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MOONMOT - Going Down The Well
Moonmot
Dee Byrne: alto saxophone, effects; Simon Petermann: trombone, effects; Cath Roberts: baritone saxophone; Oli Kuster: fender Rhodes, effects; Seth Bennett: bass; Johnny Hunter: drums
Recorded on 30th-31st March 2019 by Christoph Utzinger live at BeJazz Club, Bern
Each player in this sextet leads her or his own group (some of them have several), as well as playing in other groups. Not only does this demonstrate how busy the band members are, but also begs the question of what happens when many leaders share the bandstand. In this instance, all egos were checked at the door and the band simply got on with the joy of creating music. The set includes pieces composed by each member and this spirit of democracy extends to the ways in which the various combinations of solos, duets, trios improvise over the sparkling rhythm section. What is particularly exciting is that the performance was more or less a ‘blind date’ with the musicians meeting for the first time very close to the performance – probably giving them enough time to familiarise themselves with the pieces and agree a running order but not enough time to get a feel of playing as a group. Remarkably, this is not apparent from the recording and each player finds their own niche and also finds ways of encouraging and enhancing the playing of their bandmates.
The deeper notes of Roberts and Petermann set the tone for the music, with the opening salvo of the title track, which begins this set, creating the mood of optimistic exuberance from the throaty riff to the ensembles slightly discordant chords and what sounds like a fusion of Petermann’s trombone through fx and Kuster’s Rhodes before a fine baritone solo.
The players share a common interest in the use of electronic effects to shade the sounds from their instruments and these are used subtly by Byrne and Petermann to create layers and distortions without completely erasing the original sounds of the instruments. At times, there can appear to be far more people than a sextet on stage, giving the broad sounds of a Big Band chorus. The inventiveness of the playing becomes apparent when the band stretch out, like on the closing part of the closing track, ‘The Impossible made Possible’, which begins as a ballad and ends as a crashing finale led by Byrne’s alto, or when the long (but endlessly fascinating) ‘Sonata d’Alouatta’ settles into a sort of Progrock groove. Often one finds the unfamiliar bands working with new material and with plenty of space to improvise will hold back and rely on slow, drawn out notes until they find their flow. But here is a band that hit the ground running from the off and that is well-equipped and fully prepared to step up the tempo and the adventure.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Moonmot
Dee Byrne: alto saxophone, effects; Simon Petermann: trombone, effects; Cath Roberts: baritone saxophone; Oli Kuster: fender Rhodes, effects; Seth Bennett: bass; Johnny Hunter: drums
Recorded on 30th-31st March 2019 by Christoph Utzinger live at BeJazz Club, Bern
Each player in this sextet leads her or his own group (some of them have several), as well as playing in other groups. Not only does this demonstrate how busy the band members are, but also begs the question of what happens when many leaders share the bandstand. In this instance, all egos were checked at the door and the band simply got on with the joy of creating music. The set includes pieces composed by each member and this spirit of democracy extends to the ways in which the various combinations of solos, duets, trios improvise over the sparkling rhythm section. What is particularly exciting is that the performance was more or less a ‘blind date’ with the musicians meeting for the first time very close to the performance – probably giving them enough time to familiarise themselves with the pieces and agree a running order but not enough time to get a feel of playing as a group. Remarkably, this is not apparent from the recording and each player finds their own niche and also finds ways of encouraging and enhancing the playing of their bandmates.
The deeper notes of Roberts and Petermann set the tone for the music, with the opening salvo of the title track, which begins this set, creating the mood of optimistic exuberance from the throaty riff to the ensembles slightly discordant chords and what sounds like a fusion of Petermann’s trombone through fx and Kuster’s Rhodes before a fine baritone solo.
The players share a common interest in the use of electronic effects to shade the sounds from their instruments and these are used subtly by Byrne and Petermann to create layers and distortions without completely erasing the original sounds of the instruments. At times, there can appear to be far more people than a sextet on stage, giving the broad sounds of a Big Band chorus. The inventiveness of the playing becomes apparent when the band stretch out, like on the closing part of the closing track, ‘The Impossible made Possible’, which begins as a ballad and ends as a crashing finale led by Byrne’s alto, or when the long (but endlessly fascinating) ‘Sonata d’Alouatta’ settles into a sort of Progrock groove. Often one finds the unfamiliar bands working with new material and with plenty of space to improvise will hold back and rely on slow, drawn out notes until they find their flow. But here is a band that hit the ground running from the off and that is well-equipped and fully prepared to step up the tempo and the adventure.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
