#NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD FULL#

If thereвЂ™s any time to expect Gustafsson ragingwith the throttle open, itвЂ™s in a meeting with Japanesenoisemeister Merzbow.

#NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD FULL#

The simplerLP package here comes with a cover painting byMazurek dedicated to late fellow trumpeter Bill Dixonand both Underflow titles are available for streamingin full on Bandcamp. Guitar is amplified as well, but the sessionnevertheless turns out to be a fairly low-key set of fourabstract improvisations: вЂњCity Stones SleepвЂќ, вЂњGoatsand HollersвЂќ, вЂњCreep MissionвЂќ and вЂњNot in a Hall ofMirrorsвЂќ, ranging from 4:29-5:56 and 16:14-17:59.Extended solo passages serve to keep things on thequiet side while the group explorations have a pleasantway of wandering aimlessly but in sync. Underflow is also responsible for a trio release byGustafsson, guitarist David Grubbs and piccolotrumpeter Rob Mazurek (who also plays wooden fluteand percussion), recorded in 2019 and titled simplyLive at The Underflow Record Store and Art Gallery.Gustafsson again plays flute and baritone, along witha hybrid flutophone (a flute body with a saxophonemouthpiece) and he and Mazurek both employ liveelectronics.

The album comes notjust with a 48-page book of JarvisвЂ™ paintings buta 500-piece jigsaw puzzle of one of them, housed ina handsome, gold-embossed black box, released inconjunction with a show of JarvisвЂ™ paintings at theUnderflow Record Store and Gallery in Athens. The flip goes a bit darker,with two pieces for baritone saxophone and moresparing use of electronics and named (like the firstpiece and the album itself) after paintings by thecontemporary Swedish artist Edward Jarvis (b. Thelittle puzzles of pitch and pulsation, not even minuets,really, make for a fantastic suite of disorientation andconsciousness subsumed. 22 minutesof extended silences are interrupted by very briefpassages of flute, electronics and deep inhalations. Kissed.can be heard as an environmentalrecord and, in fact, could best be heard in a space withother sounds: birds, foghorns, maybe a smoke alarm.Side One is occupied by вЂњThe Hypnagogic PuzzleвЂќ,referencing the state just before sleeping. These albums-a solo and twotrios-arenвЂ™t exactly easy listening, but are refreshingin a terrain he traipses less often.

The gentler side of Gustafsson, rest assured,still has a jagged edge. But three recent records show asurprising-well, not quite softness, but a sort ofpliability. Know it or not, is a soft and placid Mats Gustafsson.The relentless Swedish reedplayer, who turns 56 thismonth, has one of the most recognizable tones aroundtoday, largely but not entirely due to the sheer force ofhis blowing. In times like these, maybe what we need, whether we Live at The Underflow Record Store and Art GalleryДavid Grubbs/Mats Gustafsson/Rob Mazurek(Underflow)

New york city jazz record