The Intersection: Sava Marinkovic

The Intersection: An ongoing feature on JazzWrap that looks at artists that have blended jazz, world

and electronica in new and highly creative ways.

Sava Marinkovic (guitar; electronics)
Nowhere Near (Acustronica NetLabel, 2013)

The debut from Serbian multi-instrumentalist, Sava Marinkovic, is quiet, gentle and reflective. Before you know it--you've listened to Nowhere Near five or six times. A luscious album of soundscapes that sits nicely alongside ambient works by Harold Budd, Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Eivind Aarset and Michael Brook. 

Nowhere Near is a short album in length but long on beauty, distance and space. "Argemone" includes slow passages of piano and electronics and haunting harmonies from Melinda Ligeti. A peaceful opening journey that elegantly sets the tone for the session.

"Taste Of Rust" and "Nowhere Near" both have a melodic nature that is reminiscent of David Sylvian circa Gone To Earth. It's light, atmospheric and rolls along in a dreamlike pattern. Marinkovic's guitar lines burst into the open on the title track in Fripp meet Gilmore fashion but you definitely sense a voice in his playing.

While it does work from a familiar palette, you won't be disappointed by Sava Marinkovic's first outing. Nowhere Near is very impressive debut that is both enjoyable and illuminating. Let's hope the next project comes quickly so I can take this off repeat. Highly Recommended.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing The Piano/Out Of Noise

Ryuichi Sakamoto (piano)

Playing The Piano/Out Of Noise (Decca; 2011)

Known to most music fans for his excellent soundtrack work on The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence among others, Ryuichi Sakamoto has been a prominent and revered figure in music for almost forty years. 


Hopefully some will remember him from his first outfit, the late 70s/80s electronic group, Yellow Magic Orchestra (essentially the Japanese version of Kraftwerk). If not, you may be familiar through collaborations with Iggy Pop, Thomas Dolby, David Sylvian and more recently some outstanding releases with electronic sound sculpture, Christian Fennesz.

But what most people don't always grab onto is, Sakamoto's emotionally powerful delivery at one single instrument--the piano. He is known for his masterful works electronically but in the last decade or so he has shifted between various styles. Delving into Brazilian themes with Jaques Morelenbaum or the aforementioned electronic work with Fennesz but at the heart it's still about Sakamoto's piano. His style is more angular yet remote. It has more to do with Debussy and Satie, than Monk and Jarrett.

His recent double release Playing The Piano/Out Of Noise is one of the best performances I have heard from Sakamoto in over a decade. This is why you fall in love with music. On Playing The Piano, he showers you with potent themes like the title piece to The Sheltering Sky. It rises and descends with grace and beauty that will cause both joy and despair all in the short span of minutes. "Amore" exudes the classic love/lost theme and might set forth those images of Debussy's writing in some listeners.

On one of Sakamoto's oldest pieces "A Thousand Knives" (in addition to "Tibetan Dance") is exquisite. Sakamoto's free flowing movement does cross both cinematic and jazz territories with great ease and effectiveness. It's always been a playful tune but its just connects more when heard as a singular instrument piece. Wonderful.

With Out Of Noise, Sakamoto starts off in the same vein with pleasant, unassuming numbers led by the tranquil and hypnotic, "Hibari." This calm aesthetic soon gives way to a more dynamic atmospheric tone on "Still Life" and "In Red" in which he balances both a delicate touch on piano with decomposing chords delivered by collaborators Fretwork and Fennsez, respectively. "Firewater" is a mountain of a piece that is as haunting as it is vast, like staring into a red sunset. Sakamoto produces a wall of sound that quickly washes over you. Not dissimilar to Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd actually.

"Composition 0919" is Sakamoto entering Glass/Reich-like territory with fast paced, repetitious patterns that stop/start and move from channel to channel. It's intoxicating and challenging. But that's what Sakamoto has always done. The tempo shifts quickly and the harmonics resonate with wonder and sweet agility. It's a solid way to close out the album and let the listner know that there's more to music than just the chords. This is thinking music for thinking people.

Playing The Piano/Out Of Noise are two of the best Sakamoto albums you are going to find in a vast catalog that I can't even count. It's also a great introduction to an amazing composer and performer. So if you haven't listened to Ryuichi Sakamoto before...now's a good time to start.

In Honour Of Mick Karn

Mick Karn (bass, multi-instrumentalist; b. 1958)

The Concrete Twin (MK Music)

I titled this piece "Enough Said" because I have a feeling that many of you who read this blog are fully aware of Mick Karn. After Jaco Pastorius, Mick Karn is probably the most distinctive bass player of the last 35 years. And he has done this by never actually learning how to read music. Some people just have that creative ability in them. Not yours truly. I can't read or play an instrument with any skill whatsoever.

Mick Karn's style on the bass (specifically fretless bass) is something you truly can't believe when you first hear it. It's like an oboe, cello and a upright bass all being folded and manipulated into itself. Truly distinctive and original. Fans of Karn know his playing within seconds of the opening chords.

I will try to keep the history portion of this short.

Like many musicians, as a child, the bass wasn't his first instrument of choice. That credit goes to a variety of instruments (bassoon, violin and mouth organ). But it was shortly after a brief stint playing classical music he hooked up with what become a legendary group (and group of musicians), Japan. Japan included David Sylvian, Richard Barbieri, Steve Jansen (and briefly Rob Dean). Japan's short-lived but highly influential career turned each member into instant legends. The bands ability to craft a blend of atmospherics, East/West aesthetics into a rhythmically accessible language captivated cult audiences around the globe.

Since the unfortunate break up of Japan, Mick Karn has worked with a myriad of talented musicians including, Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), Kate Bush, Midge Ure (Ultravox), David Torn (Lonely Universe, Polytown) and Mark Isham to name a few.

Mick Karn has effortlessly shifted between rock, ambient/electronica, jazz and world. He has built a solid foundation of seven solo albums. All I highly recommend. His latest, Concrete Twin (MK Music) is wonderful work of aural sculpture. It's rich, cinematic, introspective and dense. The production is crisp and enveloping. The majority of the music is as usual played by Karn himself (with additional drum work by Pete Lockett and manipulation by Karn).

While Concrete Twin has its origins in electronics, there is also a deep sense of organics within the tunes. "Ashamed To Be A Part Of Them" opens the album on a similar path as Mick's earliest albums (Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters and Titles). As usual, Karn's bass is front and center in the mix with a gentle East Asian atmosphere surrounding the piece.

On "Yes, I've Been To France" a bit of Karn's jazz past comes to the front. The cinematic nature of the material with Lonely Universe can be felt. There are moments improvised piano and Fripp-like guitar distortion. Probably not intended but you get a sense Mick is exploring a number of different themes throughout Concrete Twin. Where his last few records have been dominated by dance orientated material.

"Tender Poison" is a beautiful piece stressing the keys and subtle excursions with drum and percussion. Emotional effective yes. But also magnificently crafted. "Vote For Lies" and "Antisocial Again?" both are delicate haunting; with eerie bass lines and treated piano movements that make for an excellent explorations into the soul.

Mick Karn continues to be one of the best bass players in all of music today. But he has become a significant writer over the last ten years as well. His compositions have become more complex and his musicianship continues be exacting. Concrete Twin is by far one his best albums in years.

A few days ago Mick Karn past away due to complications from advanced cancer; so it is even more important that people spread the news of this great and wildly overlooked talent to the wider audiences. If you are a Mick Karn fan buy a Mick Karn CD (physical if possible) and give it to someone you know will enjoy it. The least we can all do is support one of the greatest musician who has brought so much joy and creative music to our lives over the last three decades. If you are just hearing about Mick Karn through this blog--buy Concrete Twin today if you can. You won't be disappointed. Mick we will miss you.

Food: Quiet Inlet

Food (group; formed 1998)
Quiet Inlet (ECM)
Thomas Stronen (drums, electronics)
Ian Balllamy (sax)

Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet; electronics)
Christian Fennesz (guitar, electronics)

Originally formed as a quartet including Arve Henriksen (trumpet) and Mats Eilertsen (bass), Food is now a duo with various guest musicians. Stronen and Ballamy have been consistent soundshapers on the thriving Norwegian jazz scene for over 20 years now. Food has always been a core project for them. Their recent release (6th in all), Quiet Inlet (ECM) continues the group philosophy of creating new worlds from improvising sounds.

Mostly the pieces on Quiet Inlet were recorded live at European Festivals but you would never notice as most the audience noise has been taken out. With the addition of Molvaer and Fennesz, Food have full immersed themselves in an experimental and sometimes electronic noise environment. That's not a bad thing. The essence of Food is always here. The acoustic aspect of their work may sometimes step into the background but you know its there.

The music on Quiet Inlet in melodic, improvised and ethereal while all follow a specific rhythmic pattern. Stronen's unique and technically brilliant style on drums/percussion are high points throughout Quiet Inlet, especially on the tracks "Tobiko" and "Mictyris". Heniksen's other-worldly trumpet style shines with a gentle beauty on latter pieces ""Becalmed" and "Dweller". Fennesz, who has quickly emerged as a major force in the ambience/improvising circles shows why he is one most creative noise guitarist around at the moment on the closing number "Fathoms" as well as his work on "Mictyris".

Quiet Inlet is no real departure for Food but is probably the more accessible (using the term loosely) of their albums. There are moments of improvised ambience as well gritty electronic grooves. Both of which are highly satisfying to this listener. Hope you get a chance to enjoy as well.

The Intersection: Humcrush

Humcrush (group; fromed 2004)
Thomas Stronen (drums, electronics)
Stale Storlokken (guitar, electronics)

Two members of two highly influential Norwegians bands Supersilent and Food join forces with some stellar results. Humcrush utilize a blinding mixture of electronics and jazz improvisation that are extremely inventive. Thomas Stronen's drum work--adventurous, propulsive is the perfect compliment to Storlokken's dark almost evil keyboard brilliance. Between both of their groups they have managed to record three magnificent albums that build upon each other with maximum success. Ethereal in parts and sometimes sounding like a great blend of minimalism and contemporary themes Humcrush is one of my favourite groups of the last few years.

At times a sounding like King Crimson, Amon Duul, David Sylvian/Mick Karn's ambient works and fusion era Miles Davis, Humcrush is a most interesting proposition. Their most recent release Rest At Worlds End (Rune Grammophon) is probably the best place to start. It's technically a live album (recorded over a number dates) but you will never notice as the audience has been striped from the recordings. But Rest At Worlds End is an improvisation miracle. Tunes float and groove with ease and the exchanges between the two musicians in remarkable. The standout track is "Steam" which is funky, technodelic (I've been waiting to use that word) and so hyper-real that you wish you watching it performed live. Rest At Worlds End is melodic and eerie but with a lost of rich textures that will keep the listener captivated throughout. A must listen for everyone and make your own judgement from there.

David Torn: The Guitar And What's Next

David Torn (guitar, electronics; 1953)

New Yorker David Torn, not unlike Mark Isham, is a jazz musician with uncategorizable talents. He has worked on both jazz, world, rock and film and tv projects consistently throughout his career. His career includes studying under John Abercrombe and Leonard Bernstein. He does have a very deep catalog but unfortunately only a few albums are available. He received significant recognition for his work on the Everyman Band albums during the 80s. The albums that are available are truly phenomenal and worth the purchase, especially if you are a fan of Brian Eno, King Crimson, David Sylvian, Supersilent, et al.

David Torn's style is layered and tempered with ambient elements similar to Nils Petter Molvaer or Michael Brook. His style is subtle and sublime with beautiful combinations of the avant garde, mysticism and traditional jazz. Torn can turn the guitar into a dangerous instrument with elements of prog as highlighted from his latest album Perezens (ECM) with the titled track and its preceding track, "Bulbs". His music can be unsettling to the uninitiated but if you are already used to some of the aforementioned artists and you haven't listened to David Torn yet, Perezens is definitely the place to start.

He has recorded three albums for his current label ECM and Prezens is by far the most realized of the three. There is wonderful work from the rest of the band consisting of New York regulars, Tom Rainey (drums), Craig Taborn (piano) and Tim Berne (sax). The album provides a funky turn of sorts with "Them Buried Standing" which I've always loved. This is usually the point at which if you haven't lost the uninitiated, they might start to enjoy the album. If not, trust me they never will.

Perezens is an album of lovely textual soundscapes and loud cacophonous minimalism. If you dig this, his previous ECM album Cloud About Mercury and Best Laid Plans are well worth seeking out. There is a compilation of his earlier work pre-ECM (both solo and as session member) entitled The David Torn Collection which is good but not very well sequenced. It does show the range and variety of artists and styles he has worked in but I would stick to the ECM recordings for best enjoyment.