Yamabiko Quintet

Schubert-Uchihashi-Kugel
Black Holes are Hard to Find
Nemu Records 028

The ongoing partnership between German improvisers, drummer Klaus Kugel and alto/soprano saxophonist Frank Paul Schubert has resulted in some memorable sessions because the two refuse to limit themselves to standard formulae. The drummer who has worked with players from Charles Gayle to Vyacheslav Ganelin, and the saxophonist whose associates have included Alexander Von Schlippenbach and Mathias Müller, are involved in multiple but individual sound experiments.

Take these CDs for instance. The Yamabiko Quintet is a newly founded working group with a Free Jazz direction, Black Holes are Hard to Find is an on-off exploration of more abstract creative music. Other quintet members are bassist Christian Ramond, who has recorded with the drummer in the past plus bass clarinetist Michel Pilz and trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen who frequently work together. Unlike the all-Teutonic quintet, the third participant in the other CD is Japanese guitarist/electronic extender Kazuhisa Uchihashi, whose experimental affiliations include theatre, rock bands and the likes of Ned Rothenberg.

Emphasizing guitar strums, slurred fingering and slides, Uchihashi’s pliability further enhances the interaction. This includes Kugel’s rhythms which encompass chain rattling and gong reverberation in addition to individual focus on parts of a regular kit and Schubert’s dual saxophone emphasis, travelling from gritty growls to overblowing flutters, altissimo squalls to strained puffs. The concluding “Supersonic Interaction” clearly defines this. Piling up banjo-like twangs, amp buzzes and steel-string finger-style clanks into a polyphonic exposition, the guitarist further crams whirling electronic vibrations and some choked vocalizing into the mix.

Meeting this are multiphonic reed squeaks inflated with triple-tonguing and drum rim clips that coalesce and toughen as ruffs and rebounds. Schubert sometimes challenges the electronic fuzz with spetrofluctuation or takes on oscillated drones and guitar flanges with pointed counterpoint, moving passages ahead with broken octave trills and squeaks. Similarly Kugel at points counters Uchihashi’s detours into Duane Eddy-like raunchiness and voltage rebounds with cymbal clangs and positioned paradiddles adding more horizontal spacing. “Black Holes Are Hard To Find” is the most extended variant of this tripartite – or maybe four-part –interface. Schubert’s flutter tonguing advances to circular breathing at the top with these open-horn maneuvers paced by drum rattles and abrasive string pulls. A mid-point pivot to a contrapuntal guitar melody atop oscillated buzzing creates broken-chord variations expanded with the saxophonist’s pressurized growls, then stabilized and brought to a halt with Kugel’s stentorian gong smashes.

Moving from Free Music to Free Jazz, Yamabiko Quintet’s tracks are more thematic and linear. While Pilz’s experience with the genre goes back to his 1970s work with the Manfred Schoof quintet, the thematic material and arrangements are thoroughly contemporary and more inclusive. The introductory “Bow” for instance weaves unison trumpet and reeds and Kugel’s chimes and gongs into a Spiritual-like theme which is frequently restated even as the bass clarinetist sounds downward chalumeau notes. In the same fashion, the concluding “Beautiful Flowers” includes a second section which has a relaxed kwela and Caribbean tonal inflection as well as a thematic resemblance to “Bow”. This following a primary sequence where Kugel’s press rolls, ratchets and cymbal echoes back Schubert emphasizing the theme with furry reed aplomb. Furthermore along with careful layering of the horns’ output, this format allows more space for individual soloing.

The title track is particularly notable in this respect. The saxophonist crams in reflections of other melodies while continuously emphasizes one technique or another, highlighting flattement, slurpy split tones and snorting interlocutions. Winterschladen’s initial brass obbligato is moderated and muted, until his straight-ahead grace notes move up the scale as they expand the sound picture. When some passages threaten to turn towards unison lugubriousness, the drummer marching band-like interjections or groove patterning up the pace. Similarly Ramond’s undulating string pulse contribute stability to the disc, no matter how many strident reed growls or clarion calls-to-arms, hard brassy triplets or slippery percussion clip and curves are part of the mix,

Whether Yamabiko Quintet will be a long-lasting group is a question for the future. It has certainly made a statement with its mixture of probing and primary narratives here. Plus as the other disc confirms, Schubert and Kugel will continue testing their skills in other configurations.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Black: 1. Needles Eye 2. Black Holes Are Hard To Find 3. Explosive Past 4. Internal Structure 5. New Kind Of Terrain 6. Additional Rendezvous 7. Supersonic Interaction

Personnel: Black: Frank Paul Schubert (alto and soprano saxophones); Kazuhisa Uchihashi (guitar and electronics) and Klaus Kugel (drums and gongs)

Track Listing: Yamabiko: 1. Bow 2. Sandrinella 3. Layered History 4. A Glimpse Of Its Destination 5. Curled Up 6. Yamabiko 7. Cloudscape 8. Beautiful Flowers

Personnel: Yamabiko: Reiner Winterschladen (trumpet); Frank Paul Schubert (alto saxophone); Michel Pilz (bass clarinet); Christian Ramond (bass) and Klaus Kugel (drums)