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.


  Udo Schindler / Paul Rogers 
  Ephemeral Locations
  (Confront) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2025-05-05
Udo Schindler / Paul Rogers: Ephemeral Locations (Confront)

Currently in a prolific phase of record releases, versatile reedist Udo Schindler keeps his followers informed via a sequence of high-principled collaborations with artists equally attentive to the technical and animistic development of their instrument. In this respect bassist Paul Rogers, whose CV speaks for itself, has famously concentrated his acoustic research on a specifically designed 7-string model. Such vibrational abundance results in greater sonic intensity as well as deeper harmonic relevance. The juxtaposition of characteristics yields purposeful improvisational endeavours, of which Ephemeral Locations � recorded in Munich in 2023 � is an interesting compendium. There is another identically titled outing by the duo, released by Fundacja Słuchaj. However, it is a double CD and contains different material from this one.

Schindler employs diverse tools for the same quest, constructing a logical praxis inside the mix of perspicacity and fleeting impressions that defines the mind of a constraint-free musician. Whether through clarinets, saxophones or cornet, his sound remains unambiguous even in the most transcendental labyrinths, and intimately lyrical when the airspace permits. Rogers, who obviously operates in lower registers, is an authority on the resonant capacity of his bass, from which he draws � by bowing or plucking � unreal imagery, more organized stabilities and herds of overtones whose brightness varies according to the force of his touch. Moving across perturbed serenity and moderate agitation, Rogers provides the listeners with an expanded assortment of idiosyncrasies to ponder, and perhaps respond to (not to mention the commendable reciprocity with his partner).

It would be silly to state that everything in this set flows as one. Indeed, sections exist where there's more of a parallelism of soliloquies than a true spiritual symmetry; in these circumstances, concentration must be pushed to the utmost in order to apply "evolved stereophony" to our perceptual systems, scrupulously considering what each of the two instrumentalists needs to express in a given circumstance. And yet the bulk of the dialogue is intense, still accurate in instances of vehement bursts, and thus rewarding both externally and subliminally. Schindler and Rogers' professionalism and executive acuity reflect decades of instrumental cognizance, and a lifetime of emancipation from the formalisms of habit-based sterile music.







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:


Doyeon Kim (
w/
Sorey/
Maneri/
Fraser):
Wellspring
(Tao Forms)



Doyeon Kim (
w/ Sorey/
Maneri/
Fraser):
Wellspring
[VINYL]
(Tao Forms)



Keiji Haino/
Steve Noble:
Cafe OTO
(Cold Spring Records)



Alexander Schlippenbach Von:
Main Lines/1967
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Eliane Radigue:
Triptych
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Important)



Sonny Rollins:
The Early Years
[4 CDs]
(Enlightenment)



Orchestre National
De Jazz:
With Carla
[2 CDs]
(ONJ Records)



Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet:
Sure Grand Out
(RogueArt)



Threadgill Zooid, Henry:
Cut You Where You Was
(Pi Recordings)



Christian Wolfarth:
39/
Part VII - IX
(Hiddenbell Records)



Marty Ehrlich:
OPEN AIR:
The Complete
Saxophone Quartet Compositions
of Julius Hemphill
[2 CDs]
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Fred Frith/
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch/
Johannes Tonio Kreusch:
Pink/
Neon
[2 CDs]
(Galileo Music Communication )



Fred Frith/
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch/
Johannes Tonio Kreusch:
Pink/
Neon
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Galileo Music Communication )



Tyshawn Sorey/
Pat Thomas:
Red Sulphur
(Otoroku)



Frank Trompeter/
Richard Gilman-Opalsky:
Antifascist Freedom Music
(Mahakala Music)



Mikolaj Trzaska/
John Edwards/
Mark Sanders:
Because It Happens
[VINYL]
(gusstaff records)



Enso (
Benjamin Dwyer/
Rafal Mazur/
Ramon Lopez):
Rhizoming
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Joe Morris/
Rob Brown/
Anna Webber/
Matthew Rousseaux:
Counter Spectacle
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



B:A:N:S BAND (
Sophie Agnel/
John Butcher/
Pascal Niggenkemper/
Stale Liavik Solberg):
Foam & Mesh
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Golding/
Brice/
Prevost:
High Laver Levitations
Vol 4:
Sound-Out -
jazz is dead,
long live jazz
(Matchless)







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. (41997)