Dave Gisler is a fearless, experimental heavy jazz guitarist who’s become a fixture on the Swiss Intakt label as a sideman on releases by Florian Egli’s Weird Beard band and Christoph Irniger Pilgrim before leading his own trio for Rabbits On The Run (2018). Gisler’s devil-may-care attitude earns comparisons to Sonny Sharrock and Raoul Björkenheim, and he’s equally comfortable with sonic assaults and spectral, ambient backdrops.
His second album for Intakt (and third overall) takes his trio with Raffaele Bossard (bass) and Lionel Friedli (drums) out on the road for this November 2019 engagement at the unerhört! Jazz Festival in Zurich. The trio’s uncompromising approach to both noisy sonic assaults and empyreal textures already make this highly improvisational band a natural in a live setting. Add the like-minded trumpeter Jaimie Branch to the mix, and those qualities are taken up a couple of notches. Zurich Concert documents this meeting of highly creative minds.
Part of creativity involves coming up with distinct designs for each of these nine performances. “Intro” is a windup, both Gisler and Branch painting a suspended scene that sets up “Nameless,” where Branch’s trumpet is assured, clean and brash. It breaks down to clear the way for a Bossard acoustic bass moment and some a winding down, like “Intro” in reverse.
Gisler’s crunchy guitar tone sets up the straight-up rocker “What Goes Up…” and after his aggressive solo, Branch also holds little back when it’s her turn, making effective use of the echo pedal and blowing up her menacing musical footprint.
“Cappuccino” is freely scattered, and Branch finding the right spots to insert her trumpet shows just how quickly she can adapt to any situation. “One Minute Too Late” is a moody piece highlighted by Branch’s aching muted horn and Gisler’s tasteful fretwork. That leads into “Rabbits On The Run,” a frisky song that sounds most like Björkenheim’s Scorch Trio with Friedli kicking everyone in the pants and the others responding.
“Dive,” the other track initially appearing on Rabbits On The Run, begins with a nasty-assed low-toned guitar and then Bossard and Friedli bring on the funk, prompting Branch to bring on her chops.
The record sounds good not just because these guys were playing well; the master texturalist/guitarist David Torn applied his mixing magic to the tapes. Zurich Concert is now available, from Intakt Records.
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