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.


  Junji Hirose / Kazuo Imai / Darren Moore 
  Be Quiet!!!
  (Meenna) 


  
   review by Marc Medwin
  2024-05-08
Junji Hirose / Kazuo Imai / Darren Moore: Be Quiet!!! (Meenna)

There was a time, and it wasn't so long ago, that a trio performance with this instrumentation could never have sounded as good as it does in this 2022 live recording. Engineers are able to capture playing of this nuance and power with extraordinary accuracy, and it shows on one of the most humorously titled albums to cross this writer's desk in some time! Yes, one might very well imagine somebody in the audience requesting something a little closer to silence, exclamation marks included for good measure, but delving below the music's rough and volatile surfaces reveals nuance and diversity a plenty.

This stuff can be abrasive, there's no question about it, and a look at the participants list will say as much. It's the way sounds emerge though, the declamatory ferocity with which they shatter their contexts, like elongated percussive squeak and rasp 15:39 into the first of these two epic improvisations. Yes, those squeaks had imbued the texture with their dark slatey energy for some time before, but the rasp in question is particularly sonorous, ripping the surrounding sounds to shreds before giving way to a metallic thwack of whimsically Gargantuan proportions. Speaking of rapid-fire interruptions, who is bowing 13:14 into the first piece, and what is being bowed? It may be Moore, but I'm not prepared to take that to court! The effect is raw, brutal and loads of fun as Hirose's saxophone and Imai's throaty guitar shriek and warble ascent by turn.

None of this music is for the faint of heart. It bristles with energy far enough from furtive to be disconcerting, but just when eardrums threaten to implode, when the cacophony of it all seems ready to dissolve the speakers, all recedes. The beauty of the quietest moments is beyond description. Listen to Imai's note following note, dyad in communion with dyad, at the first piece's 18:50 mark. Instances like this, where loop upon loop offers up counterpoint of the most exquisite and protean variety, put everything else into a fresh context. Don't allow yourself to become too deeply immersed, as Moore's crescendo, ending at 20:36, accompanied by Imai's increasingly energetic lines, ensures that the respite is only momentary. The best part about these calm interjections is that they defy predictability. They enable a form to be created that's different than the standard "free-jazz" arc far too often a crutch for improvising musicians. The music is better for such islands of calm and their antipodes, all crashing forward in lopsided dialectic to create an album of excitement flecked with danger!







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:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







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. (10744)