Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Heinz Geisser & Guerino Mazzola: Live at Airegin

334

Heinz Geisser & Guerino Mazzola: Live at Airegin

By

Sign in to view read count
Heinz Geisser & Guerino Mazzola: Live at Airegin
This Swiss duo has been experimenting with creative avant-garde jazz for a long time. Toni's Delight: Live in Seoul (Cadence Jazz, 1997) combined tension and release in a free-flowing format similar to that employed here for their Ayler Records release. Guerino Mazzola's grand piano fingers move like a storm front that wants to hurt the keyboard. At his side, drummer Heinz Geisser provides the kind of swirling thunder and lightning that make a distinctive impression on any audience.

Recorded October 10, 2004 at Jazz Club Airegin in Yokohama, Japan, the duo's 35-minute original, "The Skyliner, produces waves of anxiety. Mazzola is all over the piano and Geisser has thrown his drum set off the wall and back in order to create a superb disturbance. Extreme effort multiplied by anxious music has created a powerful and unforgettable storm. It's difficult to guess which is more forceful: the pianist's fingers on the keyboard or the drummer's sticks on his drum set.

Musically, they're on top of the situation; both are masters of their craft. Geisser, in addition, is a classically trained guitarist. So, it's no wonder that they bring in a guitarist and vocalist for their second original number, the 27-minute "Nu, which explores the animal in us. Like the notorious Yoko Ono, vocalist Yuki Saga shrieks and screams with ample variety as she sets Geisser and Mazzola on fire. The musical fireworks continue unabated as Saga carries them through tortured wails and petrified moans that gather up pianist and drummer in fright, convincing both to return the favor. They romp and they wallop, creating quite a disturbance along the way. Guitarist Takayuki Kato contributes little more than electronic feedback which is designed to enhance and extend the vocalist's tirade.

It's a far cry from the curricula at the Zurich Jazz School and the Zurich Music Conservatory, where Mazzola and Geisser studied. This leading-edge research in sound stems more from the advanced degrees that the pianist took in mathematics, physics and crystallography. With over ninety papers published in the fields of mathematics, topology, brain research and computer music, it's no wonder that Mazzola's curiosity has led him onto this outré path.

Track Listing

The Skyliner; Nu.

Personnel

Heinz Geisser
percussion

Guerino Mazzola: piano; Heinz Geisser: drums; Takayuki Kato: guitar (2); Yuki Saga: vocals (2).

Album information

Title: Live at Airegin | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Ayler Records

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

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

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