Trapist: Brandlmayr - Siewert - Williamson: Highway My Friend (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: October 1, 2002

Trapist: Brandlmayr - Siewert - Williamson: Highway My Friend

Here, some might draw parallels to the European avant-garde or more specifically, a budding Austrian movement witnessed on recent releases by the “Durian” record label. Guitarist Martin Siewert (Austria), drummer Martin Bradnlmayr (Austria) and bassist Joe Williamson (Canada) perform with a minimalist type spirit on this quietly fascinating effort. Recorded live in Vienna, you could barely detect a pin drop as the musicians fuse subtle thematic statements with an approach that defies categorization. Alternatively, the trio generates a stylistic approach that defies logic. On “Mascoma,” the artists’ convey a calm before the storm mindset via eerie and at times subversive dialogue emanating from Barandlmayr’s faint, metronome like pulse and Siewert’s subtle EFX treatments. However, Williamson generates ethereal moods during several of these pieces, due to his disciplined bowed bass patterns.

The band incorporates unwieldy elements of space rock, free jazz, and more, yet metaphors or analogies cannot accurately describe their overall game plan. With the work titled “Impex,” Williamson’s fluttering arco bass lines cast a foreboding aura amid Siewert’s delicately fabricated distortions. Essentially, the group treks atop a virtual plane that might elicit notions of an x-y axis, although on works such as “Fenrus,” they engage in a loosely organized, free-improv exercise. A beguiling effort indeed! (Highly recommended)

hatOLOGY

Track Listing: 1.Mascona 2.FM 3.Impex 4.E101 5.Mine Was The Shoulder You Cried On That Day 6.Fenrus 7.Mile

Personnel: Martin Brandlymayr: drums, percussion

Record Label: Hat Hut Records
Style: Modern Jazz