Lingua
Review
Wood,
metal, skin and circuitry are the components that make up Lingua.
Yet what this trio of two German and one Italian is able to
produce with these simple elements is convincing because the
veteran improvisers play the instruments rather than letting
them play them.
That might seem like a truism. But despite all the wiring involved
from drummer Fabrizio Spera's electronics and Thomas Lehn's
analog synthesizer, and unlike many other so-called electronica
combos, you're still conscious of the human conception that
goes into creating the sound.
Perhaps it's because each man is a veteran of both acoustic
and electronic-based improvisation. Cologne-based Thomas Lehn,
for instance, began as a pianist and even now prefers to use
the keyboard-based analog synthesizer because of its direct
action and speedy reaction. Besides this trio, he's also a regular
member of Konk-Pak with British percussionist Roger Turner,
and often performs with American drummer Gerry Hemingway.
A sound purist in this context, Berlin-based saxophonist and
clarinetist Wolfgang Fuchs has explored the utmost extremes
of acoustic woodwind tones with his trio Holz für Europa,
and interacts with electronics in the King Übü Orchestrü
and other larger and smaller groups.
Discovery of the date is Spera, a Rome-based drummer and electronics
manipulator, who has been working with Lehn and Fuchs since
1997 in larger groupings as well as this trio. Concentrating
on music for theatre and radio productions as well as improvisational
ensembles, he has also performed with the likes of trombonist
Sebi Tramontana and violinist Jon Rose.
Whether by accident or design, the trio member's most accomplished
work seems to come the more time they devote to the performance.
On track 7, for instance, the longest at a little more than
seven minutes, Fuchs' piercing sopranino slurs are mixmastered
into the batter resulting from Spera's clattering cymbals and
snare plus the pinball game that seems to be taking place in
Lehn's machine.
What sound like short wave signals from Lehn encourage Fuchs
to come out of the nether regions for a glissando on track 8.
Then on track 9, a series of long legato notes from the reedist
meets a staccato burst echoing from the synthesizer. All the
while different parts of the drummer's kit come into play, building
in intensity as he amplifies first one than other musician's
lead. There's even a point on track 10 where protracted bird-like
clarinet timbres get involved in an offside duet with what sound
like mechanical trombone tones produced by the synth.
Outlandish sounds get burlesqued on track 13. Electronic noises
that appear to be ray guns discharging and tsetse flies digging
in the sand, are soon challenged by Fuchs breathing out repeated
tones from the saxophone's tree top high aviary. Then the synth
lets out a Bronx cheer, which speedily brings the proceedings
to a halt.
Lingua offers many pleasures to the open-eared listeners.
Ken
Waxman / Jazz Weekly
This
newly released production features a compilation of live material
recorded by multi-woodwind ace, Wolfgang Fuchs and notable proponent
of the analogue synthesizer, Thomas Lehn along with Italian
drummer/electronics performer, Fabrizio Spera. Essentially,
these revered experimentalists embark upon a series of slippery
themes, that weave in and out of existence amid multi-layered
three-way dialogue consisting of Fuch's micro-passages, Spera's
rumbling, odd-metered percussion work and Lehn's subtly executed
70's Sci-Fi like subliminal backdrops. At times, the trio engages
in verbose expressionism, yet on track "5" (no song
titles here), the listener will notice a barely detectable electronics-based
drone in concert with Fuchs' gently rendered extended note patterns
atop an altogether, non-formulaic methodology. Consequently,
the musicians' stretch their instruments capabilities to the
extreme limits of reason as they also induce animal-like noises
on track "8". Otherwise, the band might elicit lucid
imagery of space alien's attempting to interpret humanistic
means of verbal communication, whereas on track "12",
the artists' emit a crash and burn type environment via Spera's
smacking of his drums and percussion instruments, Fuch's half
tones and Lehn's wittily executed background EFX. Overall, the
musicians' cunningly disrupt our aural senses. (- Recommended
listening for avant-garde and/or free-music aficionados.)
Glenn
Astarita / All About Jazz
"Lingua"
- Sprache - heißt das Album dieses Trios und es hat auch
etwas mit Musik als Sprache zu tun. Oder besser: mit
jeder einzelnen individuellen Sprache der drei Musiker auf diesem
Album, die sich hier eher unabhängig voneinander als miteinander
verwirklichen. "Lingua" beschäftigt sich aber auch mit
vielen Gegensätzen, als da wären Geräusch - Klang,
Stille - Lärm, Lautstärke - Impuls, Gefühl -
Technik, Ausdruck - Innenleben. - ... und "Lingua" steht für
Grenzüberschreitung.
Nicht
wirklich einzuordnen über simple Definitionsversuche ist
die Art der dargebotenen Musik. Die Begriffe "Zeitgenössische
Klassik", "freie Improvisation", "Free Jazz" wären per
Lexikon gebotene Möglichkeiten sich ihr anzunähern.
Doch all diese Erklärungen kommen dem Ganzen lediglich
in Einzelpunkten nahe, erreichen es aber nicht wirklich - die
Instrumentalisten Wolfgang Fuchs (Kontrabassklarinette,
Bassklarinette, Sopraninosaxophon), Thomas Lehn (Analogsynthesizer)
und Fabrizio Spera (dr, electronics) mixen denk- und
undenkbare Klänge ihrer Instrumente in jeglicher möglichen
Form (geschlagen, geschüttelt und gerührt!) und erzeugen
dabei Höreindrücke, die sich im Live-Kontext sicher
besser nachvollziehen ließen.
Liebhaber
des Experiments, Freunde des freien Jazz laßt euch überraschen!
Es ist zwar nicht wirklich neu, was hier geboten wird - aber
es ist "very impressive". Und warten wir ab, was als nächstes
kommt - es gilt, sich überraschen zu lassen.
Carina
Prange / Jazzdimensions
