Charting the changes in flow of the musical combinations would have yielded a complex diagram, indeed. The greatest revelation was the lightning speed with which the terrain changed, so adept and intuitive were the powers and skills of each player in maintaining this state of flowing elision. Joe McPhee‘s presence (drawing above) was pivotal in this stellar line-up like Brötzmann, exemplary in his contribution of poise and pacing to the maelstrom, just when it was needed, he was an anchor in the perpetual flux that is the essence of the Tentet, and perhaps its unsung hero. Kent Kessler‘s dextrous, soft-toned bass solo spot on night 3 with its classical undertone was in sharp contrast to the preceding reed trio which had Brötzmann on alto in hot pursuit of Ken Vandermark on clarinet, all over the registers of their instruments, to be joined by Mats Gustafsson in blazing, honking homage to ‘Machine Gun’. Per Åke Holmander‘s solo tuba set on night 1 was muffled growls, breathy sonority and piercing interjections (he also played the rarely seen cimbasso with the large group).
The two concerts I saw were successions of seamlessly changing musical combinations – solos, duets, trios … mass band blasts – it was all there! Each night brimmed with surprises. Bound together by shared musical imperatives, the Tentet took root in Chicago in 1997, initially as an octet, and after all these years have made it to London for the first time – and what a treat it was! There is arguably no other large improvising jazz ensemble to match the Brötzmann Chicago Tentet for sheer firepower, wealth of musicianship, flair and inspiration. – Jazz on 3 will feature a recording on Monday May 2nd. (Café Oto, 18th and 20th April 2011 nights 1 and 3 of the Tentet’s three-day Residency.
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