feature photo courtesy of 577 Records
As multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter and drummer Federico Ughi quickly hop from one intriguing project to another, it’s already time to take a good hard look at a Carter/Ughi project less than six months after their last compelling collaboration. While New York United incorporates elements of hip-hop and Euro-pop from Djibril Toure and Tobias Wilner into their brand of avant-jazz , Radical Invisibility dwells on a state of mind instead of a deliberate attempt at alchemy. And that’s the state of being — voluntarily or otherwise — invisible.
Joined this time by guitarist Stelios Mihas and bassist Irma Nejando, the music is best described as “mysterious.” Mysterious in not being sure where the music is headed next and mysterious in the chords chosen. That feeling of not being able to fully grasp what’s unfolding is at the heart of the thrill of listening to it.
Only four tracks in all, with two four minute songs by Daniel Carter sandwiching two extended jams from Ughi and Mihas, the total music nonetheless feels holistic, of one piece.
“Ms. Gertrude” is a reference to the famous but still little-understood author Gertrude Stein, and after the swirl of electronic swirls that herald the song’s mystic character, Carter converses on soprano saxophone, absorbing Najando’s fat, lumbering bass line as Ughi plays his pulse with as much looseness as possible while maintaining some timekeeping.
Ughi’s “Diaspora Guinéa” feels almost a straight continuation of “Gertrude,” although now the piece’s composer is often improvising right alongside Mihas and Carter, with Nejando essentially leading the group through what amounts to a group jam.
The other long performance comes from Mihas; the group dynamic on the simmering groove “weNyamombe and Gomukomu weSimbi” is similar to that of early Weather Report for the first five minutes, eventually breaking down and emerging from an electro-acoustic haze are deliberations by Mihas’ guitar and Carter’s flute. But soon, everyone is improvising impressively as a unit.
And finally, “Mrs. Myth,” a wordplay on blue singer Bessie Smith. The tenor sax of Daniel Carter sustains notes in an impactful way, but the Nejando/Ughi rhythm section is supple as it sets a foundation that allows Carter and Mihas do just about anything they wanted and not upset the vibe of the song.
Irma Nejando, by the way, is herself another manifestation of invisibility; the name is an alias for an actual female bass player who is obviously no neophyte on the scene — Me’Shell Ndegéocello, is that you? Like the music itself, that’s something else to ponder.
Radical Invisibility is currently available from 577 Records.
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