By Fotis Nikolakopoulos
Four years after their first release together, which was reviewed
here, Emil Karlsen (drums and percussion) and Ed Jones on the saxophones produce
another great recording for the sax and drums tradition. And one of the best
for 2025, I dare to comment.
Confront has built an eclectic and open to new sounds catalogue of
improvisational musics, having cut most ties with what we call (or I do) free
jazz. Not that this juicy, clocking in over an hour, CD is “just” free jazz. A
more accurate description, hoping that I don’t get to label the music, would
be that Liminal Spaces bridges the gap between free jazz and free
improvisation with absolute success.
The duo’s playing is free, low key but full of energy and concentrated. Their
interaction allows them to hear and play, with that order. All tracks are full
of possibilities, never quite ending the way they started. They play almost in
unison, as if their music derives only from collective thinking and not from
individual approaches. They never resolve to high levels of volume, apart from
very short joyful passages. The mastering by Chris Sharkey allows the listener
to get a grasp of their two way struggle: communication between them and a
will to continue playing together, never resolving to any kind of solo playing
tradition.
Jones is always a joy to listen to his sax, be it tenor or soprano, and has
become a favorite of mine. I bet that his willingness to interact makes his
and ideal partner for any musician who is eager to improvise. Surely he seems
ideal for Emil Karlsen who has, repeatedly, for some years now been playing
and interacting the hard way –the way of collective free improvisation.
After repeated listening, considering that this music last for over an hour,
you get to listen to many short phrases and melodies that pop-up for seconds,
only to leave their space to the next ideas. What a fruitful, thrilling
recording this is.
Listen:
@koultouranafigo