Various Artists

Although Argentina has a rich and varied musical history, for many years, most foreigners only know of the few players who have become celebrated internationally by relocating to Europe or North America. In the age of increased travel and communication that might be changing and this fascinating 14-track anthology is a witness to this. In spite of – or perhaps because of – the repressive regimes that frequently governs the country, variations of improvised music and Free Jazz have adherents. The city specific title of this anthology is also self-explanatory. Like sound experimenters elsewhere, Argentinean musicians tend to congregate in the country’s largest and most diverse city.

Already interchange has begun among local and international players. “Amable amanecer”, for instance, features local soprano saxophonist Pablo Ledesma and bassist Mono Hurtado improvising alongside Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández, while “Che” is a duet between Austrian electronics manipulator Christof Kurzmann and local trumpeter Leonel Kaplan. The first piece is more melodic, as it initially mixes fully rounded bass string stops and a yearning saxophone line. Yet swift keyboard action eventually pushes Ledesma into clarion calls and mid-range lowing. Meanwhile on “Che”, variable buzzes from Kurzmann’s lloopp slithers alongside the trumpeter’s tongue fluttering that turns pressurized to accommodate the electronic instrument’s patterns jiggling to accordion-like tremolos.

The trumpeter has travelled widely overseas and recorded with the likes of Birgit Ulher and John Butcher. Travelers too are the duo of pianist Paula Shocron and drummer Pablo Díaz, whose New York associations include William Parker and Guillermo Gregerio. “Plaza y la vía” Kaplan‘s other track here, coincidentally with Ledesma and Hurtado, is a layered outing that moves between frisky and formal with the horizontal saxophone line most prominent. Improvising on her own, Shocron’s recital training seems to supersede detours into aleatory and Jazz-swing traditionalism. However her sparse, percussive comping on “La puerta R” provides an accomplished backing for what is almost a concerto for cornetist Enrique Norris as he explorers his instrument’s upper regions. One of the set’s highlights, “Improvisation on graphic score”, which opens the disc, has the pianist, drummer and cornetist plus bassist Germán Lamonega and tenor saxophonist Pablo Moser involved in a high-energy excursion. Internal piano string echoes, disconnected reed slurs and whiny brassiness echo and splinter before uniting in a theme that is both free and Boppish. This sort of sequence is echoed on the speedy “La playa pequeña” by Norris, Díaz and bassist Maximiliano Kirszner. Distributing his muted grace notes carefully, Norris’ exposition advances with staccato flutters leaving space for the bassist to rappel up and down the scale as the drummer rattles and cymbal pops, with the three reaching a early Ornette- Coleman-Quartet-like climax. “Improvisation 068”, another outing by the drummer with tenor saxophonist Miguel Crozzoli and bassist Juan Bayon could have been included on an original ESP disk from the 1960s. With Díaz in ambidextrous Sunny Murray mode and Crozzoli replicating Sonny Rollins stentorian slurps, the piece still demonstrates and confirms its 21st Century modernity with Bayon’s downwards sweeping solo.

These aren’t the only capstones of the disc, since tracks elaborate the skills of the city’s slightly more veteran free improvisers such as pianist Norris, who in full flight pulls and clatters the kinetics of a Cecil Taylor or a Borah Bergman and bass saxophonist Luis Conde. The latter demonstrates his skill in making his unwieldy horn dance as well as blast on “Primer jugo bovino”, when his saxophone’s irregular croaks and sandpaper-like roughness and guitarist Ramiro Molina’s string stabs and slithers reach bullet train-like speeds complemented by live electronics before cannily mating for the conclusion. More crucially “Transición”, the concluding track unites Conde and flutist José Maria D’Angelo in an improvisation with Eliseo Tapia playing the bandoneón, long preferred as tango accompaniment. Bass saxophone tongue slaps and key percussion plus jittery flute peeps revamp the bandoneón’s tremolo continuum, making clear the players’ dual links to the city’s traditional and experimental sounds.

Not every track on the CD expresses the history and future of Argentinean improvisation as clearly as “Transición”, but each supplies a valuable glimpse of the city’s experimental scene of today. In 1977 Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions, collected important advanced and unique music on three discs. New Improvised Music from Buenos Aires does the same on one. It should be equally celebrated and influential.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Improvisation on graphic score 2. Primer jugo bovino 3. Amable amanecer 4. Relámpagos I 5. Che 6. Relámpagos II 7. La playa pequeña 8. Solo piano improvisation 9. 18:18 10. Relámpagos II 11. La puerta R 12. Improvisation 0681 13: Plaza y la vía 14. Transición

Personnel: Track 1: Enrique Norris (cornet); Pablo Moser (tenor saxophone); Paula Shocron (piano); Germán Lamonega (bass); Pablo Díaz (drums) Track 2: Luis Conde (bass saxophone, loops); Ramiro Molina (guitar, processing, live electronics) Track 3: Pablo Ledesma (soprano saxophone); Agustí Fernández (piano); Mono Hurtado (bass) Track 4: Luis Conde (alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet); Fabiana Galante (piano, prepared piano) Track 5: Leonel Kaplan (trumpet); Christof Kurzmann (lloopp) Track 6: same as #4 Track 7: Enrique Norris (cornet, percussion); Maximiliano Kirszner (bass); Pablo Díaz (drums, percussion) Track 8: Paula Shocron (piano) Track 9: Luis Conde (bass saxophone, clarinet, loops); Jorge Chikiar (piccolo clarinet, synthesizers, ARS electronics); Track 10: same as #4 Track 11: Enrique Norris (cornet, piano); Paula Shocron (piano percussion) Track 12: Miguel Crozzoli (tenor saxophone); Juan Bayon (bass); Pablo Díaz (drums) Track 13: Leonel Kaplan (trumpet); Pablo Ledesma (soprano saxophone); Mono Hurtado (bass) Track 14: José Maria D’Angelo (flute); Luis Conde (bass saxophone); Eliseo Tapia (bandoneón)