click on the cover to purchase
Are You Be
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Ned
Rothenberg and Samm Bennett have a long history
of collaboration, most notably in the seminal ‘downtown’ band of
the late 1980s, Semantics, along with guitarist Elliott
Sharp. In 1996 Bennett relocated from New York City to Tokyo, where he
works with some of Japan’s leading musicians. As Rothenberg is a frequent
visitor and performer on the Tokyo scene, they have joined with guitarist
(and leader of the acclaimed improvising power trio Altered States) Uchihashi Kazuhisa to form R.U.B. – and
with a bit of wordplay they offer their premier release Are You Be. Recorded in Tokyo in February 2002, Are You Be mixes live improvising, compositions from each player, slippery sonic textures and hard grooves into a wide-ranging but focused presentation. The music moves from driving garage-jazz to intricate polyrhythmic electronica to somber atmospheric narratives, yet retains a band ‘sound’ throughout. With Are You Be, Bennett, Uchihashi and Rothenberg have brought their unique strengths and highly individual artistic perspectives to bear on 13 exciting tracks, essential listening for those who like their records consistently interesting and deliciously unpredictable. And for those who don't - hey, just turn on the radio! "The songs are fat and sinewy, the playing clean and imbibing... Are You Be is a subtle piece of heavy trio action." Kurt Gottschalk, Squidsear "a
real mind-stretcher." - Greg Burk, LA Reader Ned
Rothenberg - alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Click here or on the cover JPG above to connect to Roulette's site for credit card purchase. Or go to Downtown Music Gallery, where you can buy it in any way imaginable!
Samm
Bennett is a creator of electronic music, drummer and percussionist.
He has long maintained an interest in sampling and electronic instruments,
and has often combined electronics with his drum and percussion playing in
a wide range of musical settings. Much of his work is characterized by propulsive,
multi-directional rhythm and a love of rich and varied sonic textures. Very
active in the field of improvised music over the years, Bennett has performed
and recorded with players including Eugene Chadbourne, shamisen virtuoso Tanaka
Yumiko, Zeena Parkins, Shelley Hirsch, ondes-martenot master Harada Takashi,
Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Marclay and many others. He was co-founder, along
with the late Tom Cora, of the group THIRD PERSON, an improvising trio which
always featured a different guest member. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Bennett has lived in Boston, Massachusetts, Benin City, Nigeria, Brussels, Belgium and Brooklyn, New York, before moving in 1996 to Tokyo, where he now resides. Click
here for Samm's fantastic new Polarity Records site!
Uchihashi
Kazuhisa
was born in Osaka, Japan in 1959. He picked up the guitar at the age of twelve,
and through his teenage years played in rock and pop bands, later becoming
involved in jazz. Since 1983 he has devoted himself intensively to free improvised
music. With a keen interest in sound, he has experimented extensively with
many different kinds of machines and sound-devices to expand the sonic possibilities
of the electric guitar. In addition to guitar, Uchihashi also performs regularly
on the daxophone, an utterly unique instrument (invented by Hans Reichel)
consisting of variously shaped pieces of wood which are bowed or struck He
has worked with improvisers Fred Frith, Tom Cora, Barre Phillips, Kang Tae
Hwan, Peter Brotzman, Derek Bailey, Steve Beresford, Jon Rose, Zeena Parkins,
Elliott Sharp, Eugene Chadbourne, Henry Kaiser, Chris Cutler, Hans Reichel,
Charles Hayward, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, GURU GURU and many others. For
twelve years he has been leader of the rock-oriented improvising trio ALTERED
STATES. Since 1995 he has directed the monthly New Music Action Workshop for young improvisers in Kobe, a project he now continues in Tokyo and in other cities across Japan. He is also the organizer of the annual new music event Festival Beyond Innocence (FBI), started in Kobe in 1996 and now taking place in Osaka.
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