This live recording from April 2009 documents the first ever meeting of Israel veteran free improviser and clarinetist Harold Rubin and prolific double bass master Barre Phillips, who came to take part in the double bassists' summit Deep Tones for Peace events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with Tatsuya Nakatani. This totally improvised meeting was recorded in the Levontin 7 club in Tel Aviv.
The three found common ground immediately. All are attentive to the sound of their instruments and to the possibilities to shape these sounds, willing to take chances and to trust the musical sensitivity of the others. Rubin tends to offer linear lines, often melodic ones, while Phillips and Nakatani suggest options to deconstruct these sonic fragments into abstract occurrences and integrate them later. This is continuous, organic process of investigation of timbral shaping and extended techniques, spontaneously creating music out of spare sounds and curious and playful communication accumulated tension and powerful momentum.
The contemplative atmosphere of the first part, the pieces "Genesis" and "Zeta," changed immediately in the second part, the pieces "Zariba,""Zetetic," into a more energetic and tense interplay, even in its most abstract moments. The interaction between the three becomes immediate, often wild and dissonant, and the flow of the ideas keeps stimulating the fiery interplay. On this improvisation Phillips and Nakatani kept anchor Rubin gentle flights with muscular, shifting rhythms, reaching an explosive climax at the end of it. "Zodiac" and "Epilogue" benefited from the trust and understanding of the previous improvisation, and continued exploring the shared sonic interplay but in a more reserved spirit.
A miraculous free improvised meeting. Trust, sensitivity, innovation and exploration and risk taking unite for an impressive, organic musical language . - Eyal Hareuveni / allaboutjazz.com
Tracks
1. Genesis
2. Zeta
3. Zariba
4. Zetetic
5. Zodiac
6. Epilogue
BARRE PHILLIPS bass
HAROLD RUBIN clarinet
TATSUYA NAKATANIpercussion
Recorded live at Levontin 7 on April 23, 2009 in Tel Aviv.
Hopscotch Records (3) – HOP 25