jokes are over, IT is available now, after a long time of awaiting…. The newest „green” album of 100nka, amazing and unusual two cds record of compositions improvisations and experiments. The first cd „potrawy sTrawy” contains a studio record of compositions and some tracks of absolutely free, pure music. The second one „kompot” is a live recording of a totally improvisated concert with a special guest Antoni „Ziut” Gralak and his trumpet.. The whole album is surprising and various, it is a good piece of modern jazz, free and open minded as all the music should be. Really worth of hearing and felling for all music lovers. Strongly recommended… (By J.a.c.)
How much shit can one take? Well that depends. If it is being served by the quirky Polish trio 100nka—featuring guitarist Tomek Leś, bassist Adam Stodolski and percussionist Przemek Borowiecki—there may not be quite enough. Their music is rather undefinable, jumping and sneaking as it does into odd nooks and crannies. Much of it comes from being inquisitive; some of it has to do with the men who influenced them, including John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Drew Gress, Ellery Eskelin, William Parker and DJ Logic.
100nka has the perfect cohort in trumpeter Herb Robertson, who melds seamlessly into their manipulations. It is a different kettle of fish for him; long an inspired presence on the avant-garde map, with his marvelously tangential trumpet playing, Robertson tucks himself largely into the overall ambit of the trio.
The CD was recorded live, and gets off with the improvised "Elephant Shit." Sawed bass, tortured trumpet notes, lines scraped across the guitar, and vocals that scuttle to bring in an air of theater, waft across the imagination. The group moves from one track to the other, bridging them with logical cohesion. New sound patterns emerge and link with what has gone before.
"Donkey Shit" changes the mood. Robertson leaps into a fiery outburst, shards of tempest flying from his trumpet. Stodolski zaps a hard bop rhythm as Borowiecki lets the beat roll on the toms to transform the atmosphere.
"Moose Shit" is one of the strongest and most complete tracks, with all four making a distinct impression. The initial spell is cast by drums and guitar, conversing while changing shape and texture. The pith gets more pronounced when Robertson comes in and gradually targets the stratosphere. Volatility churns, and as the rhythm section rumbles in anticipation, LeÅ›ś gets into jazz-rock mode; an articulate messenger of the form, with a host of potent phrases and a blitz of feedback.
A whole load of shit is more than a Superdesert. It is a hearty meal. The real dessert is the exceptional cover art.
Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz
*******
Herb Robertson has to be one of the most intrepid trumpeters around. He seems to be most willing to put himself in anomalous situations: the two-trumpet group he shares with Dave Ballou (MacroQuarktet), work as a sideman in various groups, membership in ad hoc assemblies like a trio with Evan Parker and Agustí Fernández or guesting with Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra. On Superdesert, Robertson collaborates with the Polish trio 100nka.
This reviewer was unfamiliar with 100nka (guitarist Tomek Les, bassist Adam Stodolski and drummer Przemek Borowieki) prior to this release. Based on this recording, they're a scrappy group, seemingly concerned more with splintering sound and rhythm, textural explorations and group interaction than with standard improvising. Robertson and the trio are clearly on the same wavelength as, in his own music, the trumpeter seems concerned with these properties as well. One hears lots of improvisation but very little soloing on this disc; it's true group music. There are long periods of quiet, tension-building explorations that are abruptly shattered by full-tilt aggressive explosions. (i.e. the first three tracks that lead into "Donkey Shit").
Much of Superdesert is filled with short pieces (in the one- to three-minute range) with lengthier explorations interspersed. Perhaps the most standard piece would be "Dog Shit" where Robertson is to the fore, sounding (surprisingly) a bit like Miles Davis in one of those languid interludes during his Agharta (Columbia, 1975) phase. The 13 pieces flow and jam into each other with artful deliberation belying their improvised natures. While much of this is off-the-cuff, it sounds like a lot of thought went into the sequencing and if there may be some reference points (Davis, Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, a bit of Sonny Sharrock in Les' playing), most of this disc doesn't sound like anything else. And I can't believe I got through this review without making any bad jokes tied to this disc's shitty song titles.
(review by Robert Iannapollo and AAJ, Published: January 12, 2010)
Not 3 - 3D (Dell-Dahlgren-DeMartin) Not Two, 2008 Cena: 60 PLN
After their acclaimed debut album "..actually, it's better like this...", this a long expected second album "3D: Not3". The new album comes in a very special art-edition 2 CD-box designed by Konstantin Kern. For anyone who needs drawers: call it anything, in between the chairs of improvisation, minimal-music and sound-art.
Review:
I knew of bassist Chris Dahlgren from when he lived in town and played with local musicians like Peter Epstein, Marc Whitecage, Briggan Krauss and Anthony Braxton (duo CD on Clean Feed). Since moving to Berlin, I've been less aware of his activities aside from his work with Gebhard Ullmann. Hence, when we got in this double disc from Not Two with two German musicians that I am not familiar with, I had no idea what to expect. What is most interesting is how wonderful and weird this little box-set turned out to be...
Like Mr. Dahlgren's former collaborator, Anthony Braxton, each piece is identified by a diagram in the inner booklet. The music is an odd blend of assorted pieces, each with a different sound or strategy. Even with the basic trio of vibes, bass and drums, you never know what direction each piece will develop into. The first piece is a minimalist duo exchange for skeletal vibes and percussion with unexpected moments of fuzz bass weirdness in the last section. The second piece consists of a stripped down el. bass and drums martial beat with layers of sinister, soft spoken word vocal weirdness. Rather Residents-like. It sounds as if someone is playing toy percussion on the third piece, along with Chris' fractured bass sounds. The fourth track features layers of a woman's voice sampled and speaking German, when it starts. The vocal samples are used like spice along with minimal percussion, twisted guitar fragments and snippets of noise. The overall effect is fascinating yet truly strange. I often get the feeling that there is a play or a story hidden in here somewhere, as if we are missing one layer or ingredient in the overall structure. The first piece on disc 2 features some eerie rumbles, distant vibes and occasional percussion. With some patience the mystery slowly unfolds, bit by bit. In a way this music is environmental or even Morton Feldman-like. One must fill in their own idea as to what is exactly taking place, filling in the space. BLG (Downtown Music Gallery)
ABCD - Anthony Braxton / Chris Dahlgren Not Two, 2006 Cena: 40 PLN
...Anthony and I each drew from a deck of playing cards, corresponding blocks (26x2) of the composition, which determined the actual recorded material...(Chris Dahlgren)
Dragons 1976 is the horn bass drum trio of ram Shelton on alto saxophone, Jason Ajemian on double bass, and Tim Daisy on drums and percussion. . The name came from the year in which all three were born. The three met in Chicago in the early 00's as all were drawn to the city as a place to develop their music. All highly active in the creative music scene there, Dragons 1976 formed in a natural way after playing together for several years and released their first album On Cortez on Locust music in 2003. Largely improvisational, the music of Dragons 1976 focuses on their individuality as musicians while using composed parts to guide the form and structure. While rooted in and influenced by music of the jazz idiom, the music of Dragons 1976 is never bound to it's tradition, as each of the members is influenced by a wide array of styles including minimalism, folk, rock, electronic and free improvisation. Rooted in jazz, their music is strongly melodic; with no set chord progressions, it is allowed to freely find its own space. Dragons 1976 focus on playing as a group, making songs that follow a path from start to finish, and approaching emotional points with subtlety.
