows organically, will be another excellent lens through which to view Flaten's aesthetic, philosophy, and musicianship. The next few years see him in a position where established ensembles can steep and spread their influence, while experimenting with and nurturing a wide range of new relationships."

-Ingebrigt Haker Flaten Website (http://www.ingebrigtflaten.com/about-me/)
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.


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Art Star 04:29

2. Have Love Will Travel 02:14

3. Eine Kleine Marschmusik 06:11

4. Hey Flask 03:49

SIDE B



1. Aluminium 04:11

2. Garage 11:44

3. Haunted 05:56

Related Categories of Interest:


Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Mats Gustafsson
Paal Nilssen-Love
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Search for other titles on the label:
The Thing Records.


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