Note: video above is excerpted from the Bloodcount DVD Seconds.
Tim Berne’s ongoing live recordings release spree has been a real treat for Berne buffs, but his ’90s Bloodcount ensemble have had no representation, until now. On September 3, 2021, Berne makes up for that slight by emancipating more than three and a half hours of never heard before concert recordings from this celebrated quartet/quintet that operated for only for a few years before Berne moved on to assemble his next great supergroup.
We already offered some thoughts on one of those albums, the quartet document Attention Spam. Now we’ll set our attention on the quintet one, 5.
Bloodcount had always included Berne (saxes), Chris Speed (tenor sax and clarinet), Michael Formanek (double bass) and Jim Black (drums). Sometimes, electric guitarist Marc Ducret would join the group on stage and add an amplified element not really possible from the quartet. Ducret’s presence is impactful enough to justify Berne grouping these 1997 recordings in the manner that he did, with Ducret and without.
Ducret not only adds an electric voice to the mix, he also always seems to find his place within a massive, complex Berne piece; no easy task. “Yes Dear” begins with an orchestral-like quietude, but the sax and clarinet soon turn dissonant, turning the mood from tentative to slightly chaotic. In true Berne-ian fashion, a motif slowly emerges from the fog. It’s here where Ducret make his first impact actively engaging with Berne as Formanek and Black come up with a rhythm to match the sax patterns and we are off and running. Also typically, the composed section devolves into freedom and the creativity is found in how the group collectively makes that transition and what they do once they complete it.
“I.R.U.S.” is the only piece repeated from Attention Spam, and here, too, Black is all alone and showing off virtuosity at the start of it. Berne is wielding that baritone sax this time and Speed is playing randy in a nice pocket created by the Formanek/Black rhythms section. Berne on (alto sax) and Ducret engage in spirited and engaging duologue within “Byram’s World” that eventually ropes in the rhythm section.
For the second set made up of the last three tunes, Ducret becomes even more actively engaged. “Bass Voodoo” – a song Ducret was involved with on the original 1990s version – rises to the occasion here, especially when he is trading improvised ideas with Formanek; Speed is later trading with Black. More remarkable is the full five simul-improvising and then right on cue, coalesce around Berne’s hyperactive bop lines.
Ducret’s presence is felt even more with “Screwgun,” which commences with a barrage of Sonny Sharrock eruptions amply supported by Black before Berne, Speed and Formanek crash the party with a designed construction, followed by more of them.
The final track “Prelude — The Brown Dog Meets The Spaceman” goes past the half hour mark, and still several minutes shorter than the version that appeared on Lowlife: The Paris Concert, Vol. 1. Berne had written in several movements for this piece and indeed it flows a lot like s symphony. Yet, there exists plenty of moments of individual expression, such as a dazzling, three-minute drum feature. The final segment is a slow-moving denouement of strange beauty marked by Speed’s clarinet just fluttering around the rest of the band.
When Tim Berne’s Bloodcount is called for, these newest releases got you covered whether Marc Ducret is part of the listening experience or not. Attention Spam and 5 are both fantastic but for me, Ducret is addition by addition.
Pre-order/order both Attention Spam and 5 from Screwgun Records.
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