From: hsu@walnut.SFSU.EDU (William Tsun-Yuk Hsu)
Newsgroups: rec.music.bluenote
Subject: Granules, Guy/LJCO, Kowald, Bley
Date: 7 Jan 93 03:35:55 GMT
Organization: San Francisco State University


I haven't posted reviews for ages, so here goes:

Les Granules	In the Kingdom of the Silent (Ambiances Magnetiques)

	Les Granules is Jean Derome and Rene Lussier from Montreal.
I saw them live once, as a duo, at the Vancouver Jazz Festival. They
are true multi-instrumentalists, in that at any one time each of them
would be playing his main instrument (sax for Derome, guitar for Lussier),
working effects pedals, providing a rhythm track by stomping on miked
woodblocks, triggering samples on keyboards, squeezing rubber ducks,
singing, screaming and making rude noises, etc etc, juggling 2-3 of 
these at the same time. Their earlier records have been richly overdubbed
studio affairs with guest musicians. This record tries to capture a live
set without overdubs, and the two work so well live that the material is
no less dense and interesting than their studio work. They come out of the
early '70s British progressive RIO tradition, but with a distinctive 
French-Canadian sensibility and wacked-out sense of humor. This is postmodern
cutups without the hipster posturing that makes Naked City annoying at
times, and they do it with only *2* people. Their third record, and
their strongest yet. Highly recommended. (Unfortunately, this might be
a little difficult to find. I'm not sure Cadence carries this label on
a regular basis.)

Barry Guy/London Jazz Composers Orchestra with Irene Schweizer	Theoria
								(Intakt)

	A "concerto" for Schweizer, a bit longer than earlier LJCO pieces
(close to 60 minutes). If you've been exposed to earlier work from this
group, you know what to expect: wide range of instrumental colors, tightly
organized multi-section structures, blistering playing. Schweizer plays
through most of this, and while I've had complaints about some of her
earlier outings, she keeps up an intense display. The "events" in Theoria
tend to be much shorter than Harmos and Double Trouble, and even with
the list of solos/duos/trios in front of me, it was easy to miss a
section or three as they zip by so quickly. At times I wish some of the
smaller groupings are given more space to work out ideas, but this is
after all Schweizer's piece. Unfortunately, Guy and Barre Phillips' basses
are miked very low, and often inaudible even in the smallgroup sections.

Peter Kowald	Open Secrets (FMP)

	I was trying to come up with some easy hook to characterize Kowald's
playing. With Barre Phillips I always mention his beautiful tone and melodic
sense, and with Barry Guy his incredibly active playing. I can't really come
up with one for Kowald (other than some fairly useless word like "versatile").
While I really loved the Kowald Duos and think everyone should own a copy,
the solo tracks here sound surprisingly dry and cerebral. Maybe I'm just
spoiled after the impressive range of colors and approaches on the duets.
An interesting, thoughtful session, but I don't think I'll be listening
to it a lot.

Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Franz Koglmann	Annette (Hat Art)

	Well I jumped on this thinking it was a new Paul Bley/*Annette*
Peacock collaboration. Oh well. (I don't think Bley and Annette Peacock
have appeared on the same record together since the early '70s.) This
is still a fine record, tho a bit less edgy than I expected. Compared to
Bley's treatments of the same tunes 20 years ago, the performances here
sound a little too assured and comfortable. Blood, for example, is taken
at a slightly slower pace, and I miss the tensions and minor convulsions
of earlier versions. But it's still an amiable reunion, and worth hearing.

Bill