a r t i s t : Andrea Centazzo
t i t l e : Ictus Records' 30th Anniversary Collection
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Ictus [ICTUS141]
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Sep/2006
t r a c k s : 92
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 966.3 MB
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Andrea Centazzo╤drummer, percussionist, pioneer electronicist and
composer╤was at the center of the European free jazz scene during the
1970s and early 1980s. This truly amazing twelve-disc box set catalogues
a good portion of Centazzo's musical life during that period. It
contains studio and live recordings, remasterings and previously
unissued tracks, recorded between 1976 and 1983, plus three 2005 live
tracks, from a show at Tonic in NYC that was an un-retirement of sorts.
You may recognize of good number of the musicians given in the personnel
listings below, and in his liner notes, Centazzo speaks reverently of
his relationships with them. The discs include performances with the
recently deceased Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone) and Derek Bailey
(guitar), plus such players as Franz Koglmann (trumpet, flugelhorn), Lol
Coxhill (soprano saxophone), Tony Oxley (percussion), Evan Parker
(saxophones), Gianluigi Trovesi (reeds), Albert Mangelsdorf (trombone),
Vinnie Golia (reeds) and Enrico Rava (trumpet), among many others.
During the 1970s and 1980s there was a sustained effort in European new
music to combine the freedom of American ╥free jazz╙ with a European
attitude to composition, embracing a variety of compositional approaches
with differing degrees of specificity. Experimentation was the norm, and
electronics were part of it, including Centazzo's percussion
synthesizer. You can hear and feel the excitement throughout this
collection.
Centazzo's was music that a conventional jazz label just wouldn't spend
money or time recording. So he started his own label. Ictus was one of
the first independent labels to record this strand of ╥avant garde╙
music, doing so until its collapse in 1985. While all of the music on
this collection still sounds joyous, energetic, engaging and full of an
adventurous spirit, it doesn't shock anymore. The attitudes and
experiments of these pioneers╤which back then seemed to be unbankable,
if not scandalous╤now fit right in with what continues to be called the
avant garde.
In that sense, the music here sounds timeless and wholly undated. You
get the feeling, especially on the live tracks, of the musicians
metaphorically jumping off a cliff, or working without a safety net, and
daring to create music right on the edge. In his notes, Centazzo relates
how he eventually felt a pull away from ╥free jazz╙, perhaps due to
always playing without a net, and towards composing. He increasingly
wanted to write his melodies down, and reflect more on his heritage.
To call Centazzo's music free jazz isn't entirely accurate. None of the
music here is totally free╤that is, created without prior thought or
organization of any kind. Rather, it is distinguished by the nature of
its structures, which are many times not obvious, and which are
different from those most commonly used in other music, be it jazz or
non-jazz.
The human mind processes and interprets perception by identifying
patterns and constructing organization. Visual art may take a wholly
repetitive pattern, which might get boring if left unmediated, and try
to develop it into something stimulating. In music, rhythm has accent
patterns, melody has pitch patterns, and harmony has chordal patterns.
All three patterns work together to produce larger structures, sometimes
lasting many minutes. Different kinds of music, of course, accentuate
different areas within its overall makeup.
Most of the music in this set uses entirely original, and unexpected,
methods to provide a sense of organization. This can be confusing and
off-putting for a listener attempting to understand it in a conventional
way. However, if one just listens, without attempting to frame the music
with a familiar organizational pattern, an entirely different experience
is created. Going with the flow can be very enjoyable. Eventually, other
aspects of the music will become clear.
The packaging is exquisite and has been put together with a lot of care
and thought. The enigma is what it all means. The twelve discs are
housed in a Mosaic label sized box, with three layers of four discs each
along with an extremely detailed and exhaustive booklet (also the size
of a Mosaic booklet). Interestingly, each cardboard disc holder has its
own seemingly permanent wrapper, which needs to be slit at the top and
bottom. My immediate impression was twofold. First, the box felt like a
Japanese-style gift, where the presentation is as important as the gift
itself. Then, cutting the wrappers gave a sense of danger╤but to do so
made the set uniquely one's own. Jump, take the chance, but it's
irreversible; you can't go back... even if you want to!
There is much to enjoy in this set, which gives Ictus' catalogue its
rightful place in the broad strand of jazz history.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22716
http://ictusrecords.com/30/
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CD 1 - Clangs [ICTUS-121]
01-The Owl [06:35]
02-Tracks [09:04]
03-Dome [06:28]
04-The New Moon [06:03]
05-Torments [08:21]
06-Ducks [04:02]
CD 2 - Drops [ICTUS-122]
01-Drop One [02:38]
02-Recapitulation, Reiteration And Rabbits [02:50]
03-How Long Has This Been Going On [04:23]
04-Drop Two [04:18]
05-Tutti Cnatabile [05:28]
06-Drop Three [02:51]
07-Drop Four [02:41]
08-Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing [05:34]
09-Jim Never Seems To Send Me Pretty Flowers [07:53]
CD 3 - In Concert [ICTUS-123]
01-Bone (Tao 3) [05:48]
02-The Way (Tao 2) [08:05]
03-Stalks [14:28]
04-Existence (Tao 1) [10:44]
05-The Crust [11:32]
06-Feline [08:55]
07-Ducks [07:23]
CD 4 - In Real Time [ICTUS-124]
01-In Real Time #1 [06:45]
02-In Real Time #2 [13:59]
03-In Real Time #3 [08:08]
04-In Real Time #4 [06:37]
05-In Real Time #5 [17:19]
06-In Real Time #6 [06:19]
CD 5 - The Bay [ICTUS-125]
01-Trobarclus [15:57]
02-O Ce Biel Cisciel Da Udin [03:03]
03-The Bay [05:02]
04-Carmel Duet [04:41]
05-Ready N. 2 [04:32]
06-Ready N. 6 [05:28]
07-Ready N. 1 [04:35]
08-Ready N. 3 [03:34]
CD 6 - The New US Concerts [ICTUS-126]
01-Trio West #1 [10:42]
02-Trio West #2 [08:13]
03-Live In Woodstock [05:28]
04-NY Tapes #1 [04:57]
05-No Wall [04:43]
06-MC Clung #1 [08:03]
07-MC Clung #2 [04:15]
08-NY Tapes #2 [05:35]
09-Electric Duo [04:07]
10-West Duo [09:53]
CD 7 - The NY Tapes [ICTUS-127]
01-First Environment For Sextet [13:23]
02-NY Duo #1 [03:38]
03-Second Environment For Sextet [24:55]
04-NY Duo #2 [05:32]
05-NY Sextet Improvisation [04:04]
06-NY Trio [06:57]
CD 8 - Doctor Faustus [ICTUS-128]
01-Musicaschema [10:49]
02-Third Environment For Orchestra [15:07]
03-Chirimia [15:06]
04-First Environment [08:37]
05-Lost In The Mist [06:57]
06-Mittelmarch [03:36]
07-Doctor Faustus [13:28]
CD 9 - Thirty Years From Monday [ICTUS-129]
01-A Old Man River In The Georgia Of My Mind [09:30]
02-Mantric Improvisation [18:38]
03-The Gipsy Part One [08:03]
04-The Gipsy Part Two [08:59]
05-The Box Session #1 [05:31]
06-The Box Session #2 [07:44]
07-Trovecen #1 [07:01]
08-Trovecen #2 [07:44]
CD 10 - Back To The Future [ICTUS-130]
01-Back To The Future #1 [06:57]
02-Back To The Future #2 [14:59]
03-Back To The Future #3 [07:59]
04-Back To The Past #1 [06:13]
05-Back To The Past #2 [06:34]
06-Back To The Past #3 [05:18]
07-Back To The Past #4 [09:40]
08-Back To The Past #5 [06:05]
CD 11 - Tao [ICTUS-131]
01-Tao 1 [03:43]
02-Tao 2 [05:58]
03-Tao 3 [04:56]
04-Tao 4 [04:57]
05-Tao 5 [07:14]
06-Tao 6 [05:28]
07-Tao 7 [11:07]
08-Tao 8 [03:41]
09-Tao 9 [05:34]
10-Tao 10 [04:00]
CD 12 - Rebels, Travelers And Improvisers [ICTUS-132]
01-The Breghenz Session [13:07]
02-Church Music #1 [10:03]
03-Church Music #2 [10:34]
04-Church Music #3 [05:02]
05-The Innsbruck Session #1 [05:13]
06-The Innsbruck Session #2 [08:44]
07-Rebels, Travelers And Improvisers [15:20]
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11:53:40 min