Z-COUNTRY PARADISE - Live in Lisbon
Leo Records CD LR 801
Jelena Kuljic, Voice; Frank Gratkowski, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Kalle Kalima, Electric Guitar; Oliver Potratz, Electric Bass; Christian Marien, Drums;
Recorded live at the Jazz em Agosto Festival, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 12th 2016
A post-punk, electric quintet whose leader in Frank Gratkowski seems hell-bent on putting together a hard rock punk outfit to complement his gaunt and rangy recitations of poetry by Jean-Arthur Rimbaud. The music is hard-edged and improvised, brittle and complex.
Jelena Kuljic is the perfect choice for these irreverent vocals, her performance like a knife sharpening on a steel, tempered by the occasional softness of melting, bitter chocolate.
The audience at this live performance was delighted with the new breath generated and the energy expended in making this music in the avant-garde to which Gratkowski is no stranger – he who has reflected on both John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen in the same season. The warm reception records a gratifying, happy meeting between givers and receivers: the undulating free-form of this performance could contend with any in initiative, profundity, and sheer exhilaration.
This is a wonderful record and highly recommended, white-knuckle avant-garde jazz, with powerful conformations presented by fiercely devoted performers.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Leo Records CD LR 801
Jelena Kuljic, Voice; Frank Gratkowski, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Kalle Kalima, Electric Guitar; Oliver Potratz, Electric Bass; Christian Marien, Drums;
Recorded live at the Jazz em Agosto Festival, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 12th 2016
A post-punk, electric quintet whose leader in Frank Gratkowski seems hell-bent on putting together a hard rock punk outfit to complement his gaunt and rangy recitations of poetry by Jean-Arthur Rimbaud. The music is hard-edged and improvised, brittle and complex.
Jelena Kuljic is the perfect choice for these irreverent vocals, her performance like a knife sharpening on a steel, tempered by the occasional softness of melting, bitter chocolate.
The audience at this live performance was delighted with the new breath generated and the energy expended in making this music in the avant-garde to which Gratkowski is no stranger – he who has reflected on both John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen in the same season. The warm reception records a gratifying, happy meeting between givers and receivers: the undulating free-form of this performance could contend with any in initiative, profundity, and sheer exhilaration.
This is a wonderful record and highly recommended, white-knuckle avant-garde jazz, with powerful conformations presented by fiercely devoted performers.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
