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Yandsen, Yong / Christian Meaas Svendsen / Paal Nilssen-Love: Hungry Ghosts (Nakama Records)

Chinese Buddhism defines "Hungry Ghosts" as beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way, an apt description of this trio's dynamic and often bristling collective free jazz, with Malaysian saxophonist Yong Yandsen and Norwegians, Christian Meaas Svendsen on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, performing live in Kuala Lumpur, 2018.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Yong Yandsen-saxophone

Christian Meaas Svendsen-bass

Paal Nilssen-Love-drums


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Label: Nakama Records
Catalog ID: NKM019CD
Squidco Product Code: 28715

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Norway
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Livefact, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October, 2018.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Hungry Ghosts are beings who are driven by intense emotional needs, periodically roaming the earth's surface in search for anything that can satisfy their cravings. Now they've materialized as three leading improvisers on the improv scene: The omnipotent living legend Paal-Nilssen Love clashes head to head with bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen, playing with 2-3 bows, cheek, voice, hands and feet. In the midst of the battle we find Yong Yandsen, a high-octane Malaysian sax virtuoso who virtually explodes on stage combining the best of Japanese noise and European free-jazz-or-whatever-you- wanna-call-it together with the aforementioned gentlemen. Are they the Hungry Ghosts, or are they here to exorcise them out of you?"-Nakama



"Favored by multiple innovators including Ornette Coleman and Evan Parker, the simple reed, string and percussion trio continues to be popular for its compact form. Yet this bare-bones configuration is consistently open to emotional and technical resonance as these sessions attest.

Bridging the east-west divide is the debut disc of the Hungry Ghosts trio. A slab of nearly 40 minutes of free-form improvisation it features two Norwegians - percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, one of the music's most-recorded players and bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen, also part of Nilssen-Love's Large Unit - plus Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, whose uncompromising virtuosity is rooted in energetic Aylerain sound augmentations. A continent removed from that Kula Lumpur session is Studio Sessions Vol. 2, another chapter in tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci's efforts to chronicle Brooklyn local free music scene. Another energetic player, who has recorded with Cooper-Moore and Sandy Ewen among others, Gauci's joined for five mid-range improvisations on this disc by drummer Kevin Shea and bassist Adam Lane, who have worked with a multitude of other saxophonists including Vinny Golia and Jon Irabagon.

The Hungry Ghosts satisfying their craving for unique nourishment from the get-go, with the saxophonist's nephritic screams echoing alongside fierce strums from the bassist and hard-hitting smacks from the drummer. As the piece evolves Yandsen tries out all manner of extended reed techniques encompassing split tones, altissimo stutters, triple tonguing and renal basso swoops. As the narrative judders among stair-step pitch variations, cranks and smack spur the interface from the drummer's chair, while Svendsen, who sometimes reorients the time using two bows simultaneously, keeps the a throbbing, chromatic pulse intact. A primary interlude of barely-there double bass strokes, one-third of way through soon gives way to a wide-tone display of metallic and spittle encrusted vibrations from the saxophonist, whose rowdy output replicates a Malaysian traffic jam all by himself. Whinnying shakes from Yandsen, coupled with pointed drum rim shots and double-stopping octave spanning power from the bassist drives the exposition still further until a final sequence where cymbal clip-clops and reed glossolalia drive the trio-pushed narrative to a multiphonic crescendo. Nilssen-Love's stentorian gong reverberations signal a musical downshift. Dog-whistle-like reed split tones, swelling sul tasto sweeps from Svendsen and gyrating maraca and ratchet percussion embellishments characterize the final motif which squirms into silence.

If the Hungry Ghosts galvanize with unstoppable energy, then the Brooklynites do the same, but pace themselves by segmenting their improvisation among five tracks. Putting politeness aside, the three are more likely to operate with kicking drum smacks, irregularly vibrated altissimo reed screams and up and down string pumping than more moderated interface. Conclusive climax is reached on the fifth and final track as Gauci's knife-sharp theme elaboration gives way to a story telling interregnum that finds him testing and weighing each note and tone as he plays it and pulling out all the stops to emphasize a texture-shattering conclusion. Following closely behind are Lane's pulling and popping string pulsations and Shea's clatters and clunks.

Earlier on, most notable on the second track, the three have expressed extended techniques at greater length. During that sequence sawing double bass strokes are pulsed and sliced into unique patterns; Shea outputs unexpected duple thumps and place-setting rolls; and Gauci propelling his split tones to elevated sopranissimo and emotional release. Then just when it appears as the textural zenith has been reached a sly near-mainstream counter theme is advanced by the three.

Sessions like these make it clear why this time-tested aggregation is favored by some many exploratory players."-Ken Waxman, JazzWord


Get additional information at Jazzword

Artist Biographies

Yong Yandsen is a Malaysian free improvising saxophonist, known primarily in Southeast Asia and increasingly in Europe. Yandsen runs the Lao Ban record label and also the concert series SPIL. He has a distinctive and expressive voice on the tenor saxophone that is influenced by players like Kaoru Abe, Albert Alyer and John Butcher.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

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

"Svendsen started his jazz career within Kongsberg Big Band, was a year at Toneheim folkehøgskole and later studied Performing jazz music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. In 2007 he was awarded Kongsberg Jazzfestival's talent scholarship. During the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2010, Svendsen referred to as The festival's busiest musician by Laagendalsposten[1] when he performed seven gigs in different constellations during the festival. In 2011 he received Kongsberg Municipality's Cultural Grant.[2] for sitt arbeid med byens tradisjonelle julejam.

Together with his own quintet Mopti he won the 2012 JazzIntro award.[3][4] After this he has performed among others with the brilliant Japanese pianist and band leader Ayumi Tanaka in the band Nakama with the release Before The Storm (2015) and the exiting Ayumi Tanaka Trio with the release Momento (2016)."-Wikipedia

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Meaas_Svendsen)
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:



1. Hungry Ghosts 39:04

2. Still Hungry 10:33

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Paal Nilssen-Love
Collective Free Improvsation
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