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Ballister: Slag
ByThe trio is not opposed to sprinting out of the gate, as they do on the opener, the twenty-three minute "Fauchard" (I Googled it, it's a scary medieval weapon) with a seven minute torrent of sound. Nilssen-Love strikes blow after blow, stoking the dynamo that turns his mechanical energy into the electricity that is Rempis and Lonberg-Holm's attack. You might wonder, are you still following, or have they exhausted you? If you can hang, the trio slows their pace and reveals their chess match. The macro becomes the micro. Those listeners that have kept pace are rewarded with more intimate gesturers, extended saxophone and cello technique, electronic fission, and staggering feats of percussive acrobatics.
Connoisseurs of free jazz can appreciate the energy here. Rempis channels both Brotzmann and Braxton, the outside and the inside. Nilssen-Love is the next generation of free jazz drummers, a combination of Sunny Murray and Tommy Ramone with an allegiance to pulse over swing. Then there is the cello of Lonberg-Holm, who has the ability to write his book with inspiration from Fred Kats to Jimi Hendrix. The quieter moments of "Guisarme" and "Glaive" (more medieval weaponry) might be the tastier cuts of meat here. Each player showcases his talents from an extended drum and cello/electronics duo to the serpentine wandering of Rempis' saxophone.
SLAG is a triumphant recording on many levels. It can exhaust you with its energy jazz or lull you into submission with its minutiae. Either way, there is something overwhelmingly satisfying about being beaten about the head by this trio.
Track Listing
Fauchard; Guisarme; Glaive.
Personnel
Dave Rempis: alto saxophone; tenor saxophone; tenor saxophone; Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello, electronics; Paal Nilssen-Love: drums.
Album information
Title: Slag | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Aerophonic Records
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Ballister
CD/LP/Track Review
Mark Corroto
Aerophonic Records
United States
Illinois
Chicago
Dave Rempis
Fred Lonberg-Holm
Paal Nilssen-Love
Slag