Irene Schweizer - Rudiger Carl - Johnny Dyani - Han Bennink: Irène's Hot Four

Irène's Hot Four represents a significant posthumous release from the legendary Swiss jazz pianist Irène Schweizer, who passed away in 2024. This release captures a rare 1981 concert in Zurich featuring Schweizer alongside her companions Rudiger Carl, Johnny Dyani, and Han Bennink. It is a quartet that existed for only around a year and a half, playing just a handful of performances. The album fills an important gap in Schweizer's discography, documenting this ephemeral but vital collaboration between four master improvisers. The release highlights the pianist's bold free jazz style during a vibrant era of European improvised music.

"All Inclusive" is an adventurous 16-minute track that demonstrates the quartet's remarkable chemistry and boundless energy through a series of interlocking improvisational passages that build from delicate interplay to explosive collective intensity. Schweizer's piano work anchors the composition with percussive clusters and melodic fragments that dance between prepared piano textures, introspective mini- motifs, and traditional jazz harmonies, merged with bluesy phrasings. Carl's reeds provide both lyrical counterpoint and textural disruption, while Dyani's bass oscillates between rhythmic foundation and melodic exploration.

Bennink's drumming proves characteristically inventive, incorporating extended techniques and theatrical elements that complement the music's dramatic arc. The track exemplifies the group's ability to balance individual expression with collective cohesion, creating music that feels both spontaneous and architecturally sound. This is free jazz at its most communicative and emotionally direct.

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