This recording may surprise some admirers of Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, but Moore has been exploring the kind of radical free improvisation found here since at least the 1990s. Recorded in Italy, the three pieces feature the guitarist with two highly compatible veterans of the avant-garde scene: cellist and electronics manipulator Walter Prati and trombonist and electronics guru Giancarlo Schiaffini. The three pieces ("Three Incredible Ideas, Parts 1-3") are spontaneously improvised, but there is such synergy ...
Read More
This recording may surprise some admirers of Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, but Moore has been exploring the kind of radical free improvisation found here since at least the 1990s. Recorded in Italy, the three pieces feature the guitarist with two highly compatible veterans of the avant-garde scene: cellist and electronics manipulator Walter Prati and trombonist and electronics guru Giancarlo Schiaffini. The three pieces ("Three Incredible Ideas, Parts 1-3") are spontaneously improvised, but there is such synergy among the musicians that the flow of ideas is seamless. There is a sense of development, too, as concepts sprout from kernels, and grow into larger abstractions. At times there is an ambient quality, but sometimes a hardcore assault on the senses. The results are different than some other radical projects of the same genre, though, in the emphasis on mood and nuance. There are often periods of quiet, followed by aggressive interludes. What distinguishes this from the pack is the clever and varied use of electronics, the superb trombone work (open, muted, and distorted) of Schiaffini, the variety of instrumentation, and the way in which the instrumentalists listen closely to each other. While there are no melodies, the pieces logically incorporate and expand on musical constructs, making this complex and in some ways remarkable recording surprisingly accessible and rewarding. ~ Steven Loewy, Rovi
Read Less
