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Han Bennink & Evan Parker: The Grass is Greener
ByBennink is a duo player par excellence, able to accommodate and to challenge playing partners (as he has repeatedly shown, with Derek Bailey, Dave Douglas, Ellery Eskelin, Myra Melford, Irene Schweizer, Cecil Taylor...) Ever unpredictable, here he employs a vast range of techniques, from snatches of rigid rhythmic accompaniment through to the freest of free methods. There is always a hint of humour about his playing; he is a surrealist and a prankster. The cover photograph of him, lurking behind a stern-faced Parker, with a twinkle in his eye and a Magritte-like pipe firmly in his mouth, speaks volumes. So do his cover paintings of a grazing cow, and the humorous track titles (taken from Lewis Hyde's Trickster Makes this World ). All contribute to an air of fun and frivolitynot words that one would automatically use to describe a Parker album, however good.
Parker himself is on fine form. He employs tenor sax throughout and is characteristically focussed and rigorous. Although Parker and Bennink react and interact well, Parker is not drawn into Bennink's theatrical agenda. The contrast between the two players makes intriguing listening.
Track Listing
Traps of Appetite; Traps of Instinct; Outside the Usual Rules of the Eating Game; Smoke of Sacrifice; The Empty Hook; Coyotes are Eating Pure Bred Poodles in Beverly Hills; Pluto has a Moon; To Tangle Lure and Snare.
Personnel
Han Bennink
drumsEvan Parker, saxophone; Han Bennink, percussion.
Album information
Title: The Grass Is Greener | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Psi
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