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.


  Frank Paul Schubert / Matthias Muller 
  Foils
  (FMR) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2012-01-14
Frank Paul Schubert / Matthias Muller: Foils (FMR)

This duo, embodied by relatively young improvisers �Schubert on soprano sax, M�ller on trombone � belongs to a sphere of impromptu performers of unsullied virtuosity, also sensible to the subtle hues that differentiate raucous dilettantism from accomplished researching. Foils � recorded in Berlin, February 2011 � does not offer excessive target for the arrows of unforgiving criticism; all over its nine tracks � even the calmer ones � heartfelt passion fuels the musicians' intention of avoiding the "let's-contemplate-what-we-did" attitude that drags a fair amount of recordings down the waters of tedium.

Each piece might be taken as an example of exuberant technical maturity, some of them outstanding in terms of sharp legerdemain and sheer involvement. "The Epiphany Diagram" sees the couple running fast across articulate counterpoint-cum-screaming outbreaks, still leaving space for the mind to understand the majority of the occurring events. Then we're suddenly pushed into the pop-fizz-and-hiss area, but with musicality and sense of spacing virtually unknown to the novices who pretend to be experts in the disproportionate egalitarianism of today's art.

What's instantly noticeable is the absence of any trace of plagiarism. Every pitch, or mere emission, sounds connected to a primary instinct, halfway through surviving in a dangerous place and the necessity of telling uneasy truths in their entirety before someone comes and shuts the dissenter's mouth. "Written On Rubber" compares two kinds of similar needs, both players apparently driven by the burning desire of arriving � quickly � to a thorough assessment of who they are. To this aim, no password or trick is requested; just the internal combustion that should propel an honest improviser. Believe it or not, the number of those who belong to the category is not that high.







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

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Oliver Lake/
Fred Hopkins/
Phillip Wilson/
Baikida Carroll/
Michael Gregory Jackson:
Rivbea Live! Series,
Volume 4
(NoBusiness)



Ziv Taubenfeld/
Helena Espvall/
Joao Sousa:
You,
Full Of Sources
And Night
(NoBusiness)



John Zorn (
Adams/
Raskin/
Ackley/
Ochs/
Glenn/
Lopez/
Siler/
Winant):
John Zorn's Olympiad
-
VOL. 4
-
Curling
(Tzadik)



Last Dream
Of the Morning (
John Butcher/
John Edwards/
Marc Sanders):
Sharp Illusion
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Agusti Fernandez/
Artur Majewski/
Albert Cirera/
Ramon Prats:
Som-hi!
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Remedy + Aki Takase (
w/ Thomas Heberer/
Joe Fonda/
Joe Hertenstein):
Remedy
+
Aki Takase
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



John Zorn (
Davis/
Halvorson/
Gress/
Wollsen):
The Bagatelles
Vol. 5
-
Kris Davis Quartet
(Tzadik)



Flojter (
Mats Gustafsson/
Delphine Joussein):
Paris Blow
(Utech Records)



Tyshawn Sorey:
Monochromatic Light (
Afterlife)
(DaCamera Editions)



Arkady Gotesman (
w/ Nate Wooley/
Charles Gayle/
Mark Sanders/
Liudas Mockunas/
Martin Kuchen/
Ned Rothenberg):
Music For An Imaginary Ballet
(NoBusiness)



Tomeka Reid Quartet (
w/ Roebke/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara):
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Tomeka Reid Quartet (
w/ Roebke/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara):
Dance! Skip! Hop!
[VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Steve Beresford/
Pierpaolo Martino/
Mark Sanders:
Be S-Mart
(Confront)



Luke Stewart/
Aymeric Avice/
Chad Taylor:
Deep In The Earth(RogueArt)



Jane in Ether (
Klein Mayas/
Voutchkova):
Oneiric
(Confront)



Joe McPhee/
Steve Swell/
Mark Tokar/
Klaus Kuge:
Spontaneous Convergence
(Not Two)



Unsub (
Fetusk/
Davis):
Xodiak
(Love Earth Music)



Remergency (
Hirsh/
Hollenberg/
Sewelson):
Wave Benders
(Squid Note Records)



Marty Ehrlich/
Julius Hemphill:
Circle the Heart
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher:
Away, I Was
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)







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. (15262)