nwoj0056

JACKSON SERRIES VANDERSTRAETEN – DANDELION
cd

Carnation pink
Dandelion
Violet blue
Dark green
Bright yellow

Tom Jackson : clarinet
Dirk Serries : acoustic guitar
Kris Vanderstraeten : percussion, drums

Microsoft Word – nwoj0056_JACKSON SERRIES VANDERSTRAETEN_DANDELION.docx

Performed, recorded, mixed and mastered at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio, Anderlecht (Belgium) on October 6th 2021.

Sleeve notes : Guy Peters.
Layout : Rutger Zuydervelt

REVIEWS

“3 out of 5 rating. Dandelion is a five-track improv release that rewardingly shifts from the darting & playful, onto the lightly seared and moody, through to the manic & rather wacky. The release features the trio of Tom Jackson- Clarinet, Dirk Serries- acoustic guitar, and Kris Vanderstraeten- Percussion/ Drums.
The release comes in the form of a CD release on Antwerpen’s A New Wave Of Jazz- who focuses on the more difficult, abstract, and noise-bound side of the improv/ modern composition genres. The CD comes presented in labels house style grey & white mini gatefold- which features on its outside grey boxes and white texts, and inside a write-up about the trio & the track presented here. This release is Ltd to just 200 copies. Of the trio I was already aware of Mr Serries- since the mid-’80s this Belgian’s career has shifted from the ambient/experimental stylings of his Vidna Obmana project, onto the more improv-focused work of his solo/ collaborative release. I also knew Londoner Tom Jackson, after hearing his intense duelling horn improv release The Other Lies( with saxophonist Collin Webster)- released on New Wave Of Jazz in 2022. I wasn’t familiar with Kris Vanderstraeten work, but after a search, I find out he’s been active in the Belgian free improv scene since the 1970s- with around twenty releases to his name. The five tracks featured here have runtimes between four and eleven minutes a piece. We open with “Carnation Pink” which goes from low-key warbles, creaks, and neck scrambles. Onto a more playful blend of rapid percussive dart ‘n’ fumble, jiving strums, and flighty flute ‘n’ wails. We have the wacky fiddling ‘n’ forking of “Violet Blue” which finds exuberant horn weaves, meeting guitar twangs ‘n’ scrubs, and generally shifting percussive playfulness. In the second half of the record, we have ”Dark Green” which shifts from low-key scrapes, whistles, and dragging hisses. Though to a more lively mix of mischievous honks, guitar pluck ‘n’ saw, and tip-top percussive shifts. Onto a more haunting, and almost ritual refrain. With the album been finished off with the manic slapstick feel of “Bright Yellow” which begins all detailed percussive darts, neck scrubs ‘n’ bays, and tightly constricted horn darts….though later on dips into slightly more forlorn waters, with stretched warbling honks, winding to tip-toping percussion runs, and choppy strums.

Dandelion is another mighty fine example of adventurous, at points manic & seared improv from the folks at A New Wave Of Jazz. With all three players really work wonderfully together to create a selection of unpredictable & searingly vibrant improv.” Musique Machine – UK

“Dość jeszcze młody Anglik i dwóch doświadczonych (nawet bardzo) Belgów proponuje nam nagranie niezwykłe. Na lewej flance bardzo kreatywny klarnecista, którego znamy z wielu ciekawych albumów, muzyk wszakże nie nastawiony na eskalowanie ekspresji, to raczej wyczulony na niuanse post-kameralista. Po prawej stronie gitarzysta, tu w wersji akustycznej, a zatem skory do intrygującego pętlenia narracji, nieustannie wystawiający partnerów na nowe i niełatwe zadania. Po środku zaś weteran swobodnego percussion & drums (dokładnie w tej kolejności), który zdaje się być głównym strategiem tej improwizacji, muzykiem, który permanentnie sieje zdrowy ferment i wtłacza narrację w coraz bardziej urokliwe sytuacje sceniczne. Dodajmy, iż album jest fantastycznie skonstruowany pod względem dramaturgicznym. Każda kolejna improwizacja zdaje się tu zagęszczać emocje i nieść nas coraz większym wzniesieniem.

Początek nagrania to gromada drobnych fraz – pisków, delikatnych obtarć, trzasków, szmerów i szelestów. Akustyczny mikro świat, który szybko gęstnieje i przyjmuje postać tzw. narracji właściwej, pełnej ciekawych zakamarków i zwinnie pokonywanych zakrętów. Wszystkie frazy, akcje i towarzyszące im bystre reakcje zdają się tu do siebie pasować niemal idealnie – od szczegółu do ogółu i z powrotem! Druga opowieść zaczyna się na stojąco – coś rezonuje, ktoś wzdycha. Po kilku głębszych oddechach narracja rusza jednak z kopyta i dość szybko zyskuje na dynamice. Zadziorne frazy gitary, wycofana melodyka klarnetu i wielopalczasty drummer, który z wyjątkową gracją pociąga za sznurki. Trzecia improwizacja faluje niczym wzburzony ocean. Najpierw budowana ze sprytnych short-cuts, potem oparta na zwinnych interakcjach. Pierwszym, który ciągnie narrację na wzniesienie jest dobrze już rozgrzany klarnet. Emocje rosną jak w dobrym filmie kryminalnym. Nie brakuje też fazy rezonująco-śpiewającej, szczególnie w parze klarnet-perkusja. Ten pierwszy ma tu nawet krótkie, w pełni samotne solo. Rozbudowana czasowo narracja wchodzi w fazę beauty falling down dopiero po dziesiątej minucie. Zdobi ją szczególnie garść tajemniczych, elektroakustycznych dźwięków, zapewne ze strony perkusjonalisty. Czwarta odsłona stawia na frazy permanentnie preparowane. Klarnetowe gwizdy, smyczkowe akcje na gryfie gitary i kacze gdakanie perkusjonalisty. Muzycy zaskakują nas tu na każdym korku – rozkołysane śpiewy, dynamiczne podskoki i stado koni w galopie – wszystko brzmi niczym soundtrack do filmu przygodowego. Na starcie ostatniej części albumu dostajemy dźwięki wprost z werbla, których pochodzenia możemy się jedynie domyślać. Rozrywane struny gitary i klarnecie popiskiwanie, to kolejne elementy tej układanki. Muzycy formują się w zwarty, na poły rytmiczny szyk. Emocje skaczą tu do samego nieba, tempo eskaluje, ekspresja eksploduje! Na moment zwalniają, by schylić się po drobne, niemal zjawiskowe dźwięki, po czym skaczą na powrót w piekło niekończących się, całkiem tanecznych podrygów. Po siódmej minucie zdejmują nogę z gazu i zaczynają preparować. Klarnecista śpiewa teraz na smutno, gitarzysta liczy struny, a perkusista przestawia przedmioty na werblu, obiera je ze skóry, zdaje się, że także … nakręca. Bardziej energetyczne frazy powracają tu na ostatniej prostej, genialnie reasumując całe spotkanie.” Spontaneous Music Tribune – Poland

“Guitare acoustique (Dirk Serries), clarinette (Tom Jackson) et percussions (Kris Vanderstraeten) au menu de Dandelion, la fleur pissenlit dernier-née du label New Wave of Jazz enregistré au Sunny Side Studio à Anderlecht le 6 octobre 2021. Musique improvisée radicale ancrée dans l’écoute mutuelle et l’invention spontanée en utilisant les ressources sonores des trois instruments. Avec son attirail percussif fait maison, ses mini-tambours, métaux rares, une caisse claire, des tambours chinois, râcloirs, objets, moteurs, globe terrestre, pièces métalliques, ressorts, archets, fagot de baguettes disproportionnées, Kris Vanderstraeten personnifie le puriste de la percussion improvisée de l’ère bric-à-brac des Jamie Muir, Terry Day, Paul Lytton et Roger Turner. Il explore les surfaces et recoins de son improbable installation, une œuvre d’art en soi, arpentant secousses, frémissements et silences. Ses frappes menues et discrètes et toutes ses manipulations bruissante d’objets insolites offrent un champ d’action à ses deux acolytes, son volume sonore réduit et la dynamique de son jeu surréaliste contextualisent le modus opératoire du souffleur, majestueux et elliptique et du six-cordistes frénétique. Il faut bien du tempérament à Dirk Serries pour construire sa toile arachnéenne au travers des frettes, clusters volatiles et zig-zags. Striant les cordes d’un plectre ravageur, il fait éclater les armatures harmoniques comme les électrons, protons et neutrons de métaux rares en désintégration kinesthésique. Tournoyant comme un oiseau de proie fait d’air sifflant dans un mystérieux chalumeau, le clarinettiste Tom Jackson projette les volutes chantantes et lunaires au lyrisme oblique et les diffractions de sonorités en lorgnant le fatras bruitiste de ces deux partenaires affairés avec un regard en coin : contraste improbable qui rend leurs pirouettes désopilantes. L’intérêt réside dans les changements de dynamique et les incidences aléatoires ou prises en vol de la configuration interactive, tuilée ou de leurs actions musicales. Actions musicales comme on parlait d’action painting à propos de Pollock. Après la mise en bouche de 1/ Carnation Pink, les choses décollent sérieusement dans le déchaînement pointilliste de 2/ Dandelion, fleur traduite en français par Pissenlit mais dont le nom provient de Dent de Lion, soit en dents de scie – zig-zags entrecroisés et distordus. 3/ Violet Blue entame une autre perspective quasi visuelle, agitatrice, face au jeu flegmatique du souffleur pépiant comme un oiseau, lui-même, face aux facéties des deux autres garnements jusqu’à s’enrhumer le bocal où son anche douce est littéralement torturée ou son aura floutée. 4/ Dark Green enchaîne encore une autre narration bien distincte des précédentes, démontrant ainsi que la musique « abstraite » acquiert sous leurs doigts et avec leur sensibilité toute une imagerie imaginaire et imaginative qu’on n’a aucune peine à reconnaître et identifier d’une improvisation à l’autre. Une ludique fantaisie. Et le finale 5/ Bright Yellow démontre que l’attention des trois improvisateurs à renouveler la trame de leurs inventions est toujours aussi concentrée. Une session eemarquable et très réussie. Signalons sur le même label le trio de Kris Vanderstraeten avec John Russell et Stefan Keune (On Sunday), le duo de Tom Jackson avec le saxophoniste Colin Webster (the Other Lies) en ajoutant que Tom Jackson et Dirk Serries collaborent étroitement avec le violiste (alto) Benedict Taylor : Hunt at the Brook pour le premier et Puncture Cycle pour le deuxième, créant ainsi un esprit de famille ‘nwoj’. Ces quelques titres figureront en bonne place sous le sapin, rien de plus normal pour une musique pointue à aiguilles.” Orynx Improv And Sounds – Belgium

“Ook al bieden improvisatieconcerten of -opnamen steeds de nodige verrassingen en koerswijzigingen, is het toch dikwijls de introductie die een goed beeld geeft van wat volgt. Dit is in elk geval zo bij ‘Dandelion’ van klarinettist Tom Jackson, gitarist Dirk Serries en drummer-percussionist Kris Vanderstraeten. De drie beroeren hun respectievelijke instrumenten alsof ze een snelcursus volgen over het klankenspectrum dat voorhanden is. Al snel benutten ze dat potentieel tot het uiterste elk langs zijn kant en toch in samenspraak. Soms laten ze invallen opstijgen als te gekke kamifusen, om nadien te vervolgen met meer bloedstollende uitvallen. Deze laatste zijn weliswaar eerder uitzondering dan regel. De drie gaan te werk als laboranten die doorlopend een vluchtig en obsessioneel uitwisselen van akoestische antidota als werkwijze hanteren en zo een heus reservoir van mogelijkheden opbouwen om nieuwe sonore entiteiten te evoceren. Het bijwijlen speelse karakter verlaagt de claustrofobische drempel.” Jazzhalo – Belgium

“The other new release by New Wave Of Jazz is also wild but slightly different. With Costa and Ernsting the wildness reflects in the chaotic and speedy approach to the instruments. In the case of Dirk Serries (acoustic guitar), Kris Vanderstraeten (percussion, drums) and Tom Jackson (clarinet). Here, there is less chaos as such, but the three players use similar freedom to produce whatever music they find necessary. Maybe with a touch more control and with more listening and interaction together. Perhaps that aspect, the conversation, is not as in the other one, but it is certainly here. Maybe that’s the reason why the music is gentler. Maybe softer is a better word, or more minor, with both abstract and melodic sides. The latter is mostly from the clarinet, where Tom Jackson stays on the musical side. His instrument remains to sound like a clarinet. Serries, on the other hand, tortures his instrument no end. You can recognize this as a guitar, but that’s it. He plucks, hits, and twists the strings. Vanderstraeten operates on the middle ground. Sure, you recognize the drums and percussion pieces; he hits them but also plays them with other objects, and there is the occasional bow across the cymbals and toms. A mixture of convention and abstraction. Like the other, this is not easy music to access, certainly if one has little experience or, like me, is not too knowledgeable. It unfolds more when one takes more time.” Vital Weekly – The Netherlands

“Drie musici die met elkaar vrij gaan improviseren, dat is altijd weer een spannende aangelegenheid, maar als je drie virtuozen bij elkaar zet die goed naar elkaar kunnen luisteren, en die ook daadwerkelijk muzikaal met elkaar in gesprek gaan kan er ineens iets magisch gebeuren. Gitarist Dirk Serries en klarinettist Tom Jackson zijn bevlogen spelers die met passie het spel in gaan, en dat geldt absoluut ook voor percussionist en drummer Kris Vanderstraeten, maar die laatste voegt er wat mij betreft nog een extra element aan toe dat deze sessie wat mij betreft boven alles uit doet stijgen, en dat is humor. Want de passie is er zonder meer ook, en de bevlogenheid, maar ik schiet ook regelmatig in de lach bij de percussieve toevoegingen van Vanderstraeten, en eerlijk gezegd geniet ik daar enorm van. Een geweldige sessie, waarin alledrie de musici op hun scherpst spelen, en waarin ze elkaar fantastisch weerwerk bieden – beluister het album vooral wat vaker, want in de details zitten nog wat sublieme diamantjes verstopt. Niet voor luie luisteraars, maar als je bereid bent je oren open te zetten valt hier enorm veel te genieten. En te lachen.” Moors Magazine – The Netherlands

“Serries en Vanderstraeten stonden begin deze zomer in de PlusEtage, alleen toen met celliste Lucija Gregov. In gedachten zie ik Vanderstraeten weer zitten en denk ik terug aan wat ik toen schreef: “Vanderstraeten is …een verzamelaar van allerlei attributen waar je geluid mee kunt maken, letterlijk een koffer vol. Een handvol kleine trommeltjes dient daarbij vaker als ondergrond dan als instrumenten om zelf te bespelen”. Ik herken de vaak wat ongewone en soms vreemde geluiden hier dan ook direct. Geluiden die ook nu weer een prachtig decor vormen voor de invallen van Jackson en Serries. Overigens vaak meesterlijke invallen, zoals de prachtig zangerige partij van Jackson in ‘Violet Blue’, waarin we hem moeiteloos het complete register van zijn instrument horen bespelen, overigens wel met een voorkeur voor het hoog. En verderop horen we hem in een prachtig ingetogen duet met Vanderstraeten. Bijzonder is ook het begin van ‘Bright Yellow’ en de schermutselingen van Serries en Vanderstraeten.” Nieuwe Noten – The Netherlands

“Variations on the classic “jazz trio” continue to animate this space: Even as I continue to discuss more post-classical ensemble constitutions or other creative combinations, the pairing of horn & drums, along with some kind of string instrument, continues to figure a kind of pole — at least for these “jazz thoughts,” and likely for practical improvisational activity in general. As I’ve noted, the string instrument is the novelty from the American perspective, and that’s most often been bass or of course piano (more often in quartets…), but guitar makes for a sort of hybrid choice, i.e. a flexible articulation instrument with more chordal potential. And there’s plenty of variety possible from the other roles as well, i.e. a wide choice of horns, and then “drums” does have a sort of standard “jazz” meaning, but are at least as often buoyed or tilted in some personal direction, as regards not just expression per se, but kit…. I’ve also particularly enjoyed clarinet, since before this project, and even as saxophone is the more prototypical jazz reed, clarinet isn’t far off. So Tom Jackson has been one of the more compelling players for me over the past few years, including for his choice of colleagues. And I do want to feature his new album Dandelion, but I also feel compelled to address the trio format a little more generally: The obvious precedent around Jackson here is Nauportus (also featuring clarinet, guitar & percussion), first reviewed here in July 2019, and so in some ways, Dandelion seems like a reprise of that effort. But Dandelion also seems more taut & coherent overall, pace the (one-off?) festival context of Nauportus, each track here forging a little gem. Jackson’s wonderful sense of precision, both in rhythmic sections & in arrhythmic passages featuring held tones, brings distinct individuality to each track in this case, never really “in the weeds” as improv sometimes is…. There’re also the different players alongside Jackson, excellent “acoustic” (specifically) guitarists in both cases, Daniel Thompson on Nauportus & now Dirk Serries on Dandelion: I’ve been hearing Serries regularly of late, but of course he entered this space for me alongside Thompson in SETT (& has since recorded again with Thompson, alongside Martina Verhoeven on Today and all the tomorrows, as released earlier this year…), and while Serries can also seem like “the third” to this interaction, his sometimes-ringing guitar intervals & general sense of accent (& indeed reflection) provide a fascinating intervention — such that I’ve enjoyed listening to Dandelion by focusing on the guitar perspective. The latter’s drummer is then Kris Vanderstraeten, whom I hadn’t mentioned here, but who’s appeared on Serries’ A New Wave of Jazz label previously: He opens very much in colorist mode — pace the track titles — but also shows great fluidity in & out of more traditionally rhythmic interactions, a structuring flexibility (not so unlike Vid Drašler’s on Nauportus, as each percussionist is actually mentioned first by his label…) incorporating a broadly machinic animation into the individual tracks. (And I seem to enjoy the metallic chimes too.) There’s thus a sense of natural resonance to Dandelion, but almost as a frame, an arrhythmic-rhythmic turning inside out of elastic musical relations, as e.g. the first two tracks begin with held resonances — emerging from silence, one might say — transforming into more traditionally jazzy rhythms. (Other tracks might transform through smoothness in the middle….) In describing Nauportus, I’d also already closed by noting its “floating, timeless globalism” — & since then, I’ve figured the latter more in terms of “anthropology music,” i.e. generic inspirations of broad human activity, as relatively close to the divergent sounds of nature. But while Dandelion can be said to reference those sorts of callings, its intricate sense of sculpted control also seems to move beyond such a genre. Its “colors” come to suggest particular perspectives or situations, often sunny here (& so appropriately recorded at Sunny Side Inc., I suppose…), but e.g. becoming nocturnal for the long central track: There’s something seemingly self-contained about these little machinic-affective tracks, little gems I already said…, figured by specific (& usually bright) colors. The album seemed long at first, but now I’m usually sorry when it ends.

And the music on Dandelion does sparkle, but it’s not only the playing: I’ve started to note some high resolution sound formats here, and so this seems like a good time for a little more of a digression…. In fact, the 24bit sound on Dandelion is very present, with bigger-than-usual dynamics, and very crisp timbres. Compared to the “warmth” notion that people like to apply e.g. to vinyl, it can sound stark or harsh. That’s partly a matter of familiarity, but the sound does certainly carry in my apartment. And part of the reason I wanted to mention this is that there seems to be a lot of noise about high-def formats out there. On Dandelion, you can really hear the difference — assuming one has the decoder for it (& that’s another reason I’ve tended to steer clear of this topic, since I really have no idea how music sounds in “different” situations…) — but 24bit releases have actually become quite common on Bandcamp. They aren’t usually noted explicitly as such though: Indeed, per above, e.g. SETT First and Second was already a 24bit release (& maybe everything on A New World of Jazz is, I didn’t check…), but while it sounds good, it sounds more like a CD era recording (i.e. 16bit). Meaning that simply releasing a high-def format doesn’t automatically conjure a more vibrant recording from the sources, but more often lately, there’s striking sound to be found. That’s mostly in bit depth, though, as 24bit recordings are appearing at a variety of sampling rates, most often 48kHz it seems (& that’s what a typical smartphone will play), but some are at 44.1kHz (i.e. CD resolution), or even higher numbers such as 96kHz: The latter has been much less common outside of classical in my experience, but e.g. Braxton’s ZIM set was released at that resolution — & so put out on blu-ray as its physical format. These higher resolution formats have mostly been appearing silently in the improvised space online though, i.e. aren’t hyped (although the great sound from e.g. Braxton probably should be…!), with few labels providing consumers a choice of resolution (a situation now ubiquitous in the mainstream “classical” download market). But Zurich’s Intakt Records is one that does provide such an explicit choice, including different price points, and has been doing it for a while now. (Scan their Bandcamp site, and you’ll see a variety of resolutions offered, across different albums, not only a single “high def….”) Anyway, hopefully that little orientation has some value. The sound quality on Dandelion really is better than any CD recording, though — pace the unfamiliarity, which might figure “better” differently for different listeners (even as the level of sonic detail is certainly higher). Based on classical responses, some people really don’t appreciate e.g. the increased dynamic range possible in 24bit…. (Whereas higher sampling rates lend a “lushness” to timbres, and I don’t know that anyone has complained about that, but it does make the sound files much larger….)” Todd McComb’s Jazz Thoughts