AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark - Hidden In The Stomach

AALY Trio:
Mats Gustafsson: tenor & baritone saxophones
Peter Janson: bass
Kjell Nordeson: drums, percussion
Ken Vandermark: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass-clarinet

The AALY Trio, a Swedish band made up of reedmaster Mats Gustafsson, bassist Peter Janson, and percussionist Kjell Nordeson, are joined here by Chicagoan Ken Vandermark for a rich, muscular free jazz outing. The two covers included give a good idea of the sonic roots of this group: Charlie Haden's classic "Song for Che" and a medley of Albert Ayler's "Ghosts" and "Spirits." The playing is often turbulent and roiling, but never wanders so far afield as to become divorced from the structure of the compositions, which tends to be blues based or even noir-ish. Gustafsson limits himself to tenor and baritone saxes for this date: deep, and full-throated on his "Structure a la Malle" and moody and wistful on Vandermark's "Why I Don't Go Back." Vandermark, on tenor sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet, is an ideal foil, matching him in pure ferocity and inventiveness, but reining in the proceedings when need be. Special mention must be made of Peter Janson, an extraordinary bassist with a warm, thick tone who appears to have listened closely to Haden. The varied and sensitive support provided by Janson and Nordeson are crucial to the success of this fine recording. (AMG)

1997 HIDDEN IN THE STOMACH

AALY Trio & DKV Trio - Double or Nothing

AALY TRIO (left channel):
Mats Gustafsson: alto & tenor saxophones
Kjell Nordeson: drums
Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten: bass

DKV TRIO (right channel):
Ken Vandermark: Bb & bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Kent Kessler: bass
Hamid Drake: drums

Double or Nothing documents a meeting that was bound to happen, as likeminded and closely connected as these groups are. The Swedish AALY and Chicago DKV are both fiery powerhouse trios with a penchant for covering Albert Ayler and Don Cherry when not playing tunes of their own. DKV member Ken Vandermark has also joined AALY on each of that group's four albums. The result is what fans would expect, but no more. With AALY heard in the left channel and DKV in the right, the album opens with a recording of Vandermark's "Left to Right," which predates the version found on AALY's 2000 release, I Wonder if I Was Screaming. This time around, it kicks off with a five-minute drum duo by Kjell Nordeson and Hamid Drake. The rest of the album consists of a particularly dynamic performance -- ranging from sparsely quiet to shredding -- of Ayler's "Angels," a Vandermark favorite, which leads without break into Cherry's "Awake Nu." Both Mats Gustafsson and DKV would separately revisit "Awake Nu" in the next couple of years; these versions can be heard on The Thing (Crazy Wisdom, 2001) and Trigonometry (Okkadisk, 2002). (AMG)

2002 DOUBLE OR NOTHING