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Slava Ganelin and Ned Rothenberg: Falling Into Place: Live in Jaffa
ByRothenberg, like Ganelin, uses his arsenal of instrumentsbass clarinet, clarinet, alto sax and shakuhachias a means to construct epic narratives through a slow and careful process. Both use mesmerizing dynamics between foreground themes, solo playing and background accompaniment, leaving spaces in even the busiest and most heated playing.
Rothenberg demonstrate these abilities on the pensive opening track, "The Foot In It," where he uses his bass clarinet for percussive punctuations and accentuations around his solo playing. Ganelinwho plays the grand piano, synthesizer and percussiontends to be more dramatic, and his first solo piece, the 34-minute "The Place With The Space," is a well-crafted journey that moves between segments rich with pathos and minimalist, hypnotic lines. Sometimes his expansive piano playing is almost romantic, but more often his textures are dark.
Rothenberg plays another two solo pieces on the clarinet and the alto sax, the almost bluesy "A Blue Dance" and the very dense "Wood In The Metal," where his circular breathing helps him develop ideas and motives. Only then do Ganelin and Rothenberg begin to collaborate through short five pieces. On these beautiful consecutive duets, Ganelin and Rothenberg balance each others' flights into a more disciplined frame, keeping a game-like spirit and enjoying the question and answer exchanges. On "Luminous Staircase" their playing is more contemplative, and on "Grassland," the only piece where Rothenberg plays the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), they sound like they're creating a futuristic folky tune, incorporating Ganelin's strange synthesizer drone and percussion.
This beautiful recording captures two masters at their best, alone and together, and everything really falls into place.
Visit Ned Rothenberg on the web.
Track Listing
The Foot In It; The Place With THe Space; A Blue Dance; Wood In The Metal; First Conversation; Slaps In Time; Luminous Staircase; Grassland; Encore
Personnel
Slava Ganelin: piano; synthesizer; Ned Rothenberg: bass clarinet, clarinet, alto sax, shakuhachi.
Album information
Title: Falling Into Place: Live in Jaffa | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Auris Media
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