Maria Faust - Bitchslap Boogie (+Interview)

MARIA FAUST - BITCHSLAP BOOGIE

Bitchslap Boogie indicates that Denmark-based Maria Faust is one of the most promising young jazz musicians hailing from Estonia. Even though the material on the record sounds more restrained than can be expected from this outstanding octet onstage, nonetheless we can conclude that Faust (alto saxophone) is a composer and arranger of formidable talent.

On one hand, Faust's music refers to the American progressive big band jazz traditions, as exemplified by Gil Evans, Charles Mingus, Carla Bley, even Frank Zappa's jazzier output. But on the other hand, the blend of angular brass harmonies, counterpoints, complex rhythms, free improv, rock elements and classicism draws parallels to the British avant-garde jazz scene such as Graham Collier, Keith Tippett and Chris McGregor.

Nonetheless, Maria Faust has developed her own unique approach. She is able to make her complex, multi-layered compositions sound romantic, tender, womanly and empathic. First half of the album tends to be mainly introverted, restrained and melancholic ("Dreams", "Lonely Woman"), while on the second half one can recognize the composer's swinging and sassy side ("New Panties and Boots", "Dance Dance"). It is certainly recommendable to keep an eye on her further creative activities.

Maria Faust - Estonian Jazz Ambassador In Denmark

Maria Faust (29) is a jazz saxophonist and composer born in Saaremaa, Estonia, who is making music in Denmark. Her octet has achieved a good reputation among the jazz circles throughout the world. Recently Faust unleashed her debut album "Bitchslap Boogie"

When did you start learning music? Why did you eventually choose to play the saxophone?

I started piano lessons at 7. I already knew I wanted to be a musician at 4. I don't know why did I eventually choose to play saxophone. I suppose it just suits my nature. Since it is useful to play well at least two instruments, I still practice the piano.

You studied conducting the brass band in the Estonian Music Academy. Whence the decision to depart for studies in Denmark?

I felt that I was starting to lose myself. I realized it is not possible to play two kinds of music (classical, jazz) at once, but sadly the possibilities to study jazz in Estonia were meager. I needed to practice and play as much as possible.

As you play in a horn-heavy octet, what are the advantages of the bigger line up as well as its challenges?

Regarding challenges, first it is expensive. Second, it takes time for the band to develop their own sonic language. It is also important to observe that the music does not degenerate into noise. The importance of pause in music is understood by many, practiced by few.

Still the lineup has justified itself, it sounds just like I have always wanted it. The musicians are to me like a family, we have common dreams and viewpoints.

There are apparent feminist tendencies in your work. How do you associate feminism with jazz?

Indeed, I am a feminist, my work is inspired from women. I'm also worried about the shortage of jazz instrumentalists. There are only four female jazz students (excluding singers) out of 200 in the Copenhagen Rhythm Conservatory.

There are hundreds of reasons why there are few women in jazz. A sixteen year old boy and a girl from the same age just cannot find common ground during jam sessions, so the girls start avoiding jam sessions, their growth as a musician is stunted and only few decide to become professional musicians.

Even though your pieces are instrumental, they nonetheless appear to have their own story.

Music is indeed full of imagery, each piece is about some kind of experience. "New Panties and Boots" is about my stay in New York. I deliberately used overwriting to illustrate the essence of the city. I was about to go buy an iPod, but instead I walked in to Victoria's Secret and bought a bunch of panties.

Several of your pieces have left a lasting impression live. Still, they sound somewhat different on the record.

We had to change a lot of our material. Nonetheless we strived to retain the basic live feel. Most of the stuff were recorded in only a couple of takes, I've deliberately left in some mistakes, everything remained authentic. I like the dry sound, natural timbres, the art to me is promise of the beauty. I can't stand perfectionism, I don't understand those who polish, prepare and practice. I need action, right here and now. No excuses!

Is it possible to survive as a musician?

Just as there is applied art, there is applied music. Playing that enables you to get by. Unfortunately I am too sensitive for that, I cannot play five hours in a row for dance. It kills creativity. Somewhere the line is drawn how much one can afford to make music solely for money.

Review and interview translated from an Estonian article in Postimees.

Zao Family - Zao Family

Zao Family could be considered as new studio material from Zao on this decade. This album features both Yochk'o Seffer and Francois Cahen as the founding members and the creative nucleus behind the band, along with percussionist Francois Causse. What is more, some of the compositions here have been included to Zao's setlists. Of course, it doesn't feature the entire Zao lineup, but rather, a septet of Seffer, Cahen, Causse (and another percussionist Minu Cinelu when Causse is not present) plus a string quartet. The music on this record downplays the jazz-fusion tendencies of Zao and instead combines avant-garde jazz, ethnic music and modern classicism. Seffer plays more tenor sax here as well, plus tarogato, a Hungarian woodwind instrument similar to clarinet and soprano saxophone, an instrument Seffer started to play at some point during the current decade. "Koborlo", on stage a vehicle for Seffer's tarogato improvisation and indeed Seffer has also recorded a solo tarogato version of the piece, is here played on tenor saxophone. Compositions like "Attila" and "Sandor" combine and contrast reed improvisations with atonal string quartet arrangements and complex rhythms, while "Gingko" is a nod to Hungarian folk music, sporting another memorable Seffer theme along the lines of "Dag". Those challenging pieces are contrasted by some lighter music as well, as heard from the pastoral "Soulefuji" as well as the album closer "Hathor", that is the closest thing on this album to traditional jazz, once again showcasing Seffer's formidable tenor sax work. An outstanding work from Seffer and Cahen which confirms that in their sixties, these two musicians and composers are still creative and pushing boundaries.

Elton Dean - Just Us

The late Elton Dean was the most free-jazz oriented principal Soft Machine figure ever. While he was pushing his parent band into the according direction in the early seventies, he recorded his first solo album in 1971 that is something of a lost classic. It has some affinity to the avant garde jazz orientation of the fifth Soft Machine album and thus, it's easier to judge it on its own merit for those who refuse to take post-Wyatt Soft Machine music seriously. With the dread of the bastardization of Soft Machine's moniker out of the picture, we can appreciate this Elton Dean jazz group album for what it is: an early seventies British avant-garde jazz album, and very good at that. It does, though, feature many Softs alumni or formally connected people: besides Dean himself on alto, saxello and electric piano, there are Marc Charig (cornet), Nick Evans (trombone, on bonus tracks), Roy Babbington (acoustic bass), Phil Howard (drums), Neville Whitehead (el. bass, he played on Robert Wyatt's almost similar solo album End of an Ear) and Mike Ratledge guesting on electric piano and organ.

The similarities between this album and Soft Machine's Fifth are apparent, most notable example being the 15min album opener "Ooglenovastrome" that, after 5 minutes of free playing, picks up a groove reminiscent of "Drop" from Fifth. Hearing more Phil Howard drumming than is available on few recordings from his stint with the Machine (1st side of Fifth plus a Peel Session from November '71) is a real treat as well. However, Just Us is more about free-spirited improvisation as opposed to the cold, almost Weather Report-ian clinical minimalist ambiance on Fifth. This album also provides a studio version of "Neo-Caliban Grides", a setlist mainstay for Soft Machine during the Fourth era. The Cuneiform reissue also offers 2 live bonus tracks from 1972, "Banking on Bishopsgate" and "Fun Cup".

Just Us is a recommended item to the music collection for anyone interested in either improvised free-jazz music, solo works by Soft Machine alumni, particularly that of Elton Dean, hearing more drumming by under-rated Phil Howard or for all of the above reasons.

John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane

The final John Coltrane album for Atlantic Records, Olé Coltrane consists of three tracks, one of them side-long. "Olé" is very close in spirit to Coltrane's own rendition of "My Favorite Things", as both take on popular forms of music and twist them through the lens of meditative, almost drone like avant-garde jazz. Like Coltrane would for "My Favorite Things", he plays soprano saxophone here. And when Eric Dolphy (here credited as George Lane for contractual reasons) was in Trane's band, he'd play flute for both tunes. Here he is the first soloist as he delivers a short but sweet solo, followed by a sourer trumpet outing by Freddie Hubbard. There are two bassists on the album, one of them playing lead bass while accompanied by the rest of the band.

"Dahomey Dance" is a lot more straightforward jazz number, featuring a very delicate horn heavy head followed by vague blues vamp where hornmen - Trane on tenor; Hubbard on trumpet and Dolphy on alto sax - get to solo, followed by McCoy Tyner on piano. The pianist contributes "Aisha", a lot more composed tune, a slow soft ballad, with understated brush work from Elvin Jones and some worthwhile leads from Hubbard and Dolphy. A very strong effort.

Eric Dolphy - Last Date

Last Date, being recorded only a few weeks before the premature passing of Eric Dolphy at the age of 36, sums up his legacy and his musical prowess the best. He had reached his artistic peak. This is the album where he plays his instruments on equal basis: two pieces for alto saxophone, two for flute and two for bass clarinet. He is backed by three European jazz musicians, including Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg. They start with a Thelonious Monk cover "Epistrophy", where Dolphy shines on bass clarinet. Next we move onto Dolphy's original "South Street Exit", a fast upbeat, even bluesy number with poignant flute melodies. On the two tracks he plays alto sax, he proves that back in the day he was one of the most exciting alto saxophone players around, influenced by Charlie Parker, but matching his legacy very well.

However, it's the second song with flute on the album, "You Don't Know What Love is". It's also the longest cut on the album with 11 minutes and thus, there is enough time given for the master to explore the sonorities of the woodwind. Dolphy turns in the most moving and the most jaw dropping solo on that instrument my ears have ever witnessed. This totally transformed my opinion of Eric Dolphy as a fascinating jazz figure to a totally outstanding legendary musician. His greatness can be summed up by stating that Charles Mingus never had a single bad word to say about Eric Dolphy.

Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch

The main virtues of the music found on Out To Lunch, a landmark Eric Dolphy album (1964) are the outstanding and unconventional musicianship; as well as often interesting musical ideas. The record is filled with musicians that can be considered the cream of the crop in sixties avant garde jazz scene. Tony Williams' playing transcends the usual trappings regarding drums, often forsaking rigid sense of time, but still swinging like a motherfucker, in a twisted way. Richard Davis is a truly talented bassist whose playing complements Williams' drumming very well. Bobby Hutcherson's vibes are creepy and spacious and as a chordal instrument it is a viable alternative for piano; Freddie Hubbard delivers insanely blaring trumpet lines, making the instrument sound as if armageddon was at hand. As for Eric Dolphy: he is all over the place whenever he will take a solo on bass clarinet, flute or alto sax (in that order).

As for the compositions and overall music, the use of tricky time signatures and the stew of free rhythms as well as angular melodic developments stand out. At times this isn't very palatable, the title track seems tobe the toughest nut to crack of all the five compositions. If you're curious about Eric Dolphy, you might want to start with Far Cry or Last Date. Otherwise, this is a landmark in sixties free-jazz.

Soft Machine - Grides

Grides is a CD/DVD set released by Cuneiform featuring a Soft Machine concert on CD and a German TV broadcast on DVD. Since this is the first time The Softs can be seen on an officially released DVD, this release is essential.

What about the CD itself? The gig was recorded in Netherlands, 25th of October, 1970. This is a decent performance, though at places really interesting. They preview a couple of epic pieces from the Fourth album the sessions for which were undertaken at the time. "Virtually" follows Elton Dean's sax solo on "Facelift" and is 14 minutes long, a bit looser than the studio take. "Teeth" is still a work-in-progress as the composition's different and provisional structure indicates. Even Elton Dean's "Neo Caliban Grides" which was in the Softs' setlist but recorded on Elton's first solo album in 1971, was different in its early version. It has a composed theme after the opening riff, which is quite straight, given Elton's free jazz propensity. Mike Ratledge gets a distorted organ solo before the piece dissolves into atonal group improv. This is one of the last times where they play "Esther's Nose Job" and even that piece is on the verge of falling apart. Not only does the group feel kind of tired when they play this piece for umpteenth time, but there are several elements different: first, the melodic part in "Pig" section is dropped, then Robert Wyatt's voice being totally absent from this gig means that his scat vocal is replaced by the instrumental bass melody during "A Door Opens and Closes" section. Last, but not least, "Pigling Bland" is played exactly as played from 1971 onwards. Only "Pigling Bland" part survived it in the band's setlist the next year. The encore is quite a nice rendition of the mid-section of "Slightly All The Time" as heard on Third album, with more fuzz bass from Hopper and it ends with an aggressive rendition of Hopper's "Noisette" theme.

DVD was filmed at German TV show Beat Club on 23th March, 1971. They play "Neo Caliban Grides", which had reached its full atonal, group improv oriented form; followed by "Out Bloody Rageous" with great solos from Mike Ratledge (backed by Elton on electric piano) and Elton on alto sax. "Eamonn Andrews" features a mind-blowing scat vocal improv from Wyatt and they round it off with a proto-version of "All White". The CD part has an ok concert, but the DVD is why this album is recommended.

Robert Wyatt - End of an Ear (1970)

End of an Ear (1970), while far from being the greatest Robert Wyatt outing, is definitely his most bizarre. His renditions of Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango" are excellent, containing oddly layered vocalizing set to a freewheeling drums and piano groove. One can imagine that this is what his parent band The Soft Machine could've evolved into, if only they had continued in their Dadaist leanings. This album is all about Wyatt exploring freer and more absurdity-based expressive ways going beyond the increasingly serious and instrumental confines of the Softs which Wyatt was dissatisfied with. He does not do any conventional singing here, he uses effects like tape speed alterations, reverb and echo to experiment with his voice and those voice experiments are the most interesting thing on this record.

Most of the titles are dedications to his friends and musical peers, "To Mark Everywhere", "To Saintly Bridget" are shorter ditties that are based on precise abstract rhythms and atonal noise, then the consistency gives away to free-jazz-for-free-jazz own sake in "To Oz Alien Daevid and Gilli" and "To Nick Everyone" which are really hard to endure. If you get past these two, you're treated to "To Caravan & Brother Jim", based on a consistent beat, rhythmic vocal loop and warm organ courtesy of David Sinclair, who also guests on the most beautiful tune on the album, an "Instant Pussy" re-write that is "To Carla Marsha and Caroline".

This album has some pointless free-jazz noodling, which mar the album, but otherwise it's still a rather non-conformist statement and whoever digs avant-garde music would be compelled by this record. I admire the album mostly for Gil Evans' cover versions and the beautiful David Sinclair collaborations. Overall, this is the least typical Wyatt album, as he actually was still an avant-jazz-based drummer at that stage, becoming a paraplegic several years later and concentrating on more song-based, though not less distinctive, material.