The World and The Oyster

KUNSTMUSIK 2
THE ONLIEST – THE LONELIEST
Globe Unity Orchestra
Pearls
FMP : 1976

Enrico Rava, Manfred Schoof, and Kenny Wheeler, trumpet; Gunter Christmann, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Paul Rutherford, trombone; Peter Brotzmann, Anthony Braxton, Gerd Dudek, Evan Parker, and Michel Pilz, reeds; Alexander von Schlippenbach, piano; Peter Kowald, bass, tuba; Buschi Niebergall, bass; Paul Lovens, percussion.

Pearls finds the Globe Unity Orchestra at the peak of their star-studded, internationalist phase. Take a moment to linger over the ridiculous line-up that Schlippenbach assembled for this edition of the orchestra. I mean, Braxton, Brotzmann, and Parker – and that’s just half the reed section!

Press release-cum-manifesto from GUO’s first U.S. appearance: “The compositions are demanding and the fluidity with which they are performed, weaving in and out of sophisticated free jazz improvisations, requires an unusual degree of skill and sensitivity. They are eclectic, deploying everything from 12-tone structure to Jelly Roll Morton.”

A quick history: The group was formed in 1966 when Schlippenbach received a grant from the Berlin Jazz Festival and combined two smaller ensembles that included Peter Kowald, Peter Brotzmann, and future Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit. Not a bad start. The orchestra was largely a communal effort in the early years with many voices contributing. In time, Alex Schlippenbach become the bedrock of the group, overseeing it through various phases – from total free improv, to pop art happenings involving 25 accordionists, to more traditionally and compositionally grounded works.

Tinted historical color for those (like us) too young to remember: “1966 was a time when universal love, religious ectasy, political awareness, and free jazz supposedly went hand in hand: a black fist clasped with a white one, a psalm to a chant, a split-tone to an overtone. Coltrane’s 1965 Ascension was a turning point — 11 musicians united only by sincerity and a triad, alternating frenzied ensembles with frenzied solos. It was more a manifesto than an experiment.” -Gary Giddins

A decade later: Globe Unity was birthed by the radical idealism of the 1960s but the music had morphed into something even more interesting by the mid 1970s. Pearls hopscotches its way across the lines that supposedly separate composition and improv, rigor and play, innovation and tradition. Although the orchestra is famed for its full-band blowouts (see the excellent titles available from Atavistic’s Unheard Music Series), we’ve selected some more condensed and concise gems.

“Kunstmusik 2″ is a marvelous circus of wheezes, feints, headlong solos, and rambling asides that manages to hold together and remain fascinating throughout. Though a full band effort, the whole crew is markedly adept at using space, despite the number of instruments. Compare with Breuker’s Kollektief, another Eurosemble that formed at around the same time. Where the Kollektief acts like a finely tuned machine (if perhaps tuned by a deranged mechanic), calibrated and engineered to hum along no matter the speed or direction, the GUO of “Kunstmusik” is that machine’s parts spread out on a table for de-greasing.

“The Onliest – The Loneliest” is where the leader gets some. It’s a showcase for Schlippenbach, who really cuts loose, something like Cecil Taylor going barrelhouse. There are also shades of Monk in the falling-down-stairs rhythm and pacing. In fact, the album closes with a beautiful and mostly straight rendition of “Ruby, My Dear.” Given the company, it’s a bit like scanning some Cy Twombly and finding this lady rising out of in the murk. But it shows that the whole outfit is as unafraid to reveal their influences as they are to shred them.