Thursday, September 20, 2012

Mario Rechtern, Eric Zinman, Zorn

Saxophonist Mario Rechtern I have not heard that often. Eric Zinman I have. On Zorn (Improvising Beings ib07) they set sail into free territory in a series of duets dedicated to singer Linda Sharrock. Mario digs in with swirling and earthy soprano, alto and baritone; Eric responds with maelstroms of cascading piano.

This is music of the energy sort much of the time. It comes off sincerely, effectively and committedly. Rechtern has a sound and an energy level that one might describe as post-Ayler. There's a little of a vibrato and a wealth of overblown sounds and rapid passagework. Zinman has it covered with post-Taylor all-overness, an outness that is by no means easy to put forward on this high level.

Together they work some free-form magic. Will this win a Grammy any time soon? No. But of course music like this doesn't get consideration in those circles. Nonetheless there's plenty of good free blowing to be had here. Mario's baritone, especially, gets an edge that Eric responds to dynamically. But it all gets in your face in marvelous ways. Now I'd love to hear these two with a rhythm section.

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