Gunter Baby Sommer: Live In Jerusalem (2011)

GLENN ASTARITA,

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

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

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Published: April 12, 2011

Track review of "Yo Yo Yo"

Legendary German jazz and improvising drummer Gunter Baby Sommer's boundless creative sparks and superior technical ability are well-documented. He's a quintessential innovator, largely within the European progressive jazz and avant-garde strata. On Live in Jerusalem, he aligns with an alternating ensemble that ignites a veritable firestorm amid some temperately organized passages.

On "Yo Yo Yo," Sommer's adventurism is prolifically accentuated. Bass clarinetist Yoni Silver's deep intonation and edgy intro is followed by the quartet's' tension-building motifs, firmly nestled within foreboding undercurrents. Here, guitarist Yona Albalak's distortion-laden phrasings and tenor saxophonist Yonatan Kretzmer's chatty and yearning lines help generate a doomsday panorama, while Sommer prods the band via simple 4/4 beats and a pummeling polyrhythmic assault that infuses a dissimilar vibe into sum of the multifarious parts.

The band pushes the envelope, while projecting a mind-opening experience that offers an enigmatic brew consisting of austere persuasions coupled with good-natured fun via freedom of expression.

Personnel: Gunter Baby Sommer: drums; Yoni Silver: bass clarinet; Yona Albalak: guitar; Yonatan Kretzmer: tenor sax.

Record Label: Kadima Collective