Jazz

Misha Mengelberg & ICP Orchestra – Japan Japon (2002)

2009-10-19T16:36:15Z

Misha Mengelberg & ICP Orchestra – Japan Japon (2002)


1. Salute to Fujisawa Shukoh (2'47)

Kwela:
- 2. Hap (3'24)
- 3. Boodshappen (7'00)
- 4. Welkom (1'52)
- 5. Briefkaart (3'43)
- 6. Maurits (2'18)

7. Habanera (6'58)
8. Carnaval (Horsthuis) (4'13)
9. Japan Japon (7'11)
10. Zing Zang Zaterdag (3'08)
11. Brozziman# (11'37)
12. Caravan* (Ellington, Tizol, Mills) (7'05)

total time: 59'26

ICP ORCHESTRA
Misha Mengelberg: piano, voice
Han Bennink: drums, etc.
Peter Brötzmann: alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, voice
Keshavan Maslak: alto & tenor saxophones, voice
Michael Moore: alto saxophone, clarinet
Wolter Wierbos: trombone
Joep Maassen: trombone
Larry Fishkind: tuba
Maurice Horsthuis: viola
Toshinori Kondo: trumpet, voice

For an orchestra to play its best music as a duo is not extravagant flattery by any means. If the duo in question is pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink, then there is understandably the problem that it is hard with a team as brilliant as that for additional musicians such as a horn section to interact on such a consistently inspired level. This isn't always the case with the ICP Orchestra, and it is easy to see that the material featured on this live recording was no doubt part of a concert that was overall quite entertaining. Some of what happens doesn't come across so well on vinyl, one of the problems being a dynamic range that is so broad that listeners will be scrambling to turn down the volume during full ensemble parts, then wondering what happened to the music a few moments later. There is always a relationship in Mengelberg's projects between his written themes and the anarchistic leanings of the performers he involves. These two factors are interdependent, thriving off each other, when the group is at its best. But on this album the themes seem to come along like a sign for a missing hotel, although the listener may not be as pleased as a weary traveler might be in this circumstance. Soloists are featured in a kind of showy manner, neither creating a grand disruption nor propelled by any kind of moving band support. Moments such as a duet involving a clarinet and the pianist go on too long, and just aren't that interesting. Which, in the end, leaves the brilliant opening by the pianist and his longtime percussion partner and a few other highlights such as whenever even a hint of swing develops in the rhythm section. Perhaps a performance such as this is the result when a group doesn't have to try too hard -- adored as these players are in Japan, they probably didn't have to do much more than walk into the hall before they had already gotten an ovation. ---Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

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Misha Mengelberg - Pech Onderweg (1979)

2010-11-13T15:36:07Z

Misha Mengelberg - Pech Onderweg (1979)


1 Pech Onderweg 1 (Trouble On The Road 1) 5:27
2 Pech Onderweg 2 (Trouble On The Road 2) 5:56
3 Rapsodie Soliée Bref 6:49
4 Wie Jeuk Heeft, Als Moet Men Zich Krabben (When Itching Who, If People Scratches) 6:06
5 Suite Banana (13:57)

Misha Mengelberg – piano

Recorded live at the BIM-huis, Amsterdam, february 25, 1978.

The English translation of this album title is "trouble on the road," and this seems to be the theme of the first two performances on this collection of solo piano pieces. Superficially it may seem a bit too easy for a musician known for avant-garde playing to approach this subject. Whatever the trouble on the road might be, surely more than a few avant-garde clichés spring to mind for a musical equivalent. Yet there are no clichés in Misha Mengelberg's piano playing, other than his own, the main one of which is to stop playing and smoke a cigarette. Whatever image this attitude might create of a lax, uninvolved player would be forever dispelled by the first of the "Pech Onderweg" portraits, in which a totally concentrated Mengelberg unleashes a performance that seems to taunt the listeners with aspects of so many different kinds of piano music, at the same time carefully developing and filing each for later use, perhaps in this piece or perhaps in the next century. The second of these road hazard performances is more of the same, plus this time he skillfully weaves a boogie woogie theme in and out. This wets the appetite for "Wie Jeuk Heeft, Als Moet Men," something do with scratching and itching, in which the pianist comes up with a fascinating probe of jazz piano, particularly the Thelonious Monk style. The balance of the record continues with superior performances -- it can truly be said this pianist was on the case for this, unbelievably a live performance at the Bim Huis in Amsterdam. The "Suite Banana" on the second side is where this artist's perverse humor forms a lather around the keyboard, although he also hams it up on the "Raspodie Soliee Bref," expertly mixing in moments of sincere sentimentality. While fans of Mengelberg must enjoy the comic side of his talent, complete with extemporized percussion, mouth noises, and drunken-sounding singing, this time around there is also a sense of deep gratitude for such a solid, personal, and emotionally captivating performance having preceded it. ~Eugene Chadbourne, allmusic.com

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Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink, John Tchicai - Instant Composers Pool

2009-10-19T16:38:04Z

Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink, John Tchicai - Fragments (1968)


   1. Amagabowl part 1, no. A B C D E
   2. Amagabowl part 2, no. F G H I J

Misha Mengelberg - piano
John Tchicai - alto saxophone
Han Bennink - drums

Recorded At Schoonoord/Zeist On May 13-14, 1968

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