Jason Roebke / Brian Labycz: Duo (2007)

Mark Corroto

Senior Contributor since 1999

Mark misses his large dog Louie, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.

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Published: December 2, 2007

The abstraction of improvised music, and the additional distance that a recording (over a live performance) subjects a listener to, may be cause for concern. But listeners open to the conceptual and possibly transcendental experience that such music brings are often rewarded. Listening to this duo between Jason Roebke and Brian Labycz is one of those premium experiences.

Recorded for the new limited edition (this one is of 100 copies) label Peira, this is a handmade package and a numbered CD-R. Label chief and electronic performer Brian Labycz is the curator of Chicago's Myopic Improvised Music Series and a member of LSD (with Vadim Sprikut). He is joined by bassist Jason Roebke, best known for his work with Rob Mazurek and Dylan van der Schyff in Tigersmilk, Jeb Bishop's Trio, Fred Lonberg-Holm's Trio, and in Jorrit Dijkstra's Flatland Collective.

The music, or the sounds here, are the touch of Roebke's fingers on strings, the wooden tap and reverberation of the contrabass and Labycz's electronics. This combination of acoustic and electric is just that; Labycz's electronics buzz, pop, and making the current felt. Silences are highlighted by the introduction of contact by both players. Intensity is developed through the motion of either current or activity.

The beauty of this listening experience is not just the sounds but the accompanying tactile sensations created in the imagination.

Visit Jason Roebke and Brian Labycz on the web.

Track Listing: Removal Of Difference; Come Again; And Then; Standing, Still.

Personnel: Jason Roebke: contrabass; Brian Labycz: electronics, koto.

Record Label: Peira
Style: Modern Jazz