If Philip Glass and Steve Reich attempted to compose some jazz, it might sound like this.
But wait — we're not finished yet. That was only the first seven minutes!
The piano and clarinet drop away exposing the bass and drums (Kaspar Rast) mining a smart groove which, after a bit, is circled by more muted piano tones...until a whirlwind of piano falls in place, pushed along by insistent single clarinet pulses.
Nine minutes down, 6:18 to go!
A bridge of ascending chords then moves on to a Bärtsch piano solo of sorts — by that I mean that it's less about sketching and framing a melody than pulling and teasing out the vamp.
Two minutes left.
Acoustic and Fender Rhodes piano figures swirl around each other in a culmination of what "Modul 36" is about...before everything slowly fades away to showcase a single, echoed piano tone.
The rest of Stoa is full of surprising turns and ideas. There's even an Anthony Braxton-esque "composite", "Modul 38_17", where two compositions are nested or "stacked".
Honestly, when I first listened to this piece of music, my initial thought was "What the hell was that?!" I still don't have an answer. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin is not playing jazz. It's not playing pure minimalism either.
What it is is a beautiful and thought-provoking counterexample to the notion that there's nothing new to be heard out there.
Article comments
1 - Aaron Fleming
My only question is how do you not write for some esteemed jazz magazine?
2 - Mark Saleski
wow. thanks sir fleming.
3 - Mat Brewster
You forgot about minute 9, when the boobies come out.
I'm sorry. Really I am.
4 - Mark Saleski
you'll pay for that!
5 - Mary K. Williams
So, where can I hear some of this?
6 - Connie Phillips
This article has been placed at the Advance.net websites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
7 - Rene
Mark, you are spot on. I had the pleasure of hearing Nic Bärtsch Ronin at North Sea Jazz your review of the CD tells me I have to get the CD. Ronin catches ones fancy