Category: Bimhuis

  • Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille @ Bimhuis

    Halloween 2007.
    Amsterdam. Bimhuis with Astro Tempunauts:
    Oliver Lake (sx) Reggie Workman (bs) Andrew Cyrille (ds)
    American Free-jazz in Europe.
    Messages from other galaxies and starbursts.
    Gravitationally bound systems of fate
    Dragged me to the gig like bossy Angels.
    I soon lost myself to the music though…

    Steaming passions, omni-directional forces
    Multi layered timbre, time, freedom freedom
    Star clusters, and various interstellar clouds
    How to bring it back? it back again?

    Dark Strumming from Workman,
    Blowing of shaman pipes, Tibetan sounding bells and
    His bow, sawing at the wound strings of his Double Bass.
    Searching, always looking,
    The Trio Trio Trio questioning everything
    Peculiar galaxies, unknown species,
    Starbursts, dark matter matters.

    The spirit of American music, peering into the void,
    Pop was excommunicated this Halloween in Europe.
    3 peacemakers of American Jazz, peacemakers for
    American Freedom, democracy, information technology,
    Philosophy, Science, more than mere music i say.
    These are active galactic nuclei from distant galaxies.
    Gathered on samhain between nothingness & eternity.
    Transformed into 3 Wizards constructing
    nNon-Euclidean Jazz Magic, Mystery, ambiguity,
    An awakening, masterfully crafted.
    Perfect.

    Saxes are hurtling into way way deep into Milky space,
    Oliver Lake, with the figure of a mighty Morpheus
    He serves up Red Pill after Red Pill into strange nebulae
    Journey after Journey, painting the Matrix Ultra violet
    A precise hurricane, rapid fire scatting Knu new new
    Anti-jazz language, as Dolphy, Trane, Ornette, Sonny, Pharoah.
    Popping Valve sounds like Dolphin chatter, water tight.
    Then a Jungle of tone erupts, hundreds of new tone-species
    Chattering,. spirits on the side of samhain
    All clambering to get in on this Jam.

    Andy Cyrille drums form a sound/light-house
    Past Alpha proxima, towards a ring galaxy,
    Seemingly able to jump quarter/half/ and full bars
    Ahead or behind the isolated pulse, in an instant.
    Then as if the spirits had conversed long enough
    Wrestled long enough and become restless and slipped
    Into hypertravel.

    On the side, an Anthem of Zigzag’d melody
    Accompanied by a seductive Swing, juicy roasting
    Roller coaster swing, syrup sprinkled with interstellar dust,
    Snap! Purrrrl purrrrl Snapta ta tata purrrrl.
    Snap! One massive cracking hit! Snap! once more.
    One Louder than the millions of shuffling feet of the beats
    Held with Andy’s left hand wand alone, his right meanwhile
    Poking spells and open clusters into the alloyed cymbal
    With a big “K” on it. A significant Free-jazz Doppler shift swing.

    I experienced many moments of Epiphany during the show
    Shattered thoughts coming together personal stuff
    Getting worked out by these Chirping shaman-doctors
    With the sonic Andromedae ambrosia i love so much.
    Seeing their most Humble and graceful postures,
    Hearing very few WORDS, and those that came were almost
    A whisper. Humble. Concise. Humble Informational.

    I had much gratitude for the players,
    American Peacemakers, real American peacemakers
    Here in Europe and roaming the transtemporal Omniverse.
    Here now to save the Universe again, and tonight
    Here in Amsterdam on samhain, again and again.
    They did more than that though,
    The Trio transfigured time/space for all of us.
    There was JuJu spirit in the air, impressions of cyclic minds
    Workman’s hands of plasma tonight, over the Big wooden
    Clef leaving no note left behind like an Octopus.
    Composure of an Aura murmur.

    A Super Nova birth, slapping, thumping Post Drum ‘N Bass
    Post all and nothing, this Trio Trio Trio questioning every
    Beat, Fast forwarding language computers,
    Under masterful control controlling toms.
    Everywitch way, every side, globular cluster jazz.
    Free. Anti-Pop. Wordless. Epic. And all that.

    Andy switches to brushes., suddenly everybody rushes
    And rushes and keeps streaming for some future destination
    Divisions and divisions, sub divisions, crushing music theory
    Smashing every genre, busting walls of sound, and re-building
    From a subterranean dreamscape somewhere in Asia Major,

    Palaces of fuzzy delicate crystal sculptures,
    Creatures chirp from inside them just hatching in proto-song.
    Breathing pulses, spinning off like asteroids after a collision
    Now a Zoo, different animals calling, insects, mammals,
    Strange fish and of course, birds.

    Talking, talking in varied angular velocities
    Getting through, like a fax machine signal, or a kind of rolling codex, Sheets of sound, phase shifts, whispering ghosts
    Building sonic keys signitures with Layers of rhythm,
    Layers of timbre, propagation pattern. Pattern,
    Turning transparent like giant molecular clouds of Tao.
    You build the melody now.
    You do it!

    The Trio of spacemen, all artificer, mechanic, craftsman,
    True American peacemakers , afro-black Futurist Tempunauts,
    Carrying the Legacy of the mighty Atom Smasher himself
    Workman alone played with Art Blakey, Kenny Burrel
    Roy Ayers, Grant Green, Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy
    Herbie Mann (R.I.P) Yusef Lateef, Alice and John
    Coltrane. The Masters of the Masters of Jazz
    Anywhere and Everywhere, and forever.

    And so i sing lofty praise in eleven sharps
    Love’s still alive and with us, the music lives and loves.
    And these cats play their music wherever it takes them
    Still today, innovating, improvising, everywitch way,
    This jazz moves to a place of chaos until the love
    Deep Within the music, deep within outer space suddenly
    Brings us back to the earth again, Big bang!
    And some healing ritualistic
    Post-Bop starts up. Hear! Calls! Everywhair!

    Waltz on the surface, dark undercurrents, tension-filled
    Cluster fucks of jamming snake rattle jazz,
    Soaring high movements of proto-galactic sax compositions,
    Entire tunes in several seconds, scales, keys,
    Rhythms, poked and screwed and pampered and peppered
    A Frenzy of light and dark forces battling
    A supercluster scale death match march at mach 4.
    Ping Ting of Alloy hats to deep Bass Bass Burrr.
    Tap Dancing polyrhythms, self replicating phrases
    With rapidly descending intervals between phrases
    Phase shifts, sonic booms, scrapping phrases
    Scratching, hooting,
    Pitter patter, hair whisper, blow, pop.

    Wood, steel, brass, reed, through air meeting
    Bio-electric interacting humans conduits into space
    Mmuscles, tendons, Lungs, lips, fingers, feet:
    Code breaking reality, trcik after trick aftrer trick
    After treat after treat after beat.
    At least temporarily, off off into deep space/time,
    And back.