Brodie West/Terrie Ex/Han Bennink

Unfazed by the decades of musical history represented by his Dutch associates – Han Bennink, probably his country most recorded jazz drummer, and guitarist Terrie Ex, who has been a punk-rocker since its first spit – Toronto alto saxophonist Brodie West leaps into the fray in this session with youthful inspiration and the skills resulting from constant improvising. The result reflects the title: the three create at a high, interactive level from the get-go until they finally exhaust all sonic possibilities. Known locally for his gigs with trumpeter Lina Allemano, West has played with the two Dutchmen in different configurations. But here his febrile reed variations, that range from trilling obbligatos to eviscerating honks, spiced with split-second quotes from pop and jazz tunes, invigorate Bennink and Ex, pushing them to take more chances.

Ex, a frenetic if rudimentary guitar frailer, stays away from simple rhythms to use slurred fingering, amp distortion and scraping frails to augment his responses to the saxophonist’s flattement, penny-whistle-like shrills and reed bites. Bennink, who has worked with major jazz players since the early 1960s, is as unpredictable in his beat-making as always. But there are times here where his crunches and slams move into violent, near-Hard Rock territory to relate to Ex’s chunky strums and shakes, while at the same time using rattles, nerve beats and rim clicks to join West in deconstructing the material. For his part, West’s techniques include deliberately schmaltzy vibratos, circular breathing and dagger-sharp reed bites, help keep everyone off balance, but allow him to improvise at his inventive best.

–Ken Waxman

— for The Whole Note Vol. 17 #3