The Squid's Ear Magazine

Gustafsson, Mats

Naja (Black Cross Solo Sessions 5)

Gustafsson, Mats: Naja (Black Cross Solo Sessions 5) (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

For three days in his own Discaholic Studios in Nickelsdorf, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson recorded the playing-card pieces of Peter Brötzmann--compositional prompts intended for a large group or for solo playing--performing on a cross-section of the saxophone family from sopranino to bass, and also one piece for saxophone mouthpiece, creating a set of stunning improvisations.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Mats Gustafsson-sopranino, soprano, alto, baritone, and bass saxophones; saxophone mouthpieces


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CvsDCD087
Squidco Product Code: 32705

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: USA
Packaging: Liner notes by Gustafsson, photos of the card boxes and the first photograph of Gustafsson and Brötzmann.

Recorded Dec 14-16, 2020, by Olof Madsen at Discaholic Studios, Nickelsdorf. Mixed and mastered December 17 and 18, 2020, by Martin Siewert, Vienna.

Thanx to Connor Bennett for creating a masterful alto sax mouthpiece. Special thanx to Peter Brötzmann. Special thanx to Christopher Wool.

Track 6 by Peter Brötzmann (FMP - publishing/GEMA); tracks 1-5 and 7-10 by Mats Gustafsson (STIM/NcB).



Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson might have a separate discography for his solo records. He's investigated the possibilities of unaccompanied reed music from almost every angle. Presented with the opportunity to make a new solo record under the isolation of the pandemic, Gustafsson returned to a project he'd conceptualized but never realized: the playing-card pieces of Peter Brötzmann. Although these Fluxus-like prompts are better known through the two card sets the German saxophonist created in the 1990s, which resulted in two CDs with his Chicago Tentet, Images and Signs (both released on Okka Disk), Brötzmann had in fact been using cards since the 1970s. Recording in his home studio in Nickelsdorf, Austria, Gustafsson used two of these sets of compositional prompts, one designed for the ICP Tentet and another intended as a spur for Brötzmann's own solo work. The instrumentation on Naja includes the entire saxophone family from sopranino to bass, as well as a piece for mouthpieces; this is also a rare opportunity to hear Gustafsson play more than one horn at the same time, a Roland Kirk move that he'd long ago sworn off but was prompted to do by the cards. In addition to nine pieces using the cards, Gustafsson played one non-card composition from Brötzmann's solo FMP LP 14 Love Poems. Stunningly mixed and mastered by Martin Siewert, with liner notes by Gustafsson, photos of the card boxes and the first photograph of Gustafsson and Brötzmann. Cover art, as on all Black Cross Solo Sessions CDs, by Christopher Wool."-Corbett Vs. Dempsey


Artist Biographies

"Born 1964 in Umeå, Northern Sweden.Saxplayer, improviser and composer. Solo artist and international tours and projects with a.o. Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O´Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Yoshimi, Ken Vandermark and in working groups The Thing, FIRE!, Gush, Boots Brown, Swedish Azz and Fake (the facts). Large ensemble work with Barry Guy New Orchestra,FIRE! Orchestra and the NU - ensemble.over 1800 concerts and over 200 record productions in Europe, Australia, Africa, North & South America and Asia.Collaborations with contemporary dance, theater, art, poetry as well as projects with noise, electronica, contemporary rock and free jazz.Discaholic - running the discaholic corner website.Producer of international festivals and concert tours as well as work with own record labels Slottet, OlofBright Editions and Blue Tower Records."-Mats Gustafsson Website (http://matsgus.com/archives/category/bio)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Box 1 part 1 bass sax 5:42

2. Box 1 part 2 bass sax 5:31

3. Box 1 part 3 sopranino and soprano sax, 4 sax mouthpieces 3:25

4. Box 1 part 4 baritone sax 8:05

5. Box 1 part 5 baritone sax 5:23

6. Alto sax nr 3 alto sax 4:49

7. Box 2 part 1 baritone sax 0:35

8. Box 2 part 2 soprano, alto, baritone and bass sax 9:58

9. Box 2 part 3 bass sax 6:01

10. Box 2 part 4 baritone sax 3:54

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Solo Artist Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Corbett vs. Dempsey.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Gush (Gustafsson / Sandell / Strid)
Afro Blue
(Trost Records)
Recorded in 1998 but sounding absolutely modern, exuberant and often explosively inspired, this live recording at Jazzclub Fasching in Stockholm brings the then 10-year collaboration of drummer Raymond Strid, pianist Sten Sandel and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson to ecstatic heights, bridging free jazz forms and rendering Coltranes "Afro Blues" with intense passion.
End, The (Jernberg / Moster / Gustafsson / Hana / Fjordheim)
Why Do You Mourn [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
The third album from the genre-merging quintet The End of of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Moster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar) and Borge Fjordheim (drums), an experimental song-based project influenced by avant rock, jazz and soundscape in seven nuanced pieces.
Guy, Barry and Friends
Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Two days of concerts in 2018 at Alchemia Club, in Krakow, Poland and a recording at Radio Krakow the next day from English composer, band leader and a bass player Barry Guy, in varying configurations at Alchemia of duos & trios with some of Europe & The UK's leading improvisers, culminating in an 11-piece ensemble at Radio Krakow performing the large work "For To End Yet Again".
Gustafsson, Mats / Nu Ensemble
Hidros 8 Heal [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
A conduction of an absolutely impressive ensemble of free and ea- improvisers on a powerfully diverse journey, from Anna Högberg & Gustafsson on sax, Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Per-Åke Holmlander on tuba, Hedvig Mollestad on guitar, Dieb13 on turntables, Christof Kurzmann on lloopp & voice, Massimo Pupillo on bass, Gert-Jan Prins on drums & electronics, and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad on drums.
O'Rourke, Jim / Mats Gustafsson
Xylophonen Virtuosen [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Trost Records)
Dedicated to Derek Bailey, these long out of print, subtle and delicate duo recordings captured in Chicago between Mats Gustafsson on tenor sax, fluteophone, flute & "junk" and Jim O'Rourke on guitar, accordeon and also on "junk", were originally released in 1999 on the Incus label, here remastered, in some cases remixed, and adding previously unreleased material.
O'Rourke, Jim / Mats Gustafsson
Xylophonen Virtuosen
(Trost Records)
Dedicated to Derek Bailey, these long out of print, subtle and delicate duo recordings captured in Chicago between Mats Gustafsson on tenor sax, fluteophone, flute & "junk" and Jim O'Rourke on guitar, accordeon and also on "junk", were originally released in 1999 on the Incus label, here remastered, in some cases remixed, and adding previously unreleased material.
Fire! w/ Stephen O'Malley / David Sandstrom
Requies [VINYL 1-SIDED EP w/ SCREEN PRINT on B-SIDE]
(Rune Grammofon)
A one-side EP with a screen print on the B-Side, of a raucous, dark and incredibly epic journey in heavy electric jazz from Fire! configured as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on bass saxophone, organ & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Stephen O'Malley on guitar and David Sandstrom on drums; awe inspiring!
Ensemble Var (Gustafsson / Lindal / Lindstrom / Nordwall)
VAR
(Confront)
A fully free improvisation of subtly disruptive, extended electroacoustic mastery, recorded during the Svensk Musikvår Festival at Aliasteatern, Stockholm in 2021, in a piece conceived by Mats Gustafsson who performs on saxophone & flute, with Anna Lindal on violin, Mats Lindstrom on electronics, effects & sampler and Joachim Nordwall on analog synths, effects & tapes.
Brotzmann, Peter Chicago Tentet
Ultraman vs. Alien Metron [SINGLE SIDED VINYL]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded during the 2002 studio sessions that yielded the albums A Short Visit to Nowhere and Broken English, this unreleased recording of a Mars Williams composition is issued as a 1-sided LP with the stellar lineup of Brötzmann with Williams, Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Kent Kessler, Michael Zerang, Hamid Drake, Mats Gustafsson and Joe McPhee.
Gustafsson, Mats / Joachim Nordwall
Shadows of Tomorrow b/w The Brain Produces Electrical Waves [7'' VINYL w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
After their duo album A Map of Guilt and many albums together under various Fire! groupings, Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and electronic artist Joachim Nordwall face off again for a limited 7" single: two simmering dialogs, remarkable counterpunches of rumbling synthetics, instrumental noise, pulsating bass tones, heavy breath and terrifying innuendo!
Fire!
Defeat [VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
An optimistic definition of "Defeat" through the exultantly dark and expressive work of Fire!, here as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on flute, baritone sax & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone & sousaphone, in five works of richly creative and modern improv.
Underflow, The (Gustafsson / Grubbs / Mazurek)
Instant Opaque Evening [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Blue Chopsticks)
The followup to their 2019 Corbett vs. Dempsey album and formalizing their trio name as "The Underflow", is an epic double LP of diverse and inspired free-ea from the trio of Mats Gustafsson on flute, fluteophone, baritone saxophone & live electronics, David Grubbs on electric guiar & voice, and Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, wooden flute, electronics, percussion & voice.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Mats Gustafsson
Hokusai
(NoBusiness)
A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.
Thing, The (Gustafsson / McPhee / Haker Flaten / Nilssen-Love)
She Knows...
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Named for a Don Cherry composition included on this album, the core trio of The Thing--Mats Gustafsson on reeds, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums--is joined by saxophonist and pocket trumpter Joe McPhee, recording classic free jazz and harmolodic pieces by Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, & Joe McPhee.
Fire! Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki
Actions [VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
"Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" was originally written by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki for the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by composer himself; this new extended reading and conduction of the score from 2018 was originated and directed by Mats Gustafsson, a powerful update and expansion of the original work.
Gustafsson, Mats / Wendy Gondeln / Wolfgang Voigt / Martin Siewert
The Shithole Country & Boogie Band
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
A unique album blurring acoustic recordings from saxophonist Mats Gustafsson with the electronic machinations and rhythms of Wendy Gondeln, aka Albert Oehlen, a German experimental electronic artist, the two inviting Martin Siewert for additional guitar on two tracks, and Wolfgang Voight to remix two tracks; funky, unpredictable, amusing, and seductively tantalizing.
Gustafsson / Sandstrom / Werlin
This is From the Mouth [VINYL 1-SIDED PICTURE DISC]
(Utech Records)
After working together on the theater production Das Fliegende Kind (The Flying Child), the trio of Mats Gustafsson, David Sandstrom (Refused), and Andreas Werliin (Fire!) recorded this 18 minute improvisation, a work of percussive force and rolling sax tone that builds to an explosive fury of sound, released on a stunning 1-sided picture disc.
Mats Gustafsson / Craig Taborn
Ljubljana [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Celebrating the 400th release of Clean Feed Records, Swedish free jazz phenomenon, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson meets with NY jazz pianist Craig Taborn for an unlikely yet highly satisfying encounter that pushes each improviser into unfamiliar, edge-of-their seats, territory.
Vandermark, Ken and Mats Gustafsson
Verses
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Surprisingly after long partnerships with Peter Brotzmann's Tentet and the saxophone trio Sonore, this is the first time that Ken Vandermark & Mats Gustafsson have recorded as a duo, here in 6 incredible improvisations balancing technique, power, and beauty.
Articles, The (Thomas / Gustafsson / Turner)
Goodbye Silence
(FMR)
The trio of Mats Gustafsson on saxophone and electronics, keyboardist Pat Thomas and percussionist Roger Turner performing live in Derby in 1998, a challenging and fascinating set.
Gustafsson, Mats
Catapult (baritone sax solo)
(Doubtmusic)
Gregorio, Guillermo / Mats Gustafsson / Kjell Nordeson
Background Music
(Hatology)
HATSALE2HATSALE2
Other Recommended Releases:
Gustafsson, Mats
Hidros 9 Mirrors
(Trost Records)
Forming his NU Ensemble in 1997 to merge free-jazz, improv, noise and contemporary forms, Mats Gustafsson presented Hidros One for 9 improvisers, tape & conductor that same year, progressing over 25 years to this 9th conduction of the Hidros concept in his largest ensemble yet: 25 musicians in two 9-piece ensembles plus soloists, captured live at the 2022 Avant Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
Gustafsson, Mats / Ensemble E
EE Opus One
(Trost Records)
Merging contemporary and traditional instruments, including the spilapipa (a fipple flute), hardanger fiddle, the Bilgoraj suka (a vertical fiddle), alongside prepared piano, organ, trumpet, tuba, baritone sax & voice, Mats Gustafsson's ensemble merges folk, experimental forms, improv & free jazz in a conduction shaped by the participants; absolutely unique & fascinating.
Roebke, Jason
Four Spheres
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Brilliantly unusual approaches to jazz scores from Chicago bassist Jason Roebke in a quartet with legendary saxophonist and clarinetist Edward Wilkerson Jr., pianist Mabel Kwan and drummer Marcus Evans, all four also performing on metronome, and Roebke providing low-fi cassette interruptions, a fascinating merging of jazz forms and methods of making the music stop.
Adasiewicz, Jason
Roscoe Village: The Music of Roscoe Mitchell
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Originally commissioned to transcribe a few works as a surprise for Roscoe Mitchell's 2023 art exhibition at Corbett vs. Dempsey, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz expanded the project, recorded in his new home studio (dubbed "Hot Juice") to include 10 Mitchell compositions & favorite works, Adasiewicz performing solo as he brings new approaches to the important Mitchell song-book.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC