Friday 6 November 2009

STEFAN KEUNE / HANS SCHNEIDER / ACHIM KRÄMER – No Comment

FMP

Rather unabashedly, without thinking too much about the contingency of a stylistic connotation of their efforts, saxophonist Keune, bassist Schneider and drummer Krämer present a set of tracks that run the whole creative gamut of a format which may find its roots in a distant past, but in the right hands is still capable of delivering sharply dazzling instances of germ-free inventiveness. Following the fundamental principles of open-eared interplay, the musicians manage to concurrently generate a coherent logic of extemporaneous independence and respect the few rules of a jazz-tinged rendezvous that discards conventional savoir faire, piercing acumen and vivid perceptiveness informing the entire record.

Keune, who plays sopranino, alto and baritone, spits out short notes and brief outbursts whose character tends to the hysterical, at times hilarious side of things. He never irritates, though, his musicality deriving from a succession of microscopic messages and unobservant declarations that render the instrument a means for a lethally effective devastation of comfort. A style that nevertheless remains somewhat rational, a firm mind giving birth to utter instability, which is an important plus in music. The ruptures and subsequent reconstructions generated by Schneider and Krämer appear as the logical consequence of an unpronounced agreement, impartiality and vigorous fervour underlining a lucid madness that either warrants wild executions of instantaneous concepts or uncloaks a kind of tidy neatness which makes even the most rebellious discharge emerge as a smart reproach to the doubter.

The way in which these people keep fracturing rhythmic bones, altering melodic designs and throwing conventions away is both commendable for bravery and enjoyable for the quality of the playing. There’s not a moment in which the material sounds tired: every single event counts and all together they form a unique example of unselfish instrumental (de)synchronization. A wonderful aid for solitary fights against boredom, No Comment is highly recommended to regain a measure of trust in liberated expression, its title an ideal response to the stale dogmatic behaviour shown in recent years by silent gurus and pensive nullities.