Reviews

• guillaume belhomme, 13 october 2014, le son du grisli

  il faut entendre la fougue avec laquelle meinrad kneer porte anacrusis, morceau qui ouvre cet enregistrement du trio qu'il forme avec ab baars et le batteur bill elgart. en aylérien détaché, baars manie le saxophone avec une force qui gagne l'entier disque – si ce n'est ses plages où il passe au shakuhachi et à la clarinette – et en font un indispensable de la discographie du souffleur.

  guillaume belhomme, 13 october 2014, le son du grisli

• dustin mallory, october 2014, cadence magazine

  dutch woodwind guru ab baars has again teamed up with bassist meinrad kneer for a collaboration that includes the coloring rhythms of drummer bill elgert. the album begins with an extreme amount of energy on "anacrusis" and carries that vigor throughout the album to performances of "give no quarter" and "specific gravity." as with most piano-less or chord-less trios, there is a high expectation of the bassist. kneer rises to the occasion with a combination of rhythmic precision and soaring countermelodies on cuts like "eurus." he is just as apt with the bow as he is without and can often mix chords with wild effects, which he does on "notus." it is a real treat to hear veteran bill elgart included with this duo. his resume includes work with paul bley, gary peacock, sam rivers, karl berger, dave holland, lee konitz, and a slew of other masters. his work on this album does not disappoint and his musical rapport with baars is undeniable. together, this experimental trio creates many fascinating and intense soundscapes. to listeners unfamiliar with their work, take in "logical consistency." it is a perfect display of the sheer power their group improvisations can have.

  dustin mallory, october 2014, cadence magazine

• koen van meel, 19 september 2014, kwadratuur.be

  soms zit het in de kleine dingen, zoals bij dit trio van ab baars, meinrad kneer en bill elgart. de vanzelfsprekendheid waarmee de drie hier samenspelen is bij momenten onthutsend: geen grote verhalen, maar gebruikelijke onderonsjes die afgehandeld worden alsof het allemaal geen moeite kost.

  mekaar de strot dichtknijpen is er niet bij, iedereen mag zijn zeg doen. elgart zou zo gemakkelijk zijn gevoelige collega's kapot kunnen spelen, maar ondersteunt hun liever met een sonore elegantie, waarmee hij perfect zijn plaats in het uitgebalanceerde geheel weet te vinden. die plaats is helemaal niet zo evident, zeker niet in het contrapuntische spel van baars en kneer die, vaker dan dat ze op dezelfde trip zitten, complementair opereren. daarbij waken ze er wel over dat hun respectievelijke lijnen consequent verlopen, hoewel die van de ene op het eerste gehoord vaak weinig uitstaans hebben met die van de andere. dat ze elkaar toch vanuit een ooghoek in de gaten houden, wordt duidelijk wanneer er iets verschuift. een verandering van register, van ritme, articulatie of dynamische schakering is voldoende om de andere mee te nemen. niet voor een grote sprong, maar voor een stapje opzij, want het samenspel tussen baars en kneer klinkt bedrieglijk evident. zelfs in die mate dat een luisteraar dreigt te vergeten welke muzikaliteit hier in de lucht hangt.

  zo drentelen de drie hand in hand van de ene situatie in de andere, waarbij ze een heel scala aan sferen doorwaden: struinend, in de lucht hangend zonder de intentie om te landen, speels of elkaar aftastend. baars maakt daarbij optimaal gebruik van zijn vertrouwde trio blaasinstrumenten, die zoals steeds verschillende facetten van zijn muzikale persoonlijkheid naar boven halen: zwalpend op tenorsax, vloeiend op klarinet en met oosterse ijlheid op shakuhachi (bamboefluit).

  kneer heeft voor een even gevarieerde inbreng genoeg aan een contrabas. hij vindt zijn weg in eender welk register en eender welke dynamiek: spichtig stuiterend, zingend, met zwevende dubbelgrepen of met percussieve klanken, die in 'zephyrus' mooi mengen met de tomgeluiden uit elgarts drumset. die verfijning, gecombineerd met baars op shakuhachi, en veel ruimte in het geluid laat het trio in haar meest uitgesproken oosterse gedaante horen.

  al even secuur is het geluid in 'logical consistency' waar baars en kneer elkaar strak volgen in het hoge register en elgart zich met tintelende cimbalen mooi naast de twee weet te nestelen. in 'specific gravity' liggen de kaarten net anders. baars springt als een door vuurwerk dolgedraaide hond in een opmerkelijk voller geluid, waarin elk spoor van brutaliteit ontbreekt. een gemis is het niet. want wie heeft spierballen nodig als er met finesse zoveel meer te vertellen is?

  koen van meel, 19 september 2014, kwadratuur.be

• tom greenland, june 2014, new york city jazz record

  give no quarter is a date with veteran multi-reed player ab baars, bassist meinrad kneer and us expat drummer bill elgart. the trio takes a programmatic approach, creating almost visual audio-works evoking a series of scenes, from the whinnying animal cries and chucking woodblocks of "anacrusis" and relentless high-energy of the title track, each musician almost inseparable in the collective fray, to the ethereal creakings and crankings of "song for our predecessors" and joyous birdsongs in "complementary progress". the relatively short selections, baars moving among tenor sax, clarinet and shakuhachi, vary widely in texture and across the dynamic and timbral spectrum.

  tom greenland, june 2014, new york city jazz record

• paul magree, 22 april 2014, the soundprojector

  a somewhat misleading title, this, for an album of improv that is blowsy and swaggering rather than confrontational and unforgiving. the record teams the dutch/german duo of horn player ab baars and bassist meinrad kneer with american drummer bill elgart for a playful and varied set ranging from full-on fire music to insectoid free improv.

  opener 'anacrusis' sets the tone, with meinrad kneer's rubbery, insouciant bass rubbing up against ab baars' mewling sax. the title track, meanwhile, is a sharp elbowed assault, kneer's atonal sawed bass keeping the rackety structure from falling apart.

  elgart skates around these pieces elegantly, as befits a drummer with a venerable pedigree, having backed up such luminaries as paul bley and lee konitz. he matches flights of extrovert whimsy – as on 'specific gravity', where he whirls and flutters to match baars' stuttering horn curlicues – with beautiful restraint, of which his rustling brushwork on 'boreas' is a fine example.

  this is a great album if you like your improv loud and of the band-falling-down-the-stairs territory. there is just enough blues in baars' horn and kneer's bass lines to nod towards jazz, but it's kept on a tight leash, as on 'song for our predecessors', where the sax moos ruminatively as the bass scrapes and drums skitter. 'tale of the bewildered bee' delivers a suitably apian treat, with both the fizzing reedy horn and bass mimicking the yellow and black buzzer of the title. 'complementary progress' hits a similar groove, the saxophone flightier here while elgart's drums work harder at nailing the whole thing down, clattering and banging in a mischievous grump. this is the highlight of the record for me, the trio locking into some kind of bizarre tom & jerry-style chase around the house, lurching and crashing into one another in good-natured competition, never quite managing to shut one another down.

  that said, at certain points it all feels a mite comfortable. i get the feeling that the trio are well within their comfort zone here, and, for all baars' ayler-style howls, there's no angst to match the euphoria – in other words, not enough blues in them there blues. yet, for all that, give no quarter is still an immensely enjoyable album, full of intriguing corners and the odd laugh out loud moment at this experienced trio's brazen playfulness.

  paul magree, 22 april 2014, the soundprojector

• stef, 1 april 2014, www.kronics.com

  ab baars au ténor, à la clarinette et au shakuhachi, meinrad kneer à la contrebasse et bill elgart à la batterie. un album assez intense d'improvisation, jamais trop forte, cherchant toujours la dynamique interactive et immédiate, se promenant et sautant parfois avec précision et prudence, libre comme le vent. les treize morceaux de l'album tournent tous autour de cinq minutes et donne un aperçu de l'approche du trio. ils posent le décor, le développent, l'agrandissent et le referment. une fois le caractère créé et l'approche effectuée, il n'y a pas besoin de s'étendre longuement sur le même sujet parce qu'ils ont beaucoup d'autres idées, des tonnes, et elles trouvent toutes leur place ici. un de mes albums favoris de 2013. la qualité sonore est également excellente.

  stef, 1 april 2014, www.kronics.com

• stef gijssels, march 2014, frejazzblog.org

  ab baars on tenor, clarinet and shakuhachi, meinrad kneer on double bass and bill elgart on drums. a pretty intense album of free improvisation, never loud, always looking for immediate interactive dynamics, walking - sometimes jumping - with precision and caution, yet free as the wind. the thirteen tracks on the album are all around five minutes long, and gives some insight into the trio's approach. they set a scene, develop it, expand it and close it. once the character is created, the approach made, there is no need for too long elaborations on the same subject, because they have many more ideas, plenty of ideas, and they all get their place here. one of my favorite albums in this list. and the sound quality is excellent too.

  stef gijssels, march 2014, frejazzblog.org

• amedeo furfaro, 5 february 2014, corriere del sud

  musica creativa dall'olanda, fra bill elgart e stefano battaglia

  la toon dist di amsterdam offre in catalogo succose novità per gli appassionati di musica creativa e improvvisata, a marchio evil rabbit records. anzitutto il cd give no quarter con il sassofonista ab baars, il contrabbassista meinrad kneer e il batterista bill elgart (nella foto, ripreso durante un concerto cjc in calabria qualche anno fa). si tratta di un prodotto di grande atmosfera, fatto di astrazioni e dissonanze, di sicura impressione verso quanti prediligono un genere che poggia molte radici nelle avanguardie jazzistiche degli anni '70. altro album from the netherlands ma di formazione italiana e' bartleby the scrivener, con fiorenzo bodrato al contrabbasso, stefano battaglia al pianoforte, andrea massaria alla chitarra e massimiliano furia alla batteria. anche qui la cifra stilistica si caratterizza nell'esplorare un inedito sonoro, stavolta ispirato a melville, che attraverso i dialoghi istantanei fra gli strumenti determina climax intensi e suggestioni armonico-timbriche di estrema rarefazione.

  amedeo furfaro, 5 february 2014, corriere del sud

• guy peters, 10 january 2014, enola.be

  het trio baars, kneer en elgart zorgde voor misschien wel het hoogtepunt van het konfrontationen festival van 2012 in oostenrijk. het concert, dat 's middags plaatsvond in de lokale evangelische kirche was er eentje waarbij alle stukjes op hun plaats vielen. sfeer, sound en inspiratie zaten allemaal op één lijn, en het trio speelde een bevlogen performance die afwisselend energiek, bloedmooi en meditatief was. opmerkelijk voor een band die eigenlijk niet zo frequent samenspeelt. baars en kneer vormden eerder al een duo, maar elgart was er pas voor het eerst bij in 2010 en deze opnames dateren van de herfst van 2011 (dus negen maanden voor het concert in oostenrijk). toch kondigen ze al aan wat we in 2012 te horen zouden krijgen. net als baars' reguliere trio is dit een groep die heel mooi in evenwicht is en zowel thuis is in meer traditionele stukken (nu ja, traditionele freejazz, als er dan al zoiets zou bestaan) als in muziek die sterker neigt naar de (gecomponeerde) hedendaagse muziek. binnen de woeligere stukken is het vaak baars' excentriek jammerende tenorsax die de hoofdrol speelt, al valt net zo goed op hoe bedreven kneer hem van repliek dient met de vingers en de strijkstok. elgart, die ervaring opdeed aan koningen van de dosering als paul bley en lee konitz, laat ook nooit meteen het achterste van de tong zien en valt vooral op door z'n subtiliteit. het directere antwoorden laat hij vaak over aan zijn kompaan kneer, die hier speelt met robuust zelfvertrouwen. doorheen dertien stukken krijg je dan ook het volledige gamma gepresenteerd, van bluesy freejazz ("anacrusis", "specific gravity" met kloeke wandelpartijen van kneer), tot meer beheerste momenten ("eurus") en hier en daar een bedwelmende serenade ("song for our predecessors" is een hoogtepunt). voor twee stukken hanteert baars de japanse shakuhachi, wat de muziek meteen naar minimalistisch terrein stuurt. zelfs daar valt echter op dat er niet zomaar ten dienste van… wordt gespeeld, maar dat de communicatie voortdurend op gang gehouden wordt, ook al is ze dan ragfijn en voorzien van amper waarneembare accenten. een klasseplaat.

  guy peters, 10 january 2014, enola.be

• dm, 7 january 2014, vital weekly, number 914, week 2

  baars and kneer started as a duo and released 'windfall' for evil rabbit. after a concert in 2010 with bill elgart as a guest, they decided to continue as a trio. veteran billy elgart played with paul bley, lee konitz and sam rivers. baars is a leading improvisator in holland already for many years. german double bass player kneer is the youngest of them (1970). he did his musical studies in holland, and has an interest for russian literature that also influenced his musical work. for example, he was awarded in 2002 with a project around the work of russian absurdist and writer daniil charms. currently he takes part in a project that is inspired on the work of russian futurist writer velimir chlebnikov. after several concerts in holland, germany and austria the three recorded this cd on one day in october 2011. the cd contains 13 improvisations that came about through group improvisation. the three experienced players show their talents in varying improvised exercises, creating different dynamics and atmospheres. all pieces are very intimate and together. i enjoyed the fine interplay. again an example that improvised music has an unique and unequalled intensity when it really 'happens'.

  dm, 7 january 2014, vital weekly, number 914, week 2

• beppe colli, 8 december 2013, cloudsandclocks.net

  let's start from the ending, for once: give no quarter is a very fine album. the featured music is intense, rich in imagination, masterfully performed, recorded with a skillful mix of "proximity" and "ambient" which makes for a rewarding listening experience where "warmth" never comes at the expense of the first ingredient for one's understanding of music: clarity. the album was recorded by sebastian demydczuk, who also did the mix with meinrad kneer. fine mastering job by rob elfrink. the sound - of music, also of individual instruments - is rich, never fatiguing, something which nowadays one cannot take for granted anymore even when it comes to albums like this. the fact of the end result being very coherent becomes even more remarkable when one considers that the recording sessions were limited to a single day. something quite unusual when it comes to this "genre", it sounds like a couple of tracks make use of overdubbing - at least, this is what they sound like to me (for track description, see below). sixteen tracks for a duration of 63' tell of an editing work that avoids lengthy episodes. while the changing proportions of instruments and components - such as drums and cymbals - witness to a "teleological" mix. what kind of music is this? glad you asked. at the risk of oversimplifying something which is quite complex, i'd call this a successful mixture of "free jazz" and "improvised music". of course, i'm quite aware of the risk of treating "things" that others would file under "attitudes" or "strategies", possessing a very high degree of categorial variability, as "tags". well, what can i say? i try to do my best! ab baars is definitely a musician who needs no introduction, his work in a variety of contexts - solo, duo with ig henneman, trio, quartet, medium-sized ensembles, various collaborations - being well-known. though he has recorded quite a bit, double bass player meinrad kneer is still not too well-known - at least, this is what appears to me. i've written about him here, the most recent item being windfall, the fine album he shared with ab baars. though i was sure i'd read his name once or twice, "bill elgart" didn't ring a bell - though i knew that the excellent musicality displayed on this album was the fruit of a long practice. so, what did i do? well, i searched the web, and... voilà! a page on wikipedia reads "us jazz drummer expatriate" and so on and so forth. maybe i'm exaggerating the importance of his past collaborations, given the fact that they seem to confirm what i thought i heard, but names such as paul bley, marion brown, sam rivers, roswell rudd, john tchicai - and, later, karl berger - speak for themselves. in the past, while squinting my eyes, i appeared to see albert ayler standing behind ab baars on tenor. so it was with much surprise that on this album i seemed to detect traces of ornette coleman, given the fact that coleman is always - whether implicitly, or explicitly - "bluesy": something that i rarely perceive as being true of ab baars on clarinet, very seldom on tenor. after a long period of reflection - being a music critic is hard! - i think i've found my solution, the key being kneer's arco bass work, which obviously shows a classical background, which on this album reminded me of david izenzon's work on ornette coleman's at the golden circle, vol. i and ii. so what at first sounded to me as being akin to the albert ayler album in greenwich village - i.e., tenor and strings - in the end found a more appropriate frame of reference. what follows is just a quick sketch of the music featured on the album. as it's to be expected, this music is not really simple, but it's not too difficult, either. no more, anyway, than those "free" albums from the 60s that nowadays we regard as "classics". and as they (used to?) say, "no pain, no gain". anacrusis starts with a melodic phrase that travels from tenor to double bass, quite "deep" sounding. there's a "coleman-like" mood, agile drums which make good use of bass drum, cymbals, snare drum with very resonant snare, brushes. there's a fine meditation on a tonal centre. eurus features clarinet, double bass played arco. drums are played staccato. unison passages which almost sound like they are scored. fine opposition of "lyric-sounding" clarinet and double bass. unison ending, with cymbals sounding like gongs, toms with resonating skins. give no quarter sounds "free", showcasing tenor, arco bass, and "free" drums. one is bound to be reminded of albert ayler's in greenwich village. bass drum, snare, polyrhythms, double bass played arco, with fine harmonics. there's a fine cymbal figure, on a "false" ending. zephyrus features a very "airy-sounding" (of course!) shakuachi, paired with "heavy"-sounding percussion, with a measured double bass. there's a fine contrast of shakuachi's legato, percussion's staccato, double bass's slide. late preamble has a chamber-like clarinet, which reminded me of roscoe mitchell, double bass played arco, agile cymbals and toms in the background. brief, and very beautiful. song for our predecessors sounds a bit like the art ensemble of chicago. fine snare drum, long, "held", notes on tenor, double bass played arco, and "motivic variations". a cymbal - it sounds like a "china crash" to me - brings the piece to its close. specific gravity sounds quite à la "ayler/free". the clarinet is played in the high register, a deep-sounding double bass acts "in opposition", agile drums as co-protagonist. fine surprise ending from the drums. notus features shakuachi, double bass played arco - again, with fine use of harmonics - with the hi-hat in the foreground, acting as an anchor. logical consistency features tenor and arco bass, it's a mid-tempo where what i first thought to be percussion later appeared as an overdubbing of double bass played arco, which strikes the strings very hard. excellent cymbals, of various dimensions. tale of the bewildered bee has the double bass acting like a "bee", with counterpoint of snare drum and cymbals. notes played in the medium-high register, lotsa toms, "austere"-sounding melody from the tenor sax. very "ayler-like", in its way. complementary progress features a fresh melodic dimension from two overdubbed clarinets. "fat-sounding" double bass, toms, clarinets talking to each other, with a "bluesy" tinge. fine! fundamental ambush features a "bluesy-sounding" tenor, double bass played arco, acting as a pedal, agile drums. here and there i seem to detect two double basses: ? fine punctuation from the drums, echoing the tenor's gruppettoes - ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. boreas showcases a light-sounding snare played brushes, big bass drum, resonating toms, brushes, bright cymbals, all acting as a framework for the shakuachi, the double bass played arco acting as a pedal. there's a fine sound of brushes on the snare drum, a sound from the "swing" era which gets to be recontextualized. bright shakuachi, fat double bass. thin sound stripes, and a fine cd ending, which fades in, then out.

  beppe colli, 8 december 2013, cloudsandclocks.net

• december 2013, diskoryxeion

  η toondist είναι μία ολλανδική εταιρεία διανομήσ με έδρα το amsterdam και με αντικείμενο την προχωρημένη jazz. το motto τησ είναι: “creative and improvised music from the netherlands”. τρία cd τησ έφθασαν προσφάτωσ στα χέρια μου – δύο τησ evil rabbit records και ένα τησ βββ. κάποια λόγια και για τα τρία…
  όπωσ διαβάζω στο site τησ evil rabbit: «η εταιρεία δημιουργήθηκε το 2006 από τον πιανίστα albert van veenendaal και τον κοντραμπασίστα meinrad kneer. πρόκειται για ένα ανεξάρτητο label φτιαγμένο από μουσικούσ, απευθυνόμενο σε μουσικούσ. στόχοσ μασ είναι να προβάλλουμε σύγχρονη ΄προχωρημένη’ jazz και αυτοσχεδιαστική μουσική. αυτέσ οι μουσικέσ μπορεί να έχουν τισ ρίζεσ τουσ στην ευρωπαϊκή παράδοση, είναι όμωσ πάντα ‘ανοιχτέσ’ σε πρωτότυπεσ ιδέεσ και καινοτόμεσ εξελίξεισ».

  στο “give no quarter” [evil rabbit records err 20, 2013] ακούγονται οι ab baars τενόρο σαξόφωνο, κλαρινέτο, σακουχάτσι, meinrad kneer κοντραμπάσο και bill elgart ντραμσ. οι τρεισ μουσικοί συλλαμβάνονται σ’ ένα ολλανδικό στούντιο, τον οκτώβριο του ’11, να επικοινωνούν εντόσ πλαισίου το οποίο οριοθετούν οι κοινέσ απόψεισ τουσ, προφανώσ, για το αυθόρμητο και το αφηρημένο. δεκατρία κομμάτια μέσησ και μικρήσ διάρκειασ, που δημιουργούν/ προκαλούν καταστάσεισ ηχητικού πανικού – όταν ο baars δεν φυσάει στο σακουχάτσι, ένα όργανο που προσφέρεται από τη φύση του, εξάλλου, για περισσότερο... πνευματικέσ διαδρομέσ. οι μουσικέσ των τριών αυτοσχεδιαστών δεν είναι, πάντα, άνευ μελωδικού αντικρίσματοσ, αφού συχνά τα πνευστά «συντονίζονται» σε αφηγηματικέσ/ περιγραφικέσ φόρμεσ, συμβάλλοντασ, έτσι, στην αποκρυπτογράφηση τού συνολικού τρόπου δράσησ των οργανοπαικτών. ήτοι, ηχο-εξερευνήσεισ πάσησ φύσεωσ και όσον αφορά στα ηχοχρώματα των οργάνων, αλλά και σε σχέση με τισ μεταξύ τουσ παράλληλεσ ή κόντρα συνομιλίεσ.

  december 2013, diskoryxeion

• françois couture, 6 november 2013, monsieur délire

  a strong studio free improvisation session between ab baars on tenor sax, clarinet and shakuhachi (on the gorgeous "boreas"), meinrad kneer on doublebass, and drummer bill elgart. i don't know if it's a conscious choice or chance, but the evil rabbit label seems to favour the short form. here we have thirteen pieces, almost all of them in the four-to-five-minutes range. this forces musicians to get right to the point, and it works very well here. fine energy, fine synergy; lively, busy music.

  françois couture, 6 november 2013, monsieur délire

• eyal hareuveni, 4 november 2013, allaboutjazz.com

  dutch reeds master ab baars and german double bassist meinrad kneer began to work as a duo and recorded an acclaimed album, windfall (evil rabbit, 2010). while playing a gig in 2010 at the bimhuis club in amsterdam, the duo hosted veteran american drummer bill elgart, known for his collaborations with paul bley and lee konitz, and since then the duo became a trio. give no quarter, the debut album of the trio, was recorded in 2012 after a european tour.

  as can be expected from these three experienced and resourceful improvisers this album features a powerful demonstration of true masters at work. the intimate interplay enables the trio to explore varied approaches and dynamics to improvisation. the trio moves organically between structured forms and abstract textures, alternating between consensus and dissent, dissonance and echo, physical, intense, transparent and fragile. together they explore the timbre qualities of their instruments and these sound- oriented articulations blossom into inspired, poetic dialogues.

  all thirteen pieces are credited to the trio, all feature the breadth of its vocabulary and the highly personal sound of each of the three. the trio plays spare blues ("anacrusis"), intense fiery free jazz ("give no quarter," "specific gravity"), meditative textures to uncompromising investigations of raw sounds ("notus"), all performed with natural ease and playful, creative joy. the beautiful, contemplative "eurus" stresses the trio typical, emphatic interplay. baars poetic clarinet lines are answered by imaginative arco playing of kneer and punctuated briefly with gentle touches of elgart. baars unconventional exploration of the timbre spectrum of the japanese shakuhachi flute on the meditative "zephyrus" and "borea" challenges kneer and elgart to deepen the serene atmosphere. beautiful, arresting music.

  eyal hareuveni, 4 november 2013, allaboutjazz.com

• costante berciu, 26 october 2013, sands-zine

  (una grande lezione di storia (e non solo) fa subito pensare alle classiche formazioni in trio di rollins e ayler, questo disco, e il secondo viene addirittura evocato apertamente quando baars si impegna al sax tenore. pezzi come anacrusis e give no quarter, seppure non abbiano quella forza evocativa e la materia sonora sia più frammentata, non possono che far pensare all'albert ayler trio (quello con gary peakock e sunny murray). è poi sempre ayler a far capolino nella marcia funebre song for our predecessors e nella lamentazione tale of the bewildered bee. un altro collegamento con il sassofonista afroamericano sta nella presenza del batterista bill elgart, uomo di punta del jazz statunitense d'annata, che a suo tempo ha fatto accoppiata ritmica proprio con gary peacock. altrove, quando baars impugna il clarinetto, è invece il profondo lirismo di steve lacy che fa occhiolino da bordo campo. se fosse tutto qui plauderei alla grande lezione di storia, razionalmente molto coinvolgente, ma il cd offre anche qualcosa di più. robe come zephyrus e boreas, con baars impegnato al flauto giapponese di bambù (shakuhachi), coinvolgono anche emotivamente con le loro atmosfere notturne 'zeppe' di paraconcretismi da quarto mondo. infine c'è eurus, gemma incastonata nel tempo, con le atmosfere dilatate, i suoni lunghi e il fraseggio ridotto ai minimi termini, dove le linee melodiche sembrano seguire percorsi propri per intersecarsi armonicamente, secondo un concetto armolodico tipicamente colemaniano ancora difficile da comprendere (probabilmente lo stesso ornette coleman non l'ha mai compreso appieno). potevano intitolarla song for our successors e non avrebbe fatto una piega. un'osservazione out per chi come me vede nei paesi bassi una sorta di terra del bengodi per l'improvvisazione: se un disco simile, registrato in studio nell'ottobre 2011, ha dovuto fare un'anticamera di ben 2 anni, nonostante la garanzia rappresentata da un nome ormai affermato qual è ab baars, vuol dire che anche da quelle parti inizia ad esserci qualche problemino.

  costante berciu, 26 october 2013, sands-zine

• zipo, 10 october 2013, aufabwegen.de

  es ist immer wieder eine freude, einen neuen release des niederländischen labels evil rabbit records in den händen zu halten. das verpackungskonzept ist so einfach wie genial: in einer schwarzen gatefold-pappschachtel steckt in der einen seite die cd und in der anderen seite ein insert, auf das man durch einen kreisförmigen ausschnitt in der außenhülle einen blick erhaschen kann. dieser ausschnitt gibt bereits erste basisinformationen wie titel und musikernamen frei (die abbildung oben zeigt nur das herausgenommene insert). die so sympathisch dargereichte musik besteht meistens aus klängen, die ein stück weit antithetisch zur fixierung auf tonträger sind - improvisationen und musikalische gefechte, ausgetragen von einigen granden der niederländischen improvszene. give no quarter ist da keine ausnahme. das vom altmeister ab baars (saxophon, klarinette, shakuhachi) angeführte trio spielt derart leichtfüssig und luftig, dass es eine richtige freude ist, zuzuhören. die pole sind der bläsereinsatz und das schepprig-lustige percussionsspiel des bill elgart. stolprig und fuchtelnd entfaltet sich die musik, der bass von meinrad kneer muss oft schauen, wie er sich adäquat in szene setzen kann. man ahnt, dass ihm eine wichtige, weil stützende rolle, zu eigen ist. auszumachen ist das im flirrenden rühren der perkussion und dem singsang der bläser kaum.

  zipo, 10 october 2013, aufabwegen.de

• herman te loo, 28 october 2013, jazzflits nr 206

  drie jaar geleden hoorden we een van de oprichters van het label evil rabbit records, bassist meinrad kneer, al eens in duet met rietblazer ab baars. de improvisatiemuziek voor fijnproevers op 'windfall', hun debuutalbum, smaakte naar meer. toch heeft het even moeten duren voor we daarin bediend werden. de nieuwe plaat, 'give no quarter', nummer twintig in de fantasievolle en herkenbare vormgeving van het eigenzinnige label, behelst een opname uit oktober 2011 met een extra sparringpartner. dat is de ervaren amerikaanse slagwerker bill elgart (1942), misschien het meest bekend van zijn werk met pianist paul bley. een gouden greep, want elgart is typisch de meedenkende en -luisterende 'musicians' musician' die het duo nodig heeft. hij weet zichzelf weg te cijferen wanneer dat nodig is en de muziek op de toppen van de stilte bivakkeert. vooral wanneer baars de shakuhachi, de japanse bamboefluit, hanteert, is de sfeer etherisch, zenachtig. ook op klarinet klinkt de nederlander sotto voce en komt zijn voorliefde voor het werk van olivier messiaen naar voren. de vogelachtige ritmiek in 'eurus' en 'late preamble' duiden daarop. maar het is niet alleen de verstilling waar deze cd in uitblinkt. het album kent eveneens zijn heftige momenten, zoals in het titelstuk (met baars op tenorsaxofoon), waar de heldere lijnen laten horen dat de freejazz anno 2013 anders klinkt dan in de jaren zestig of zeventig. transparantie, architecturale opbouw, sublieme klankkleuren, dat zijn de elementen die de drie muzikanten samenbrengen in een helder betoog voor de vrije improvisatie.

  herman te loo, 28 october 2013, jazzflits nr 206

• zdenek slaby, april 2013, his voice

  jestliže italská úderka je do značné míry na evil rabbit records nezvyklým překvapením, trio ab baars (tenor saxofon, klarinet, šakuhači), meinrad kneer (kontrabas) a bill elgart (bicí) na nich nejsou coby novicové. o kneerovi jako o iniciátoru labelu není třeba se rozvláčňovat, toho tu nacházíme průběžně, ale například baarse můžeme najít na windfallu (právě s kneerem) a elgarta na modern primitive (opět s kneerem, leč i s janem klarem a jeffem platzem), takže jejich spojení tady bylo pouze otázkou času. třináct improvizací na albu give no quarter ukazuje, jak tato trojice postupuje ve svíravě sevřené řadě s téměř nepostřehnutelným řádem a s nepředvídatelnými posuny, zapadajícími do sebe jako puzzle. ovšemže si pro každý titul od anacrusis po boreas volí jiná východiska a jiné postupy, základně však zůstává, že baars volí své nástroje vzhledem k tématu (viz například povětrné a váhavě osmutkované šakuhači s jemnou podpůrností perkusních hejblátek a postruněním basy v zephyru), a tudíž většinou udává tón od výkřičné rozemnutosti přes výpalnou skotačivost či horečnatě (s)pádné vzdýmání až po povídavě povívavou útešnost nebo rozhalivé rozdmýchávání. což neznamená, že se tu neprezentují rovnoměrně a rovnoceně všichni tři; pokud jde právě o jejich semknutost ve zdánlivé tápavosti i o vrtošivá skupenství, plná tajemnosti, vymýšlivosti a dumavosti, pojmenoval bych cd příznačněji titulem devátým, a to logical consistency. k vrcholům alba určitě patří tale of the bewildered bee, včelínsky bzučivé (zvláště zásluhou kneerovy basy) a vystupňovávané do žihadlové řádivosti a rojivého divočení a nivočení. někdy je toto trio jazzově svobodomyslné, jindy se vyburcovává do eufórie, někdy působí dojmem, jako by na tóny, které následují, se teprve rozpomínalo, od neklidného proharašování se prodírá do souvěrecké utajivosti, až tajnůstkářství, ale v jiném okamžiku se ocitáme ve vymítavě líčivém klarinetovém lahůdkářství. přitom kontrabas baarse tu obkolíkovává, tu provokuje, tu se v jeho „stínu“ uvelebuje, tu ho jistí, bicí a/nebo perkuse jsou nevzrušeně diskrétní i rozparáděné, tu rozhalivě obstruující nebo rouhavě odkotávající i podemílající. pakliže se na jednom místě zaděsíme ponořovací tonoucností tria, je to většinou vyváženo dohadovačským i dohazovačským vyvolavačstvím, probíravým i rozbíravým pročecháváním nebo obtočnou útočností. mám dojem, že toto album má svoji návratnost, že je málokdo ponechá jednomu poslechnutí a poté nechá ležet ladem.

  evil rabbit records jsou tak znovu svědectvím, že zdánlivě okrajové labely mohou vstoupit do samého centra soudobé jiné hudby.

  zdenek slaby, april 2013, his voice

• mischa andriessen, 4/2013, jazzmozaïk

  de amerikaanse drummer bill elgart werkte in het verleden met onder meer paul bley en kenny wheeler. het fantasierijke en ruimtelijke aspect dat die twee grootheden in hun muziek koes- teren, hoor je ook terug in elgarts spel. daarmee is hij een goed ge- kozen tegenspeler voor de nederlandse rietblazer ab baars; iemand voor wie vrijheid niet betekent dat je elke fractie van een tel moet dichtsmeren met geluid. behalve dat baars door goed te doseren heel goed omgaat met de geboden ruimte in de triobezetting, wordt zijn spel met de jaren steeds expressiever. op tenor klinkt een verre echo van albert ayler door, maar dan puur de indringende sound, niet het gejaagde en het stuurloze. een compositie als "song for our predecessors" laat horen hoe meeslepend het trio kan klinken. in een dergelijk driemanschap is iedere muzikant van hetzelfde belang. bassist meinrad kneer toont zich andermaal een wendbaar musicus met een goed oor voor de kleur van de muziek. vooral de gestreken passages die hij tegenover baars' ontroerende spel plaatst, zijn smaakvol en effectief. hier wordt niet op safe gespeeld, geen concessie gedaan, niet aan de luisteraar, niet aan de muziek.

  mischa andriessen, 4/2013, jazzmozaïk

• mst, january 2013, freistil

  der umtriebige tenorsaxofonist ab baars tut sich hier mit dem kontrabassisten meinrad kneer und dem schlagzeuger bill elgart zusammen, um die möglichkeiten und unmöglichkeiten der improvisation und des zusammenspiels zu versuchen. erstaunlich relaxt klingt das alles hier, unaufgeregt, vielleicht auch ein wenig abgebrüht, im besten sinne. man hat keine eile, irgendwo hin zu gelangen, man findet den spaß unterwegs und steigert zwischendurch die dringlichkeit, vor allem vonseiten des saxofons. dahinter geht es immer noch entspannt zu, rhythmisch absolut variabel und dem spiel von baars angepasst. zwischendurch darf auch mal die schönheit einzug halten und sich ausbreiten, ehe das flächige und ruhige vom nächsten ausbruch torpediert wird. ist etwas zu gerade, wird es im nächsten augenblick wieder dezent in schräglage gebracht. und das ist genau der reiz dieser aufnahme: die konstruktion und dekonstruktion von stimmungen, atmosphären und strukturen. die platte ist dabei einladend, lässt stets zeit und lust zum hinhören und zum verfolgen der abläufe.

  mst, january 2013, freistil