Will Bernard

DanzaCosmos
DanzaCosmos
Le Petit Label PL Son 025

Despite encompassing electric guitar, bass, keyboards and reed interjections these sessions couldn’t be more different, emphasizing once again the variety of textures available to worldly improvisers. A contemporary take on Bluesy funk discs of a generation ago, New York guitarist Will Bernard, who was part of T.J. Kirk, augments his trio of bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Ches Smith, with contributions from alto saxophonist Tim Berne and keyboardist John Medeski on several tracks. Without a drummer. But with alternate means to create percussion, Toulouse’s DanzaCosmos (DC) is committed to obtuse but not abstract free improvisation. Guitarist Heddy Boubaker, who has worked with likes of Birgit Ulher in the past is part of the ensemble that includes Laurent Avizou, who plays clarinet, banjo and effects, Youssef Ghazzal’s bass and Rodolphe Collange’s synthesizer and effects.

Despite DC’s string configuration no one could confuse this quarte for a string band or with clarinet an example of  jazz manouche. Instead the emphasis is on full electrified textures with twangs, strums and wood raps melded with oscillating wriggles and programmed drones, with the occasional clean guitar chord or reed wisp displaying the acoustic part of its electric-acoustic expositions. Even if some sequences suggest tremolo accordion-like sweeps, faux fiddle stretches and Klezmer-oriented clarinet smears, a combination of downward guitar strokes and accelerating electronic interface confirm the disc’s modernity. On “Petits Kangourous Des Survivants” for instance, swallowed reed tones set the stage until they and affiliated flat-picking are swept aside by a groundswell of pressurized electronic wave forms that transform earlier timbres to split-tone smears and near-mechanized twanging. These back-to-the-future conceptions predominate even when the tenor bajo is involved so string clangs blend with screeches from abrasive metal and slide-whistle like trilling. Individualism isn’t neglected either. On the extended “Au Chateau D’Argol” the regularized narrative is segmented at points with a seemingly unending clarinet trill,  lyrical guitar pattens and doubled buzzing bass scrape. Again though all these are integrated with the synthesizer’s accelerating drone there’s still enough space to appreciate the band’s acoustic prowess.

Also avoiding climbing into the Way-back machine is the group on Pond Life that produce a funky, foot-tapping session without ignoring advances in instrumental and compositional motifs. While not as experimental as some of Berne’s discs for instance, during  his four appearances he fits into the groove and outputs a sax line that has enough torque and oomph to hold its own with the electric instruments. Medeski’s syncopated organ chording and rhythmic thrusts are well-known. However his duplicate ability to create cross-pulsing piano licks on a track like “Medeski” are also on display, especially when he  harmonizes with the guitarist’s reined-in but cutting slides. Unobtrusive, the bassist maintains fluid rhythm augmentations and the drummer’s apparently effortless and continuous shuffle beat keep the proceedings more linear than fancier ruffs or bounces would. If needed Bernard can add a requisite Johnny Smith-like sweetness to his licks, as he does on “Moving Target”. But his strength and preference lies in extending the Blues-Rock line as he plays with it. This shows up most clearly on the title track and “Four Is More”,  both of which also feature the alto saxophonist. “Pond Life” includes the added inducement of overdubbed piano and organ as acoustic keyboard tickles intersect with subtle guitar slides until tremolo organ pressure set up a Bluesy interface expanded with sax bites and intense repeated guitar chording. As a quartet with Berne, “Four Is More”,  moves firmly into progressive Jazz-Blues with Hawaiian-styled echoes from Bernard intersecting with the slurs, slathers and split tone issuing from the saxophonist. The climax is reached as drum rumbles and paradiddles link a concentrated bottom with the constant shifting top.

United by only skill and execution, these discs could appeal to unique audiences. Perhaps though, the adventurous could give both a try.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Danza: 1.Au Hasard Du Radar De Ouarzazate 2. Sur Un Sentier De Poussières 3. Le Temps Se Découvre 4. Tapis Dans L’Ombre 5. Ces Fantômes Inconstants Déposaient Par Myriades Les Gouttelettes D’Une Semence Éblouissante 6. Le Temps Dérive 7. Au Chateau D’Argol 8. Captain Duckheart 9. Petits Kangourous Des Survivants 10. Nuit Pleine

Personnel: Danza: Laurent Avizou (clarinet, banjo, effects and voice); Heddy Boubaker (electro-acoustic guitar, effects); Youssef Ghazzal (bass) and Rodolphe Collange (synthesizer and effects)

Track Listing: Pond: 1. Poor Man’s Speedball^ 2. Type A^ 3. Surds. 4. Still Drinkin’?*^ 5. Pond Life* 6. Four Is More* 7.  Moving Target 8. That Day*^ 9. Motooz 10. Lake Of Greater Remnants

Personnel: Pond: Tim Berne (alto saxophone)*; John Medeski (piano, organ)^; Will Bernard (guitar); Chris Lightcap (bass) and Ches Smith (drums)