Jackson/Serries/Vanderstraeten

Mahall-Rupp-Tom
Live in Stockholm
Audiosemantics AS 21004

Distinct if somewhat usual trio configurations from two sets of veteran European improvisers demonstrate ongoing invention connected to equally valid concept. Four different countries are represented, but still the interaction is almost the same. If subtle differences exist it’s because German guitarist Olaf Rupp is playing an electric model on Live in Stockholm, while Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries plays an acoustic six string on Dandelion.

Long-time associates in this and other bands, Rupp’s partners are German clarinetist Rudi Mahall and Danish drummer Kasper Tom. On the other disc, Serries and drummer Kris Vanderstraeten are Belgians involved in free music for many years, while the UK’s Tom Jackson is a slightly younger practitioner of the same art.

With drum rolls and focused pops behind them, the guitar and clarinet strategies are initially antithetical. Becoming more bellicose as he slides down the scale Rupp’s constant strums are a contrapuntal challenge to Mahall’s multiphonic squeaks and extended trills. Super-fast string frails and hammering soon encourage harder drumming and uneven pressure from Tom’s kit as clarion reed peeps climb higher and higher. The cumulative climax appears on “Sargent Plierte Schief Durch Seine Verrutschte Brille”, as Mahall’s output relaxes into more spherical tones that sometime sound as if he’s blowing into a wind tunnel. Sucking on the clarinet reed and vibrating lower pitches, he eventually reverts to harsher split tones as Rupp downward thumps emphasize the amplified capabilities of his instrument. Expressed in tandem with Tom’s drum beats, this signals cohesion among the three.

Maintaining tough horizontal strumming, Rupp’s adherence to horizontal evolution strengthens the trio’s flow until its conclusion. The drummer’s gentler clatters add to this. Meanwhile at one point, Mahall’s split tone softens so that he seems about to play a guttural version of “Girl from Ipanema”.

Tom’s contribution may have been understated on the other disc, but during the Dandelion’s session Vanderstraeten is upfront most of the rime. Jackson’s shrills and tongue flutters set up the expositions with Serries metallic echoes, intermediate slides and up-the-neck picks and below-the-bridge clanks providing sympathetic decorations. Expanding both linear motion and auditory enhancements, the percussionist’s parallel, but not overwhelming cadences include hollow pops, woody crunches, Mylar scrubs, strained cymbal coloration and idiophone ratchets and shakes.

Most prominent on “Violet blue” and “Dark green”,  his playing creates the proper equivalence to the sounds from the other trio members. Jackson’s initially unaccompanied thin flutters are given extra gravitas by Vanderstraeten’s bolo-bat-like thumps and regularized tick tocks. While Serries’ string rubs, that can sound like stick friction bursting into flame, become even more taunt when framed by constant percussion sounds.

Combing guitar ratchets and pops, high-pitched reed trills and cymbal smashes into group story-telling, the trio members continue to express individual textures as the narratives slide to a polyphonic conclusion,

Without lacking any sonic elements, cooperative and cooperating trios like these can provide all the textures needed for enticing creative improvisations.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Live: 1.  Auf Einer Heide Kratzte Unter Blinkenden Sternen Ein Fuchs 2. Rotdampfenden Raubgeruch Im Pelz, Mit Gnadenlos Klaren Augen In Der Erde 3.  Sargent Plierte Schief Durch Seine Verrutschte Brille 4. Hockey-Stöcke Klapperten In Der Rumpelkammer

Personnel: Rudi Mahall (clarinet and bass clarinet); Olaf Rupp (guitar) and Kasper Tom (drums)

Track Listing: Dandelion: 1. Carnation pink 2. Dandelion 3. Violet blue 4. Dark green 5. Bright yellow

Personnel: Dandelion: Tom Jackson (clarinet); Dirk Serries (guitar) and Kris Vanderstraeten (percussion and drums)