SS Puft Quartet with Dave Rempis
Live at Earthshaking Music
Solponticello
There are two complaints that one will often hear when someone doesn’t enjoy/like/understand the music they’re listening to: “it all sounds the same to me,” and “what the hell’s that noise?” Though intended to be indictments on the music, they usually expose the personal tastes of the listener. Well, not to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but: “What the hell is this noise?”
To the untrained ear, free jazz’s sole purpose is noise. Admittedly, my pinna, cochlea, malleus, the whole damned organ ain’t never had much schoolin’ in this area. To me, the more traditional forms of jazz represent the zenith of individual achievement in the womb of the collective while free jazz is what happens when the ego runs amok. I’m probably wrong, and I’ll admit my shortcomings and my bucolic romanticism of more traditionally structured songs. With all its squawks, squeaks, and screeches, Live at Earthshaking Music is way too heady for me (and I love Henry Threadgill). This is for the intellect that finds Foucault too timid and Derrida a laugh riot. I wish I were up to the challenge.
Solponticello Records: http://www.solponticello.com
