High Zero X.... Thursday

[Wednesday] [Saturday Matinee]

Back again, and this time with a good parking spot.

Thursday night at High Zero began with a Special Set from one of the festival's 10th Anniversary Artists. Her name is Olga Adorno, she is 71, she is from Nice, France, and she specializes in "spontaneous performance". That's quite a statement to make— I mean, isn't that what all these artists here do? Isn't that the point of the whole festival?
Turns out that Ms. Adorno, a woman who was pivotal in the 1960's New York beat scene and their notorious "happenings", didn't so much utilize the idea of improvisation (as the musicians did) as embody it. Every new moment in the (albeit onerous) 45-minute performance was palpable as Adorno chose how it would play out. It was ontology, manifested. That's all I can say; to describe the actual elements of her happening would cheapen it, and miss the point.

A non-intermission followed, then Group One began. This performance set the pace for a consistently great evening. The key to this group was an impeccable rapport. Each member was clearly attentive to his or her peers, and moved as a group from one idea to another. At times San Fran trumpeter Liz Alibee and Philly violinist (and member of experimental rock group Normal Love) Carlos Santiago would face off with staccato flourishes. Other times drummer Paul Neidhardt (and fellow UMBC music alum) and guitarist Bill Nace would match para-musical sound for para-musical sound (and as I suspected from the night before, I did indeed miss out on Nace's playing-- by laying the guitar flat on his lap and attacking it with foreign objects like crochet hooks and toothbrushes, and applying feedback liberally, he creates a rich symphony of distinct noises. He also played on Saturday, and in all the combined time that I watched him perform I don't think I ever saw him touch the strings with his bare hands).

Another solo set followed, by Magali Babin. She performed the night before, but to recap: she's from Québec and her instrument is "amplified metal". This appeared to involve pairing up various metal objects-- tinfoil, ball bearings, mixing bowls-- with various types of mics-- contact primarily, but also pickups and more traditional types-- and also various digital processing-- looping, reverb, pitch-bending. An art so focused on the tiniest details of timbre and the slightest changes between them did not work well in a group setting, so a solo set had great prospect. While Babin lacked a serious inventiveness (or perhaps it was more a problem of execution), she still achieved some lush moments. And overall, I should add, a more subdued performance helped the course of the evening move along without exhausting itself.

Group Two followed closely in the footsteps of Group One, with less effective results. Drummer Tony Buck, from Berlin, was solid, implementing all types of gear, orthodox and not, to create sounds from his set, yet he also showed serious chops during passages of more traditional playing. Arrington de Dionyso (leader of the group Old Time Relijun) played bass clarinet with the fervor, and spasticity, of a jazz player. The hitch may have been local artist Audrey Chen. While her cello techniques were interesting, she spent equal time laboring through harsh, histrionic vocals. Her efforts weren't bad, strictly, but when compared to other musicians who specialize in avant-garde voice (Jaap Blonk was a highlight of last year's festival), she appeared uninspired. Still, the group hung together well, and even achieved two separate collective stops, the four-minute-mile of group free improvisation.

Group Three capped off the night, starting later than when the night before ended. This group was unusual in that it appeared to have been more deliberately formed, for it was comprised of five horns and reeds players (John Berndt on alto, Liz Alibee on trumpet, Rose Hammer Burt on baritone, Samuel Burt on Bb and bass clarinets, John Eaton on alto) and one drummer (the wunderkind Chris Corsano). The result inevitably skirted free-jazz terrain, but the players consciously moved beyond the Ornette tradition and kept the music grounded in the avant-garde. The music began with an excited blast from Berndt and everyone followed suit, which was already a refreshing departure from the usual process of timid looks about the stage giving way to hesitant squeaks and blurps. As it happened, Berndt often appeared to be leading the group in a certain direction, but being one of the founders of the festival he knew exactly what was needed (Berndt also founded the emindent Baltimore design firm The Berndt Group. It's always strange to remember that these crazy cats often have straight-laced day jobs). Another unique aspect of this set was the absence electronic sounds-- all the performers worked with acoustic instruments. And I would be foolish not to mention the talents of Corsano, who was simply all over the place. And when the time came, the it all ended perfectly, with the tiniest of reprisals and then silence.

It was past midnight, and I headed home wondering what surprises would come alive at the special Saturday matinee show.