Guitars … of Songs and Sounds (part 1) ~ The Free Jazz Collective

Marcelo Dos Reis – Life … Repeat! (Miria Records, 2024)

Life … Repeat! is Portuguese guitarist Marcelo Dos Reis’ third solo
album and on it he takes us on a meditative journey. The first track ‘Pulse’ is a
tonal excursion from the origins of it’s life – a slowly repeating note that
becomes a background drone. Melodic lines are introduced, small repetitious
figures, fleet fingered filigrees and impulsive rhythmic jolts. Eventually, a
swelling vocal line begins accompanying what sounds like a violin but must be
the result of his prepared guitar. Wordless vocals then envelope the guitar in
a mysterious gossamer web. Halfway through the tune, the voice is gone and
attention is given to a evolving melodic idea. Quick passages erupt, burn
quick and bright and spark other ideas. Sometimes it is messy, other times
crisp and clean, and through it runs a rhythmic melody that
provides the connective tissue. Intensity builds, but never spills over,
instead it swells with breath and depth and after nearly a half-hour, quietly
dissipates. 

The other tracks are shorter at an average of 7-minutes
each, and all fully developed ideas themselves. The second track,
“Rhythmical Throbbing,’ takes a more dense approach. The guitar certainly
sounds “prepared,” notes warble slightly de-tuned, accompanied by a rattle of
something striking the strings of his clean toned electric guitar. The track ‘Single
Vibration’ follows with what sounds like an overly prepared guitar – so much
that the guitar strings that are more like the quickly muted tones of an oud.
Its impact is hypnotic. Closing track “Burst of Sound’ is the loveliest of the
songs. It’s melody rises over a thrumming background colored with chord tones.
It, like the preceding tracks, also seems to rise with an organic and
intrinsic impulse.

Life…Repeat! is an engrossing dive deep into a meditative space. Over
the course of the recording, simple ideas are layered, creating an affecting
atmosphere. 

Chuck Roth – Document 1 (Relative Pitch, 2024)

I listen with a certain fascination to NYC based guitarist Chuck Roth. His
music is pure sound, the sound of the un-effected, unprepared guitar. It’s in a
sense an unfettered guitar, in that he is playing it without regard to the
structures and tones usually associated with a guitar. As I was listening, I thought of Derek Bailey’s work re-envisioning the instrument and after pulling out Bailey’s 1971 Solo Guitar, Volume 1, I still do think that there is a nascent connection in the divine
plink plonk, but that’s as far as I feel confident to make such a comparison. Regardless, there is plenty on Document 1 to keep us occupied.

Suffice to say, there are no melodic hooks to be found here, it’s
mostly arrhythmic striking of strings and a disciplined kind of chaos. This well
practiced touch of randomness guides Roth’s hands as he presses, pulls and
pushes sounds out of his crackling, dry-toned electric guitar. There are a
number of moments where a run of normal sounding notes provides a grounding
for the listener, lean in closer and one starts to intuit a logical flow to
the textured play. 

If you are a fan of the guitar, Document 1 is an excellent exploration of
its sounds and possibilities, compelling and pure. 

 

Luciana Bass – Desatornillándonos (Relative Pitch, 2024)

Labelmates with Roth, and writers of each others liner notes, Argentinian
guitarist Luciana Bass is very much an explorer too, but whereas Roth seemed
to really pull apart the guitar itself, Bass’s focus is on song and sound. 

Starting with opening track ‘Blind Willie (for Sonny Sharrock),’ Bass greets
the listener with a song that slowly opens like a flower. It’s a little worn, but the
conventional beauty is still recognizable in its blues drenched petals, its structure embodying a lovely rawness. The next one though, ‘Arco y Flecha,’ lets
go of any such structure and revels in pure sounds. The guitar is the source, but
this is not an exploration of the sounds of the instruments as much as it an
exploration of sounds themselves. On the next track ‘Blues for Pipo,’ however, we find ourselves
back in the land of song. A thumping bass note undergirds open tuned chords and a slide driven melody. There’s a bit of wildness towards the end of the track
before it segues into ‘Voces de Violeta,’ which features a full on striking
of chords and a thin, distorted tone that offers a lone melodic line straight through. 

A trio of back-to-back tracks in the later half of the album stand out. First, on ‘Echoes for Ornette,’ after a quickly passing rock chord, Bass plays a melodic line, fast paced and circular, adorned with shards of chords providing unexpected harmonic movement. Then on ‘Revisiting Heitor’s Prelude,’ a haunting melody is laced with traces of Villa-Lobos, and on ‘Alyer’s Ghost,’ she defiantly distills pieces of the saxophonist’s signature melodies. 

There is a whole lot packed into the album’s dozen short tracks. The musical contrasts on
Desatornillándonos
make for a true gem for the guitar music collector. 

 

Ava Mendoza – The Circular Train (Palilalia, 2024)

The Circular Train features Mendoza’s work as both as an instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, though making a distinction between the two isn’t really necessary, as all of these tracks tell a story in some way. Opening things up is ‘Cypress Crossing,’ which begins with a slight, distorted power
chord and then slides into a desert-tinged lonesome-landscape double-stopped
melodic line. The style suits – it’s tough but accessible, it’s new while
familiar, and from this base, Mendoza evokes good cinema. ‘Pink River Dolphins’ is the first of the two songs with lyrics. The start has the
listener deep in a bluesy morass, a strong chord structure supports the tune
as Mendoza sings “make a sound, it comes back around.” The tune opens up into
improvised territory with Mendoza filling the space with questioning lines and energetic strumming. 

While there is sonic connective tissue through her reverb-laden and rusty wire tone, each tune exudes something
unique. ‘Ride to Cerro Rico’ has moments of classical guitar in it’s churning
approach and ‘Dust From the Mines’ is a subdued shredder that manages a tonal
super nova. The other vocal tune, ‘The Shadow Song’ is an interesting take on
our negative-light companion, though it seems to be more about a tussle with karma.
Capping off the recording is a the blues/folk tune ‘Irene Goodnight,’ which
Mendoza pulls off with a raw entropic cool.