ECM Records Nik Bartsch's Mobile: Continuum

2016

Nik Bartsch - pian
Sha - bas clarinet, contrabas clarinet
Kaspar Rast - tobe, percutie
Nicolas Stocker - tobe, percutie
Etienne Abelin - vioara
Ola Sendecki - vioara
David Schnee - viola
Solme Hong - violoncel
Ambrosius Huber - violoncel

Album inregistrat in martie 2015 la RSI Studio, Lugano

AllAboutJazz :

"Few musicians have continued to hone a concept as singularly unique and instantly recognizable, irrespective of context, as that being explored by Swiss pianist Nik Bärtsch since he first formed Mobile with Don Li, Kaspar Rast and Mats Eser in 1997. First emerging on record in 2001 with Ritual Groove Music (Self-Released, reissued Ronin Rhythm, 2006), Bärtsch has evolved three very different contexts with which to explore the confluence of trance-inducing minimalist elements with rigorous, ritualistic compositional constructs, a deep interest in Japanese culture and other musical touchstones. While all three contexts—in addition to the all-acoustic Mobile, Bärtsch has performed and recorded as a solo pianist, as well as with the more elastic and jazz/funk-centric Ronin—share common DNA-level elements, each context is also different: refracting Bärtsch's underlying architectures through a series of disparate prisms.

[...]
One of the biggest differentiators with Mobile—beyond a lesser interest with Ronin's impeccable grooves based on jazz and, especially, funk—was that, in its early days, the group would deliver live concerts that were more experiential than simple performance; the group's painstakingly developed music sometimes going on for as long as 36 hours: truly ritualistic; truly Zen. But while such hypnotic explorations could, indeed, be appealing in a live context, it's also a good thing that Bärtsch, in conjunction with producer Manfred Eicher, has taken a more concise approach to introducing Mobile's generally less funky but no less captivating music to a larger audience. That said, none of Continuum's compositions, bar one (the five-minute "Modul 4"), run less than eight minutes, which provides plenty of time to take Bärtsch's often-times complex contrapuntal and polyrhythmic ideas from their gentle beginnings, through to their unpredictable but somehow ultimately inevitable conclusions.

[...]

If Sha's role in Ronin has been increasingly visible, in particular his use of alto saxophone in recent years allowing his lines to soar more clearly above the rest, with Mobile he's nearly invisible, his exclusive focus on low register instruments often rendering him more felt than heard. Stocker, on the other hand—who replaces both original group member Don Li and subsequent percussionist Mats Eser in the current incarnation—both meshes with Rast's ability to find groove in every nook and cranny (but here, just as often with brushes as with sticks) and blends with Bärtsch and Sha, not just melodically but sonically as well, as his work in the upper registers on tuned percussion is often nearly indistinguishable from that of the pianist.

But if all of this makes it sound like a group where individualism is somehow discouraged and the emphasis is, instead, on the totality of the group's collective sound, then the only answer to that is this: there are precious few musicians capable of applying themselves to such a rigorous compositional approach, where repetition is as constant as the gradual changes that are introduced to allow each piece to evolve slowly, over considerable periods of time. Yes, repetition may indeed be constant, but if the funkier vibe of Ronin's music makes it seem somehow (and deceptively) easier to digest, the music of Mobile is considerably more challenging...and yet, still somehow within reach. This is music that, freed as it is from the intrinsics of a conventional rhythm section (even when playing wholly unconventional music), is therefore capable of going to places that Ronin cannot. Contrary to this notion, however, while the album-opening "Modul 29_14" (another new piece) may sound like something Ronin could execute with ease, the more abstract, slow-tempo'd and sparsely colored "Modul 12," first introduced on Ritual Groove Music, does not. It is, in fact, a tune that could easily be imagined running on for hours on end, drawing audiences into its trance-like/inducing spell.

If anything, Mobile's music possesses even greater diversity—temporally, texturally, (poly)rhythmically, melodically and contrapuntally—than that of Ronin. It's an unfair judgement to suggest, however, that Mobile is a better forum for Bärtsch's music—especially for those who've experienced Ronin's exhilarating live performances; they are simply different sides of the same coin. But even more than Ritual Groove Music and Aer, Continuum demonstrates the compositional breadth and depth that Bärtsch can explore with Mobile. The world may not be ready for 36-hour live performances by Mobile—though the group is still capable of delivering continuous four-hour performances, as it did at the 2014 Enjoy Jazz Festival—but there's little doubt that those who've become fans of Ronin's more eminently groove-laden music will be (if they weren't already) ready for this group's richer compositional rigor...for whom the term Continuum is, indeed, wholly appropriate for its broader-spectrum'd musical treasures."