Armonicord

Jouk Minor
Enfin La Mer
NoBusiness NBCD 164

Souvenirs of Gallic stubbornness, these aggressively dramatic discs confirm that when much of the Jazz business had embraced Fusion and Smooth Jazz, French avant gardists were still playing Free Jazz. Although there were creative music hold outs and flame keepers in other countries as well, yet these 1975 and 1978 sessions collect passionate free improvising from a more-or-less stable group of associates.

Led by soprano/baritone saxophonist Jouk Minor, who has recorded with the likes of Pirre Favre and Daunik Lazro, the other constants on Enfin La Mer were Austrian trombonist Joseph Traindl, part of the Reform Art Unit, and alto, soprano saxophonist/oboist Jean Querlier who was later in Didier Levallet’s quintet. Gong’s original drummer Rachid Houari is heard on Libres, while Christian Lete, who played with Barre Phillips takes that role on Enfin La Mer. Included on that disc are the barely heard drones of Dominique Regef’s hurdy gurdy also heard in collaborations with among others Evan Parker and Michel Doneda.

What starts out as Bedlam-like abandon at the beginning of Libres with relentless drum pounding underscoring Traindl’s triplet puffs and all manner of multiphonic snarls, slurs and squeaks from Minor and Querlier, soon works itself into a defined theme. Characterized by repeated riffs and illusion to Latin motifs, “Contact” eventually settles into tutti march tempo, but not before interludes of reed doits, unexpected altissimo screams and tongue smacked whinnies define each saxist’s strategies with brass blasts as a linear continuum. Minor’s foghorn-like emphasis is maintained on the subsequent “Un Goût De Rouge” , but breaks in the thickened patterning provide room for nasal oboe flutters and tailgate trombone rips. Advancing the program with gradually ascending horn harmonies that blend plunger notes from Traindl with triple-tongued reed squeaks, emphasis on unbridled free improvising is coupled with linear narrative completion and confirms the free-form excitement generated by Armonicord.

With three-fifths of the improvisers still in the band, a toughened refinement of ascendancy and harmony is expressed during Enfin La Mer’s two suites. While brief hurdy-gurdy snores thicken the exposition’s pressurized intensity, it’s still horn modulation which defines the interface. Scooping nephritic tones from the baritone saxophone and the trombonist’s plunger notes thicken the improvisational gumbo so that it’s almost opaque by the final sequences of “Suite No. I”. But the solid mass of squirming irregular vibrations eventually draws back so layered horn patterns featuring alto saxophone trills can provide additional coloring, with the finale signalled by drum press rolls. More of the same, “Suite No. II” further lightens the horns gruff undertow with contrapuntal challenges among portamento trombone lines and slippery alto sax trills.

From a 21st Century standpoint it soon became clear that such free jazz intensity couldn’t be maintained indefinitely. Pivots from impenetrable tone solidity into more porous and cleaner lines was being tested out on these characteristic sessions. The music had to evolve, yet these sessions confirm how exciting Free Jazz could be at its Gallic zenith.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Libres: 1. Contact 2. Un Goût De Rouge

Personnel: Libres: Joseph Traindl (trombone); Jean Querlier (alto saxophone and oboe); Jouk Minor (soprano and baritone saxophones) and Rachid Houari (drums)

Track Listing: Enfin: 1. Suite No. I 2. Suite No. II

Personnel: Enfin: Joseph Traindl (trombone); Jean Querlier (alto saxophone); Jouk Minor (baritone saxophones) Dominique Regef (hurdy gurdy) and Christian Lete (drums)