Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Zu with Mats Gustafsson: How To Raise An Ox

303

Zu with Mats Gustafsson: How To Raise An Ox

By

Sign in to view read count
Zu with Mats Gustafsson: How To Raise An Ox
Hailing from Rome, the free jazz power trio Zu has been making considerable waves in the indie underground. With a resume boasting numerous tours and collaborative recording sessions with Eugene Chadbourne, Dälek, The Ex, Nomeansno and Ken Vandermark, the members of Zu have proven themselves capable of holding their own against the underground's heaviest contenders, regardless of genre. The group's most recent endeavor, How To Raise an Ox, also features a guest improviser, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson.

Heavily amplified and deriving inspiration from post-punk as well as such renowned electric free jazz ensembles as Last Exit and Painkiller, Zu is a powerhouse. Veering from grinding Sabbath and glacially paced Melvins-like tempos to fitful barrages of punk-inflected frenzy, their brand of post-rock friendly free jazz has won them a legion of international fans.

The members of Zu also relish open spaces: the contrasting silence around ringing, sustained tones is often as important as the decibel-shattering outbursts that drop in between. They also favor metallic, grinding angular funk rhythms, but never at the expense of that sound. They're are drawn to grating textures, and no other ensemble sounds quite as brusque as Massimo Pupillo's bright, overdriven electric bass, Jacopo Battaglia's pulverizing drums, and Luca Mai's dark, tortured baritone saxophone. The intricate call and response rhythmic structures of the assembled songs leave little room for melody, let alone harmony. As such, one tune easily bleeds into another, engendering a sense of homogeneity to the proceedings as well.

How To Raise an Ox features an excellent and sympathetic collaborator. Mats Gustafsson's frenzied, spastic baritone has been well documented, both on his own albums and numerous high-profile gigs with Ken Vandermark. His recent punkish, garage rock-inspired project, The Thing, has brought him greater notoriety as of late, and this collaboration has numerous similarities to that group.

With Gustafsson and Mai both sticking to their baritone saxophones for the whole of the record, and the rhythm section more boisterous than not, this set veers on the heavy side. The short, Sabbath-esque loping grind of "Bring The War Back Home" contrasts nicely with the railing opening barrage of "Over A Furnace." The title track is a brilliant meditation on using space, timing, and increasing dynamics to build tension, while the closing "The Tiger Teaches The Lamb" invokes Albert Ayler's ecstatic exhortations. Gustafsson and Mai even get in some a capella sparring time on the opening of "The King Devours His Sons." Relief comes in pieces like "Eating The Landscape," "Palace Of Reptiles," and "Beasts Only Die To Be Born" which are sparse, almost pointillistic, lending a much-needed sense of reprieve to an already heavy set.

A bone-crushing affair, How To Raise an Ox is not for the faint of heart, but those accustomed to such sounds will find this to be an especially pleasing program.

Visit Zu on the web.

Track Listing

Over A Furnace; How To Raise An Ox; Eating The Landscape; The King Devours His Sons; Bring The War Back Home; Meat Eater, Solar Bird; Palace Of Reptiles; Beasts Only Die To Be Born; The Tiger Teaches The Lamb.

Personnel

Zu
 

Luca Mai: baritone saxophone; Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone; Massimo Pupillo: electric bass; Jacopo Battaglia: drums.

Album information

Title: How To Raise An Ox | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Atavistic Worldwide

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.