Kihlstedt/Robair/Sperry – “Sonarchy 1998” – [Majmua Music]

Thurston Hunger   7/22/2008   CD, Jazz

Haire-raising sounds from a long-running KEXP program, dating
back as the title suggests to 1998. That year bassist Matthew
Sperry was selected as an assisted artist by the folks at
www.jackstraw.org (Tucker Martine notably was on the list as
well). Sperry is well-paired with violinista fatale Carla
Kihlstedt, kindred string spirits…there is a section deep
into the first piece with about 3-4 minutes left, where they
slither perfectly parallel…very nice! All improvised sounds,
with a whole lotta space going on. The first encounter has an
askew classical vibe, abetted by the man with the Rastascan
plan, Gino Robair on piano, of course lots of under-the-hood
plunking and spelunking, but actual notes too. The closing
section has a kind of oriental gypsy vibe to my ears, very
pretty but invites headphones for ye olde deep listening.
The second track is the “radio single,” the track with the
most impact. One hightlight is Robair on those rototoms (?),
you know the watery, pitch-rising drums on Curtis Mayfield’s
“Superfly” there’s some more Kihlsted/Sperry string alignment
later on that piece. -Thurston Hunger
RIP 11/6/1968 – 6/5/2003 http://matthewsperry.org/