Ardent Grass
Jazz
| Jun 2011
Reviews
Fo
Reviewed 2011-06-18
Reviewed 2011-06-18
FRANK GRATKOWSKI & JACOB ANDERSKOV: Ardent Grass
Red Toucan, 2010
AVANT-GARDE – Cerebral duets between piano and sax or clarinet. Gratkowski is agile and inventive on the reeds, ranging from calm rumination to tight buzzing to intense squeals, while Anderskov’s piano alternates between dense clusters of single notes and quiet, shimmering tendrils that stretch into space. More variety than you might expect.
Try any track. Fo’s Picks: 1, 4, 5, 6
1. 10:55 – raindrops melt into long, warping lines; turns stormy, then dreamlike
2. 6:18 – complex knots separated by short pauses, then delicate & spidery
3. 6:55 – edgy: sax rasps over piano, then they run together in a tempest
4. 8:01 – very slow at first, becoming a gently flowing intellectual dialogue
5. 5:51 – active interplay with sax, bright and hopping; gradually drifts to zero
6. 6:37 – flows gently: clarinet arcs & reaches over meditative piano
7. 6:44 – disorienting at first, with crosshatched piano & sax; settles down later
8. 4:16 – jazzy, but very loose and playful; some references to the blues
[ Fo ] 06/18/11
Red Toucan, 2010
AVANT-GARDE – Cerebral duets between piano and sax or clarinet. Gratkowski is agile and inventive on the reeds, ranging from calm rumination to tight buzzing to intense squeals, while Anderskov’s piano alternates between dense clusters of single notes and quiet, shimmering tendrils that stretch into space. More variety than you might expect.
Try any track. Fo’s Picks: 1, 4, 5, 6
1. 10:55 – raindrops melt into long, warping lines; turns stormy, then dreamlike
2. 6:18 – complex knots separated by short pauses, then delicate & spidery
3. 6:55 – edgy: sax rasps over piano, then they run together in a tempest
4. 8:01 – very slow at first, becoming a gently flowing intellectual dialogue
5. 5:51 – active interplay with sax, bright and hopping; gradually drifts to zero
6. 6:37 – flows gently: clarinet arcs & reaches over meditative piano
7. 6:44 – disorienting at first, with crosshatched piano & sax; settles down later
8. 4:16 – jazzy, but very loose and playful; some references to the blues
[ Fo ] 06/18/11
Recent airplay
Devotion
No Cover, No Minimum — Aug 19, 2011
Devotion
Memory Select — Aug 17, 2011
Narrative
No Cover, No Minimum — Jul 29, 2011
Narrative
No Cover, No Minimum — Jul 15, 2011
Devotion
No Cover, No Minimum — Jun 24, 2011
Devotion
Gilt: Cantan — Jun 24, 2011
Charting
2011-06-19 — 2011-08-21
Jazz
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Aug 21 | 2 |
| Jul 31 | 1 |
| Jul 17 | 1 |
| Jun 26 | 3 |
Track listing
| 1. | Narrative | ||
| 2. | Diagnose | ||
| 3. | Ardent Grass | ||
| 4. | Asteroids | ||
| 5. | Rasa | ||
| 6. | Devotion | ||
| 7. | Downstairs | ||
| 8. | Sound Check |