Galmadrua

Dikeman/Malfon/Bauer/Narvesen
Live at Artacts 2019
Idyllic Noise No #

Two saxophone quartets recorded two years apart in concert or the studio prove irrevocably that unbridled Free Jazz is alive and well. That’s despite its demise being frequently proclaimed since the death of John Coltrane in 1967. It’s also no surprise that each of the eight players devoted to expression are Europe based since that continent appears to appreciate the history as well as the new ideas projected by devoted improvisers.

Although tenor saxophonist John Dikeman on Live at Artacts 2019 is American he lives in Amsterdam and has worked with the likes of Jasper Stadhouders; his associate here  are all from the continent. Alto and tenor saxophonist Don Malfon is a Catalan who works with Agustí Fernández. Dependable bassist Matthias Bauer is German who moves between notated and improvised music and he and Berlin-based Norwegian drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen play with musicians like Harri Sjöström. Galmadrua’s studio date from two years later features Lille-based tenor saxophonist Michel Stawicki, and three Portuguese creative musicians: soprano saxophonist Paulo Galão, bassist João Madeira and drummer Mário Rua, all of whom have worked with other sound explorers like Ernesto Rodrigues and Hernâni Faustino.

Blasting off with smears, slurs and slides from the two saxophonist, Live at Artacts 2019 benefits from Bauer’s generated string power pulses and Narvesen’s drum splatters and crunches, The bassist’s downward string rappelling turns to directive bowing that while forceful also preserves horizontal exposition, even as slithering reed cries create a ferocious obbligato of  ecstatic blowing and crying doits. When Dikeman’s and Malfon’s outpourings start replicating gored animal cries, after interlude of alternating basement snores and altisssimo screeches, measured double bass pump and drum rattles drive the improvisation  downwards to a slower pace. Although Dikeman’s skyscraper screeches and Malfon’s burbling snarls still retain their contrapuntal challenge, rhythm section relaxation set up the more restrained interface on “Track 2”. Still rife with juddering reed multiphonics and the occasional strained Aylerian cry, this reed overblowing is put into a contrapuntal context so that each part of the quartet’s expression is emphasized. The program ends with variable high-pitched screams from both saxists and Narvesen’s and detours into smashes, ruffs and rattles, but it’s Bauer’s rumbling bass line which creates the disc’s final and defining linear statement.

Flash forward two years and southwards to Lisbon for Galmadrua’s no less intense nearly 48-minute single improv. Again it’s the bassist who sets the pace with a walking pulse, medial strums and up-and-down twangs. As the drum beats ruff and ripple, the saxophonists open up the exposition. There are grainy peeps from Galão, overblowing from  Stawicki, and irregular vibrations from both. Reed multiphonics fly every which way threatening to shatter any attempts at harmony, but Madeira’s spiccato and sul tasto bowing keeps the music moving forward. Before the half way mark in fact, contradictions are resolved with drum rolls and bass thumps on one side with progressive linearity, while the saxophonists’ timbres collide and separate  as they try out for size altissimo and sopranissimo shrieks, dual counterpoint and fragmented trills. While Stawicki’s playing sometime seems more modal and connective and Galão’s more staccato and fragmented, neither would be confused for Smooth Jazz stylists. Madeira’s guitar-like facility when playing pizzicato and Rua’s drum solos that include ratamacues, rebounds and ruffs contribute to the intensity level, as well as serving as anchors. Following an interlude of mewling reed echoes and bagpipe-like tremolo squirts from the horns at prestissimo tempos, the final sequence moves from New Thing-reminiscent miasma to a near lyrical coda, with reed textures mellowing even as they head northwards. Finally as in the other disc, the ending is signaled by a conclusive drum rumble and bass string thump.

If the skeptical need any proof that high-energy and high-quality Free Jazz still thrives in performance, all they have to do is hear these sessions.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Live: 1. Track 1 – 21:23 Track 2 – 10:40 Track 3 – 9:21

Personnel: Live: John Dikeman (tenor saxophone); Don Malfon (alto and tenor saxophones); Matthias Bauer (bass) and Dag Magnus Narvesen (drums)

Track Listing: Feat: 1. Lis-Li

Personnel: Feat: Paulo Galão  (soprano saxophone); Michel Stawicki (tenor saxophone); João Madeira (bass) and Mário Rua (drums)