Jeff Kaiser & Ernesto Diaz-Infante – "Pith Balls and Inclined Planes" – pfMentum CD005. Jeff Kaiser: trumpet, flugelhorn, electronics, voice. Ernesto Diaz-Infante: acoustic guitar, voice. Released 2000. Duration: 45:18.
Distribution: admin@pfmentum.com or http://www.pfmentum.com
This CD has a citation, taking on the shape of a motto, on its sleeve: “You see, one thing is, I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers, which might be wrong. I have approximate answers and possible beliefs… but I’m not absolutely sure of anything…” (Richard Feynman)
This is a well-suited motto for this new CD from the duo Jeff Kaiser and Ernesto Diaz-Infante from California. The CD has eight tracks, and they all differ immensely, and change around, even within the same piece. It’s a good old adventure to seep through this mix, or let it seep through you… If you have some experience with different aspects of music, you will recognize many influences, from jazz, improvised jazz, electronic music, avant-garde Rumanian spectral music, Cageian chance operations and so forth. If you’re not that much of an aficionado, just relax and enjoy the stew! These guys are at the forefront of what they’re doing, and it’s a pleasure to spin this piece of plastic through the laser box! The sound world that materializes in your listening room is full of ins and outs, dizzying labyrinths and exhausting trails through the mountains of Lapland, but also with penthouse views of the city, ruler-straight highways across the Texan prairies and visions straight out of the myths of the Hopi Indians. Let the music take the upper hand, and let your mind free. These pathfinders won’t mislead you!
The CD starts off with sounds that might have come out of John Cage’s “Cartridge Music” (for amplified small objects) or his “But What About the Noise of Crumpling Paper…” , but later it changes over to some kind of free-form jazz that you might find on a series of CDs from the FMP (Free Music Production) label in Berlin. Yes, here are sounds reminiscent of productions from Wolfgang Fuchs (Don’t miss his “So – und? So!”) and Georg Katzer, especially when the electronics of Jeff Kaiser dig in! Kaiser’s implementation of electronic treatment is barehanded, right on, with an uncanny feel for the medium. He never over-does it, but always hits it right on the nail, in a perfect co-existence with the traditional instruments.
When the musicians start expressing themselves through their voices yet another layer of sounds and associations appear, leaning a bit towards the sound-poetry of the likes of Valeri Scherstjanoi and Paul Dutton. Magnificent! In track no 6 – “She Surreptitiously Introduced Colored Shirts” - some of the percussive sounds at times give way to associations to the highlands of Tibet and the monks gathering in their temples. Later on in that same piece, and elsewhere too, these guys pay homage to the Rumanian spectral avant-garde and the music of people like Horatiu Radulsescu and Iancu Dumitrescu, with the hands on manipulation of the guitar strings and whatnot!
Sometimes the slow screeches bring eerie sights of crashing airplanes to view, but they might also instigate memories of dark nights on shuddering glaciers, when the ice shrugs and shifts under you, opening dangerous new cracks all around. Then suddenly a jolly street band from New Orleans appears for a short instance, before something else happens!
So – exciting music from Jeff Kaiser and Ernesto Diaz-Infante, making you long for more adventures from the same duo!
