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Club d'Elf: As Above: Live at the Lizard Lounge

By AAJ Staff
March 1, 2001
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Club d'Elf: As Above: Live at the Lizard Lounge

The groove runs deep and long on As Above, a 2-disc set from Club d'Elf. Voyaging through realms of electronica, ethnic percussion, and dirty funk, As Above pays exquisite attention to the beat. The two-plus hours of collected music on this set document the highlights of five months' worth of live improv at Boston's Lizard Lounge. (OK, so it's actually in Cambridge, but what's a hop across the river in the grand scheme of things?) Ringleader (bassist) Mike Rivard hosts a series of local jams—with due attention to composition, instrumentation, and so forth. And in addition to the regular members of this group, various guests sit in for individual performances. While one might expect a compilation of such diverse live events to be jumpy or uneven, this set displays remarkable cohesion.

At the same time, As Above is certainly not for everyone. The group displays an unabashed disrespect for fixed idioms. For example, on "Beneath the Underground," avant saxophonist Joe Maneri finds a place wailing alongside Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabrels. (The liner notes dub Maneri as a "portly, bearded medicine man." Perhaps the audio recording does not do justice to the dynamic imagery of the original event...) Periods of trance-like quietude can overturn at a moment's notice and give rise to edgy free funk. But somehow the nucleus of the group keeps everything tied down in a very delicate balancing act. And with the reverent preservation of the beat, the music keeps moving forward.

Track Listing

Now I Understand; Shadow's Shift; Actual Smiles; Left Hand Of Clyde (Parts 1, 2 & 3); Meet The Monster Tonight; Claude Raines Revisited; Last Business (Dub); D'empty Dance; So Below; Get A Little Turning; Intro _ Bass Beatbox; In A Perfect World; Route Of The Root; As Above; Beneath The Underground; Buzz; Taurobolium; Trance Meeting; Last Business; Divine Invasion.

Personnel

Club d'Elf

band / ensemble / orchestra

Mike Rivard

bass, acoustic

Erik Kerr

drums

Jerry Leake

percussion

Ian Kennedy

guitar

Kenwood Dennard

drums

Alain Mallet

piano

Mat Maneri

viola

Reeves Gabrels

guitar

Duke Levine

guitar

Tom Halter

trumpet

Eric Hipp

saxophone

Roberto Cassan

accordion

Curtis Hasselbring

trombone

Tom Hall

saxophone

DJ Logic

turntable

Jere Faison (sampler and dagomba drumming), Jerry Leake (tablas & percussion, dagomba drumming), Brahim Fribgane (oud, doumbek and qaraqab), DJ C (turntables), Dr. Didg (didgeridoo).

Album information

Title: As Above - Live At The Lizard Lounge | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Supermusic

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