Wolfgang Fuchs - Thomas Lehn - Fabrizio Spera: Lingua

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

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

Recent articles (1,629 total)

Published: September 1, 2001

This newly released production features a compilation of live material recorded by multi-woodwind ace, Wolfgang Fuchs and notable proponent of the analogue synthesizer, Thomas Lehn along with Italian drummer/electronics performer, Fabrizio Spera. Essentially, these revered experimentalists embark upon a series of slippery themes, that weave in and out of existence amid multi-layered three-way dialogue consisting of Fuch’s micro-passages, Spera’s rumbling, odd-metered percussion work and Lehn’s subtly executed 70’s Sci-Fi like subliminal backdrops. At times, the trio engages in verbose expressionism, yet on track “5” (no song titles here), the listener will notice a barely detectable electronics-based drone in concert with Fuchs’ gently rendered extended note patterns atop an altogether, non-formulaic methodology. Consequently, the musicians’ stretch their instruments capabilities to the extreme limits of reason as they also induce animal-like noises on track “8”. Otherwise, the band might elicit lucid imagery of space alien’s attempting to interpret humanistic means of verbal communication, whereas on track “12”, the artists’ emit a crash and burn type environment via Spera’s smacking of his drums and percussion instruments, Fuch’s half tones and Lehn’s wittily executed background EFX. Overall, the musicians’ cunningly disrupt our aural senses. (- Recommended listening for avant-garde and/or free-music aficionados.)

Oaksmus

Track Listing: Pieces 1 thru 14

Personnel: Wolfgang Fuchs; contrabass clarinet, bass clarinet & sopranino saxophone: Thomas Lehn; analogue synthesizer: Fabrizio Spera; drums, electronics

Record Label: Oasksmus
Style: Modern Jazz