improvisation - a creation - spoken or written or composed extemporaneously
strike 3 - mike majkowski, jon rose and clayton thomas (left to right)
young gun double bass player majkowski having just returned from europe
older gun jon rose missing in action somewhere but with us tonight
clayton thomas gracing us with a visit from his usual abode in berlin
i've seen the other 2 perform previously but mr thomas' reputation precedes him
what an extraordinary lineup - 2 double basses and a violin - all plugged in
i don't think it would be an overstatement to rate mike majkowski as the man
i've seen him on many occasions and always with total freedom to go at it hard
i don't know if he is at all that interested in structure or form or composition
to me it seems he is on a mission to discover every noise a double bass can produce
artery was the last sighting of jon rose - that lineup including pianist chris abrahams
memories of a violin taken to previously unheard places with empathetic support
clayton thomas is new to my ears but i'm told he is the king of improvisation
the last exposure to a twin double bass lineup was in a more conventional lineup
with astonishing results in the bottom end department of that band (blow)
so tonight should be an absolute stunner - helped by a front row seat
they are the first part of a 2 part lineup of improvisaton tonight
so they have one set of less than an hour to do their utmost
and no time wasted with the first tune a fast and furious number
it takes a minute or 2 to get the ears tuned into this unique sound
in particular the sound of the violin heading towards screech levels
but played with such command that overrides any aural anxiety
confidence is a wonderful thing combined with supreme musical skills
these 3 know how good they are technically and give over to the moment
a clear case of put in anything and everything and see what comes out
but it's not shambolic or meaningless or without some kind of form
this becomes quite clear when without any apparant signal it stops
suggesting at least some practise or agreement on how to wind a tune up
some very contented musicians on stage and then on with the next piece
in one sense more of the same but then also completely different
beat, pace and feel making each tune different to any other
and in each tune each musician searching for a new sound to add
mike majkowski scrapping palms over the body of his bass
or whacking the strings with his bow or ditto with the mic pickup
jon rose laying the violin across his knees and giving it a spanking
or embracing it like a lead guitar and working the strings accordingly
clayton thomas inserting all manner of things into the strings of his bass
number plates, steel rods, wooden sticks used to distort the sound
but always the same - an inert ability to know when to stop
take in the enthusiastic applause from the audience and move on
i lost count but i think there would have been 8 tunes played in all
nothing as mundane as introductions or explanations with strike 3
just a determination to totally exploit that which was available
their instruments, their skills, a sound system and a stage
not to mention the audience - which i think is no small component
but i would think that - it's about all i can provide
oh what an amazing noise they produced
string quartets of the world beware
strike 3 and you're out
(sorry about that)
