Schubert/Pilz/Scheib/Kugel

Glod/Ramond/Kugel
No Toxic
Nemu CD 031

A fixture in free music circles since the late 1980s, German drummer Klaus Kugel has worked with everyone from Charles Gayle to Vyacheslav Ganelin. Besides his unbeatable rhythmic sense, Kugel’s go-to status also reflect his ability to respond positively to any situation. These vastly different discs pinpoint his adaptability. No Toxic’s 14 tracks pinpoint the interactive skills of three German musicians who have played together for two decades. Alto and soprano saxophonist Roby Glod, who teaches at the Luxembourg conservatory and Cologne bassist Christian Ramond have similar experience with noted improvisers as Kugel.

While Berlin-based Frank Paul Schubert who plays alto and soprano saxophones on Live at FreeJazzSaar 2019, recorded three years before No Toxic it’s bass clarinetist Michel Pilz (1945-2023), who shared Glod’s experience. German-born, he taught in Luxembourg, as well as working with the likes of Alesander Von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra. Veteran bassist Stefan Scheib, rounds out the quartet. Unlike the close-knit vitality of the trio, the quartet’s three-part improvisation is unique in an antithetical fashion. Not only is this a first-time collaboration, but each track is titled “Where is Charles” since the group filled a festival slot available when Charles Gayle didn’t appear Group member are mature enough to improvise at a high level as if the situation happened everyday.

Likely reminding Pilz of his earliest gigs, the improvisations intensify as they evolve with infrequent unison work mostly superseded by percussion rumbles and rattles and every form of extended reed techniques. Breaking his lines into  strained vibrations and elongated smears Schubert works his way up and down the scale for added toque. Chalumeau register clarinet snores provide the ostinato, joined by Scheib’s taut string pops, though Pillz’s defaults to clarion tones join soprano saxophone flutters to confirm lyrical interludes at crucial points. Fully involved enthusiastic audience applause erupts following particularly intense solos. Gradually solidifying the narrative as the improvisation evolves, four-part intensity eventually downshifts from note-bending, textural shattering challenges to andante synergy pinpointed by Kugel’s bell-tree shakes and then a defining concluding joint groove.

If there’s such a thing as confrontational chamber jazz than Glod/Ramond/Kugel have perfected it. The trio slides through the mostly improvised tracks with a minimum of disruptions, but with a maximum of subtly emphasized unexpected timbres. While Glod’s bop-reflective alto work sometimes resemble Bird more than Brötzman, elsewhere and especially on soprano he’s more audacious. Squeals, bites and honks characterize the title track with corkscrew reed ascendency matched by drum ruffs and strident string slices. “Unconscious Second Turn” is another instance of this as intense reed flutters meet drum paradiddles, cymbal crashes and  supple double bass stops. “Subconscious Triptychon” is probably the wildest track as harsh col legno smacks and hard drum  ruffs back a stop-time alto saxophone solo with mid-range squirms, slithers and slurs.

Slower moving and  well-modulated interaction also figures into the trio’s sound evolution. Throughout irregular pivots constantly give way to carefully balanced expositions with enough unexpected turns to confirm freshness. Connie Crothers :Carol’s Dream”, the set’s only non instant composition shows the band’s dual identity. Horizontal evolution comes from measured drumbeats and bas thumps, while as clarion reed sputters and trills confirms how the three can simultaneously emphasize harmony and harshness.

Different times, different associates and different concepts, each of these discs still show of Kugel’s skills and adaptability.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Live: 1. Where is Charles? Part 1 2. Where is Charles? Part 2 3. Where is Charles? Part 3

Personnel: Live: Frank Paul Schubert (alto and soprano saxophones); Michel Pilz (bass clarinet); Stefan Scheib (bass) and Klaus Kugel (drums)

Track Listing: No: 1. Unconscious Superglitzer 2. Carol’s Dream 3. Se Chussa De Re 4. Solution After The Storm 5. Hot Rot Hi-Beck 6. Bottlefish 7. Unconscious Second Turn 8. Basalte 9. Subconscious Triptychon 10.  Freggs! 11. Forgotten Dream 12. No ToXiC 13. Vortex Hunter 14. Jour Fruit.

Personnel: No: Roby Glod (alto and soprano saxophones); Christian Ramond (bass) and Klaus Kugel (drums)