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From All About Jazz (http://www.allaboutjazz.com):
| Evident Joëlle Léandre/Mark Nauseef | 482 Music |
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| For the first
collaboration between bassist Joëlle Léandre and percussionist Mark
Nauseef, the landscape is purely alien; Evident finds the two
looking outwards, incorporating a multitude of elements into a live
program that runs the gamut from the tranquil to stormy. Created without
any previous discussion or forethought, Léandre and Nauseef respond to
each other’s leads with an interesting level of empathy. Léandre’s background is in both the new music arena, citing John Cage as a mentor, and more improvisational contexts including work with Anthony Braxton, Fred Frith, Derek Bailey and Marilyn Crispell. Her technique is broad, coaxing unusual arco harmonics out of her instrument in addition to plucking, strumming and hitting it. She can create a surprising maelstrom of sound out of a single instrument, supplementing it with unusual vocalizations that are at times melodic, other times percussive. Nauseef has a worked in a more diverse environment, from rock bands including Thin Lizzy and Deep Purple to world music hybrids including Rabih Abou-Khalil and Miroslav Tadic; from more traditional jazz artists including Joachim Kuhn to challengers of the jazz tradition including Edward Vesala. His capabilities on both traditional percussion instruments and found objects are the perfect complement to Léandre’s more avant leanings. One is never quite sure where Léandre and Nauseef will take things. “Evident 5,” for example, starts with a cacophony of percussion and a flurry of bass notes before settling into a passage that would be almost lyrical, if it weren’t for the brooding undercurrent of Nauseef’s percussion. Sometimes the two work together, other times they almost seem to be pulling at each other, creating a sense of tension that is only occasionally resolved. Throughout, however, they are clearly attuned to each other, as motifs seem to materialize out of the ether only to disappear as they move on to another form. Evident is a work that challenges preconceptions and, as is the case with the best free improvisation, takes the listener through a broad spectrum of sounds, shapes and rhythms, rarely arriving in any one place for long. In the capable hands of Léandre and Nauseef, the combination of bass and percussion is enough to provide a remarkable breadth of textures, timbres and ambiences. For the open-minded listener this is a richly varied and ultimately rewarding journey. Visit 482 Music on the web. |
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From: http://www.onefinalnote.com:
Evident, a live performance by Joëlle Léandre and Mark Nauseef,
recorded on May 14th, 2002 in Eupen, Belgium, confirms yet again Léandre's
position as one of the most compelling improvisers, and indeed musicians,
currently playing today. Just as Derek Bailey has developed a wholly unique
approach to his instrument, oftentimes overshadowing anyone he is playing with,
Léandre is an overwhelming instrumentalist and virtuoso, frequently leaving
collaborators in the dust. Her combination of unparalleled contrabass technique
and wholly idiosyncratic vocal contributions make her the focal point of almost
any performance of which she is a part.
This is often the case in these duos with percussionist Nauseef, who attempts
admirably to keep up with Léandre's inventiveness. Perhaps acknowledging the
impossibility of doing so, Nauseef plays the accent role more often than not,
with tasteful contributions on a range of percussion instruments. Woods of
various sorts play a major role in Nauseef's improvisations, and provide a nice,
clear tonality compared with the polyphony and sheer weight of Léandre's
contributions. He also makes interesting use of bells and other metals, bowing
haunting atmospheres for Léandre to explore.
Standouts are many, including the opening track, "Evident 1", where Léandre
begins by fully examining an array of harmonics and glissandos, with Nauseef
scraping together cymbals, playing off of Léandre's sound. Resonant metals
begin "Evident 3", which transforms into an absolutely thrilling,
almost-song like groove and vocal contribution from Léandre—a hugely
satisfying moment that will dance in your head long after the piece is done.
"Evident 5" is the most ecstatic of the nine pieces, with Léandre
playing with raw physicality at the beginning, only to move to a particularly
plangent arco statement and eventually disappear in another utterly unique vocal
improvisation.
For those who appreciate slowly developed, thoughtful improvisations, that may
and often do go anywhere at anytime, this disc is highly recommended. If you
haven't yet heard Léandre, it is as good as any place to start. Contrabasses
with William Parker and Ocean of Earth with Kevin Norton and Thomas
Ulrich are also highly recommended.
| From http://www.splendidezine.com: | ||||
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From http://www.jazzword.com:
JOËLLE LÉANDRE/MARK NAUSEEF
Evident
482 Music 482-1024
Building a CD around what elsewhere would be called a rhythm section is a concept that could only come with the propagation of Free Music. That’s because its practitioners -- in this case French bassist Joëlle Léandre and American percussionist Mark Nauseef -- don’t follow the hierarchical designations of so-called classical, jazz or popular musics. With no front line, each instrumentalist is potentially both a soloist and an accompanist and that’s why it’s evident that EVIDENT succeeds on its own terms.
A nine-part, unrehearsed mediation on creative interplay, the instant compositions here depend much more on polyphony and polyrhythms than conventional harmony. Pertinent textures result from Léandre gliding from iron-finger plucking to pinpointed shuffle bowing, while Nauseef’s percussion legerdemain involves sounds with timbres as different as those produced by finger cymbals or hollow wood blocks.
In a reversal of form, it’s the bassist who holds onto the bottom of the music, creating scraped ponticello, that make it appear as if she’s rubbing the finish off her steel strings. Then again Léandre has never followed the expected, seeing as she’s been involved in both the free music and New music camps. She’s equally at home interpreting the written compositions of John Cage, as improvising with Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer or British guitarist Derek Bailey.
Nauseef, to his credit, doesn’t become overly percussive in his work. This may have been a difficult decision for a drummer whose playing partners have included ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers, ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce and The Velvet Underground. Still the drummer’s versatility has also allowed him to work successfully with Javanese gamelan bands, Ghanaian music ensembles, West Coast composer Lou Harrison and jazz bassist Steve Swallow.
With the entire concert CD created without prior discussion, you note the almost mind-reading qualities of the two musicians on a track like “Evident 3”, when Nauseef’s resonating bell-ringing tones are suddenly -- and somehow -- emulated and reflected by similar bell-like plucks from Léandre. Then she begins legato broken chording, amplifying the notes as she ranges over the strings and adding Asiatic-sounding panting vocalizing in unison with her arco feints.
Onomatopoeia treatments from the bassist, also include happy hiker whistles that meet rattling percussion from Nauseef, and are most pronounced on “Evident 5”. Here, after a virtuoso demonstration of her pizzicato effects, including expansive cello-range resonance and col legno salvos, Léandre unveils a quasi-dramatic recitation filled with sibilant intonations that constitute themselves into what could be a secret language. Instrumentally, these nonsense syllables are extended with the percussionist accompanying her with shuffling, unselected cymbals, resonation from a plastic cowbell and what honestly appears to be the battering of garbage can lids.
Unconventional percussion is Nauseef’s stock-in-trade throughout this session. Particular preference is shown to the varied tones that can be stuck on vertical chimes, the scrapes and slides that result from sharp objects grating against ride cymbals, and what sounds like the resonation of ping pong balls on a hard surface.
Not to be outdone, the bassist tosses off ponticello and shuffle bowing as regularly and inflates intense spiccato to the sounds of an entire string section. Accelerated fiddling often makes it appear as if she’s wearing the finish off her bass’s steel strings and her bow swoops have enough heft to create her own percussion, no matter what Nauseef is playing. In contrast, she can also come up a feather light line that’s so scrupulous vibrated that it could also arise from the pressure on a reed rather than on a string.
When a bassist and percussionist like these two get going, the contributions of other musicians aren’t missed at all.
-- Ken Waxman
Evident
Cadence review
Phillip McNally
Jöelle Léandre’s breathy, rhythmic vocals on [the above review] are among the few moments when a specific and identifiable voice rises out of the 4tet’s group sound. She is indeed one of the treasures of this music scene now, thankfully often recorded, and on [Evident] we get the chance to hear her more distinctly. This is a live duo concert from May 2002 with 9 improvisations for various percussion and bass, with those notable Léandre vocals. Nauseef uses gongs and wood blocks and bowed cymbals and reverberating bells that can sound like electronics, almost anything but the standard drum kit. This allows him to marry his sound to Leandre’s fabulous technique on bass, and he accompanies her vocals with low rumbling and growly percussion, like some sort of metallic bullroarer accompanying birdsong whistles. Though this captures a concert nearly an hour long, I find it easier to hear this music one piece at a time. There is enough in the endless array of sounds available to these two musicians to make you want to pause and let silence reign for a moment while you digest the abstract beauty you’ve just heard. Abstract it is, so maybe not for everyone, but beautiful it is too.
Evident
Bass World review
Sandor Ostlund
On Evident, Joëlle Léandre teams up with Mark Nauseef (who has played with such diverse artists as bassists Jack Bruce, Steve Swallow, Police guitarist Andy Summers, The Velvet Underground, Kenny Wheeler and the Gamelan Orchestra of Saba) in live concert to record nine free improvisations. Léandre’s immense musical presence on this CD again shows why she is considered one of the great contemporary musicians and bassists of our time.
The pieces start out sparsely, usually by Nauseef, and organically grow as the duo decides in what direction they want the piece to go. It is fascinating to hear not only how ideas are tossed back and forth, but how they can be rejected as well (as seems to be the case in "Evident 4" in which the bird whistles introduced by Nauseef are almost immediately rejected by Léandre). The pieces are by no means free-for-alls, and they often have clear form and seem logically – though spontaneously – put together.
Léandre’s facility on the instrument and her creative use of a vast array of modern techniques give each of the pieces a unique character from gentle and lyrical to aggressive and violent. A highlight of the album is "Evident 8" for solo bass in which one gets pulled into the symphony of sounds she is creating through her complete control of her frenzied ponticello, percussive accents and moaning vocals. Although Léandre is usually the preeminent voice, Nauseef proves to be a perfect partner for her, using an incredibly wide and always interesting palette of sounds. Often the duo creates such thick and unusual textures it is difficult to believe that there are only two musicians recorded on stage. This disc showcases two great improvising musicians and is highly recommended.Evident
Copper Press review
Christian Carey
You might think you have a pretty good idea of what "drum and bass" duets ought to sound like: Think again! Evident, a 2002 concert recording of bassist Joëlle Léandre and percussionist Mark Nauseef, redefines the sounds and roles of these instruments, eschewing their traditional banishment to the rhythm section of the band. Here, drum and bass are front and center in an engaging series of improvisations.
Léandre's bass playing often seems bound for the stratosphere - she indulges in glassy harmonics and mezzo-soprano melodies way up on the fretboard. Particularly striking are her imitations of whale song, which share an uncanny resemblance to the real thing. Nauseef stresses textural playing over articulating a regular pulse. The result is a series of colorful interjections and phrasal punctuations. Is the music on Evident unconventional? Yes - unconventionally lovely.
