Two new releases on ezz-thetics

In recent years the "revisited" series of albums on the ezz-thetics label has been so praised and successful that some jazz afficionados probably associate the label more with albums of classic Charlie Parker or Albert Ayler recordings than with releases of new music on the label. Nonetheless, as it has done for decades (in various guises—Hat Hut, Hat ART, Hat MUSICS, Hatology...) the label continues to release newly-recorded albums of contemporary music including jazz, improv, contemporary composition... The early catalogue of Hat Hut was scattered with such luminaries as Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Joe McPhee, Cecil Taylor and John Zorn, making one ponder how the label's current releases will be regarded in years to come...

CALATO
John Cage, Variations + FOUR
ezz-thetics
2023

Formed in 2010, CALATO is a quartet from Buenos Aires, Argentina, comprising two prepared guitarists, a drummer who plays with chopsticks, and an amplified voice. The quartet has performed widely in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The music they perform includes free jazz, improv and contemporary compositions as well as punk and abstract noise. They started as a noise improvisation band and spent several years playing together without any parts or scores, just working on listening to one another. Later they started investigating different approaches to composition. They have said, "There is something about taking serious music not so seriously that lets you try lots of different things..."

The current album, which totally consists of CALATO arrangements of John Cage compositions, is evidence supporting the success of their methodology. Between 1958 and 1963, Cage composed the first three of his eight Variations; they each comprised transparent plastic sheets upon which were shapes or symbols for the musicians to interpret. The first seven tracks of this album include two versions of "Variations I" (one of 2:05, the other 5:56), four versions of "Variations II" (0:58 to 1:04) and a 4:20 version of "Variations III."

The resulting music seems closer to improv than to composed music. Listening to the seven "Variations" tracks, it almost impossible to identify which are versions of the same piece. Nonetheless, as improv the music is first rate and stands up well to repeated listening. The remainder of the album is devoted entirely to a single half-hour rendition of Cage's 1992 piece "FOUR6" one of his final number pieces—his sixth for four players as indicated by its title; Cage's instructions say that each performer chooses 12 different sounds and plays within flexible time brackets. CALATO follow suit and their rendition of the piece works well while retaining the quartet's unmistakable signature. This album is highly recommended for listeners who like Cage, improvisation or both. This quartet will be worth watching out for in future.

Hans Koch & Christine Abdelnour
FFlair
ezz-thetics
2023

The story behind this album seems so incredible that it has the potential to be made into a motion picture... The association "Jazz in Chur" pursues a project "JAZZCHUR_EXILE" in which Swiss jazz musicians team up with a musical partner for a duet; the duet partners come from different languages and cultural regions. The works are produced and recorded independently by the artists. When saxophonist Hans Koch---born in Switzerland in 1948— was asked by "Jazz in Chur" for this project, it was clear to him that he would ask saxophonist Christine Abdelnour—born in Paris, France, in 1978 from Lebanese parents. Koch and Abdelnour have played together rarely but have followed the development of each other's musical language closely.

On the album, Koch is heard on the right channel playing soprano saxophone, a home recording made in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, on January 5th 2023, while Abdelnour is heard on the left channel playing alto saxophone, recorded on the same day by Ryan Kernoa in Pau, France. So, the album comprises two separately recorded solo improvisations which were superimposed afterwards—without any editing, we are assured. Anyone hearing the album, without knowing those details of the recordings, would be totally convinced that they were listening to two saxophone players in the same room improvising together, calling and responding to one another and sharing a dialogue. As such, it is a first-rate saxophone duo with the two players in top form.

Of course, as with any magic trick, it is tempting to try and work out how the magician(s) did it. As the album is divided into four tracks entitled "FFlair I—IV"(totalling forty-five minutes) it seems likely that the two saxophonists had some pre-arranged plan of who would play at a particular time, and used stop watches to synchronise that. However, tempting as it is to speculate, far greater enjoyment is to be had by listening to and savouring the end result. With any luck, sometime in the future Koch and Abdelnour will repeat the performance side by side on the same stage. Five stars!

Tracks and Personnel

John Cage, Variations + FOUR

Tracks: Variations I (1958)—version 1; Variations II (1961)—version 1; Variations II (1961)—version 2; Variations I (1958)—version 2; Variations II {1961)—version 3; Variations II (1961)—version 4; Variations III (1963); FOUR?? (1992).

Personnel: CALATO:-Javiar Areal Velez: prepared guitar; Jorge Espinal: prepared guitar; Agustin Genoud: voice; Pablo Veron: drums and MPC2500.

FFlair

Tracks: FFlair I; FFlair II; FFlair III; FFlair IV.

Personnel: Hans Koch: soprano saxophone on the right channel: Christine Abdelnour: alto saxophone on the left channel.