Kaiser, Henry / Noyes, Charles K. / Park, Sang Won – “Invite The Spirit 2006 ” – [Tzadik]

Max Level   2/13/2007   CD, International

Not content to have blown many minds with their 1983 collaboration LP (“Invite The Spirit” on Celluloid), Kaiser, Noyes, and Park are back at it again, blending ancient, reverent sounds with modern extended techniques on electric guitar and such. Noyes is to percussion as Kaiser is to guitar: obviously skilled and musical, but eager to find odd sounds on his instruments and/or make hellacious noises. Park is a traditional Korean musician and master of the kayagum, a zither-like instrument similar to the Japanese koto. He contributes some other instruments here as well, and sings a bit. There are also a couple of guest vocalists, who bring elements of traditional Korean opera. I’m finding this traditional-sounding material fascinating; Korean music has a very different flavor than other types of Eastern music I’ve heard. Add to that Kaiser’s bristling guitars and Noyes’s inventive percussion and there’s just nothing else like it out there. Highly recommend for the musically restless. Note: there’s a lengthy tribute poem to the late guitar pioneer Derek Bailey inside the CD package.