Ronny Graupe

Ches Smith
Interpret It Well
Pyroclastic Records PR 19

There’s a particular art in blending guitar and vibraphone as well as other instruments and the quartets here each do so in a unique manner. New York drummer/vibist  Ches Smith came up with the seven compositions on Interpret It Well to showcase a configuration formed when guitarist Bill Frisell was added to the percussionist’s regular trio of pianist Craig Taborn and violist Mat Maneri. The Call on the other hand features the regular working group of Berlin-based  guitarist Ronny Graupe, who was previously one third of the Hyperactive Kid band. His associates here are Polish vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski, British bassist Phil Donkin and fellow German drummer Oli Steidle. Besides the variations in instrumentation, each quartet may reflect its location. Graupe’s group are mostly involved in interpreting two multi-sectional suites which are quiet, airy, buoyant and run the risk of sliding into sugariness. Interpret It Well in contrast is darker and more pressurized with expositions that are rugged shards encompassing taut shuffles and reimagined structures.

Frisell may be the best-known performer but since the others are part of a working trio, his contributions are usually restricted to vibrating the odd notes, adding string coloration to group expositions or evolving broken octave themes in counterpoint with the others. Beginning with the title track most of the interaction is designed so that wiggling glissandi or aul tasto pressure from Maneri evolves alongside Smith’s vibe coloration or infrequently the guitarist’s lines. Taborn’s inclusive piano patterning underlies the mixture, with Smith, when he switches to percussion, accenting the proceedings with tough kettle-drum-like smacks or place making backbeats. Despite the rare knob-twisting flanges or fuzztones from the guitarist his accompaniment is more Chet Atkins than Keith Richards.

That gives Maneri most of the space. Double or triple stopping he scrapes, slides and strops drama from his strings with repeated swipes both advancing the narrative and working out intersectional breaks. On “I Need More” though it’s the fiddler that advances the theme taking over from Taborn. This allows the pianist to caress and project bent notes, expanding his expression to two-handed and pedal point affiliations. This outpouring climaxes with cascading guitar frails followed measured drum shuffles and sul ponticello slices from Maneri. It’s the extended “Mixed Metaphor” though which incorporate the varied sonic strands to best advantage. Working up from a slippery single-string guitar run, low-pitched viola slices, vibe resonation and keyboard plinks clothe the melodic skeleton. Climaxing with interlocking glides downward from metal bars and the keyboard, drum backbeats and rolls, string glissandi and rhythm guitar chunks create a crescendo of louder and a slow-moving stretch as a finale.

Separating the two suites with a pousse café of designate guitar licks on “Name”, The Call’s music is sprightlier but also more rhythmically oriented. The five-part “Determination” is simpler of the two with a head that resembles “Comin’ Home Baby” and is organized around vibes-guitar cross overs. Relaxed at the top with Latinesque drum clips, bass fill-ins and slurred fingering from Graupe, it reverberates to a reflective climax on the concluding “Assembly” and “Dusk”. Donkin’s in-the-groove bass breaks provides association and extension as they’re backed by clip-clop drumming until guitar comping turns to single-string emphasis with higher pitched reflections that relate back to the introduction.

^The equivalent to painting on canvas verses the pencil sketch that’s the other suite, the nine part “The Call” works through mini-features for each quartet member. Although at points it barely skirts a superficial aural resemblance to the George Shearing Quintet it eventually toughens. More Milt Jackson than any of Shearing’s vibes players, Bukowski’s metal rolls reverberate at the top introducing double bass string rubs and thumps, hard pops from Steidle and finally a call-and-response vamp between vibe slithers and sliding guitar picking. The sound cluster tightens and toughens during the concluding sequences beginning with “The Tiger”. Speeding in sync to examine the composition’s parameters from every angle, cymbal swishes, drum rebounds and rim shots preserve the group’s linear evolution as Graupe’s responsive guitar strokes get a respite for a capella, finger-style story telling. Reverting to a harder surface on the final “10000 Years”, dexterous interjections from all become responsive and connective as the piece displays more emotion heft before its conclusion.

While at points each quartet displays contrasting light and dark variations on the basis instrumental blend, each creates a valid working experience.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Interpret: 1. Trapped 2. Interpret It Well 3. Mixed Metaphor 4. Morbid 5. Clear Major 6. I Need More 7. Deppart

Personnel: Interpret: Craig Taborn (piano); Mat Maneri (viola); Bill Frisell (guitar) and Ches Smith (drums and vibes)

Track Listing: Call: Determination: 1. Dawn 2. Belief  3. There are not only a Few 4. Assembly 5. Dusk 6. Name The Call: 7. Enter  8. Cutting Off 9. The Hindrance 10. Go Straight Ahead 11. The Tiger 12. The Heavens 13. Tell Me Where! 14. The Rail 15. 10000 Years

Personnel: Call: Ronny Graupe (guitar); Dominik Bukowski (vibraphone); Phil Donkin (bass) and Oli Steidle (drums)