The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Fred Frith 
  Impur II
  (Recommended Records) 


  
   review by Jeph Jerman
  2010-06-02
Fred Frith: Impur II (Recommended Records)

The second half of a composition commissioned by l'Ecole Nationale Musique de Villeurbanne for the final concert of a two-year residency from 1994-1996. The first part of the performance consisted of the occupation of every room of the music building by different ensembles all playing at the same time. This disc documents the second part of that performance, given in the concert hall without informing anyone. The audience simply wandered in during the course of exploring the other rooms full of music, (though the recording here is a recreation of said event).

The piece is a large slice of everything Frithian played by a 19-member orchestra conducted by Frith. We get all that's expected — explosions of free dissonance, oddly insistent rhythms, folk-like melodies and lots of humor. Some passages fly by in an instant while others linger and build through written melodies or well-played solos. Rhythms give way to atmospherics, which give way to chaos out of which arise new themes or ideas, and even though a lot of it seems familiar, the voicings and individual personalities of the various players serve to make it all new. I would single out the drummer Denis Mariotte and the guitar soloist, Fred Smith as being especially impressive, though all the players are obviously top-notch, or at least somewhere near there.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco


Morton Feldman/
GBSR Duo w/ Taylor MacLennan:
Trios
[6 CD BOX SET]
(Another Timbre)



Angharad Davies/
Burkhard Beins:
Meshes Of The Evening
[VINYL]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Jessica Williams:
Blue Abstraction:
Prepared Piano Project
1985-1987
[VINYL]
(Pre-Echo Press)



Daniel Levin/
Laurent Estoppey:
Freedom From
The Known
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Kai Fagaschinski:
Aerodynamics
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Liz Allbee:
Breath Vessels
[VINYL]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Kris Davis and
the Lutoslawski Quartet:
Solastalgia Suite
(Pyroclastic Records)



Ernesto Rodrigues/
Guilherme Rodrigues:
Pico
(Creative Sources)



Ernesto Rodrigues/
Ines Ferreira/
Carlos Santos/
Monsieur Trinite:
Cimetiere des Bateaux
(Creative Sources)


Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Steve Lehman Trio +
Mark Turner:
The Music of
Anthony Braxton
(Pi Recordings)



John Cage:
Chamber Works
1943-1951
(Another Timbre)



Fieldwork (
Iyer/
Lehman/
Sorey):
Thereupon
(Pi Recordings)



Evan Parker/
Andrea Centazzo:
Bullfighting On Ice!
Live In Padova 1977
[VINYL]
(Ictus Remastered Collection)



Alvin Curran/
Andrea Centazzo/
Evan Parker:
Real Time
[VINYL]
(Ictus Remastered Collection)



Alvin Curran/
Andrea Centazzo/
Evan Parker:
Real Time Two
[VINYL]
(Ictus Remastered Collection)



Studer/
Strinning/
Weber:
Cut
(Creative Sources)



Reeder/
Seward/
Weathers:
Two Meditations From The Underground
(Editions Glomar)



Rotor (
Rodrigues/
Torres/
Santos):
Pulses and Paradox
(Creative Sources)



Udo Schindler/
Paul Rogers/
Ardhi Engl:
Ephemeral Essences
Of LowTone Studies (
For Trio)
(Creative Sources)



Eventless Plot:
Unlearning Noise
(Discreet Archive)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (14304)