Corsano, Chris & Orcutt, Bill – “Raw and The Cooked, The” – [Palilalia]

Naysayer   10/6/2013   12-inch, A Library

These two guys love each other, or they must because of the connection they have which is displayed in their playing. Corsano and Orcutt: to those who know, these men are the pinnacle of raw improvisation. For those who don’t know, Corsano is jazz/noise/rock/blues/experimental drummer who plays everywhere. Orcutt is the same but with guitar: acoustic, electric, beat up trashed out, it doesn’t matter. Together on “The Raw and the Cooked”, they push their skills and talents to the extreme. Recorded over two months in four cities, these eleven untitled tracks demonstrate something rare in performing – that moment when the artist goes beyond the performance and enters that unknown space of transcendence, of going outside or inside oneself so fully that the artist enters “the other” or “the edge”. The interplay between the two of them is superb, unreal. Corsano crashes, bangs, trills, thumps, while Orcutt crashes, bangs, trills, thumps. It sounds so crazy and if you just give it a slight listen you will miss what is happening. I could go on trying to explain the technical aspects of what is happening here but that would somewhat obscure the deeper level. I learned from this recording to let go, to forget my trying to analyze what was happening and instead to let it happen. That might sound a bit granola but it is the way to fully appreciate what is happening. These guys are letting go in a big way and the occasional yelp only accentuates that. And it all seems so happy. You might think this type of frantic improvisation would be angry or depressing but it is not at all. It is the opposite. Listen and let it flow in you. Jump up and down.