Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kent Carter / Albrecht Maurer: The Juillaguet Collection

Kent Carter / Albrecht Maurer: The Juillaguet Collection

By Robert Spencer
December 1, 1999
View read count

Kent Carter / Albrecht Maurer: The Juillaguet Collection

Free improvisations that are stunning in their richness and melodic tonalities. Bassist Kent Carter, a veteran of Steve Lacy's Seventies groups, and violinist Albrecht Maurer obviously know each other very well. The music they make together is full of "conventional" harmonies as much as it is of dissonance, so that these pieces sound classically designed and wide-ranging, as if Stravinsky or Mahler had suddenly taken up free improvisation.

Each is a lovely little piece, with the longest (and one of the two based on prearranged themes), "Archaic Fragments," clocking in at a little over thirteen minutes. The others are never longer than nine, but Carter and Maurer manage to say a great deal within these confines. Each piece is varied and yet intricately coherent. The melodic invention on a stately and yet playful piece like "Natrushka," or the more sonorous and dramatic "Riviere," is nothing short of remarkable.

While string duos may not be your cup of tea, if you have any interest at all in "free" improvisation at its absolute best, this disc will appeal to you. Play this for your friends who sneer that free improv is an excuse for a lot of aimless meandering. Recommended.

Personnel

Kent Carter

bass

Kent Carter, b; Albrecht Maurer, vln.

Track listing: Woodworks / Riviere / Archaic Fragments / Nuts in Vienna / Inzwischenzeit / Standing Stones / Plaything / Natrushka / It's Late.

Album information

Title: The Juillaguet Collection | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Emanem

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Holiday Music '99
< Previous

Sun Ra Arkestra Directed by Marshall...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.