FJF (Free Jazz Four) – Blow Horn

Musicians

Mats Gustafsson tenor sax, baritone sax, french flageolett

Steve Hunt drums

Kent Kessler bass

Ken Vandermark tenor sax, bass clarinet

Cover and Artwork

Photos: John Corbett
Graphics: Louise Molnar

Songs

1. Dedication (13:36) (MPEG2)
2. Blow Horn for Service (12:12)
3. Biomass (6:06)
4. Structure a la Malle (1st version) (14:31)
5. Carry Out (4:56)
total time: 51:21

All compositions by Gustafsson (STIM), Hunt (BMI), Kessler (BMI), and Vandermark (Exploding Music/BMI); except #4 by Gustafsson

Recording Info

Recorded at berstudio, Chicago, IL, October 15, 1995

Produced by: Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, John Corbett
Executive Producer: Bruno Johnson
Engineered and mixed by: Brendan Burke

A younger musician who brings an individual approach to Evan Parkers techniques, Swedish multi-reedman Mats Gustafsson joins with three-fifths of Chicagos NRG Ensemble in FJF (Free Jazz Four?). The succinctly titled Blow Horn starts with a shout from the saxes of Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, with bass and drums (Kent Kessler and Steve Hunt) churning underneath, and thereafter the energy level seldom subsides. This is post-Ayler, Brtzmann-incited freedom, storm centers of agitation and exuberance, with only brief moments of respite (Biomass) between onrushing shock waves. But even at such an intense tack theyre able to suggest distinctive rhythmic designs, like the raucous r&b inflections of Blow Horn for Service or the slow, taut groove of Structure a la Malle. (3 1/2 stars)

– Art Lange
Pulse!, July 1998