Three Rushes

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS227, Lisbon 2012

Katsura Yamauchi made a name for himself about ten years ago with the solo saxophone album, Salmo Sax, which established him as a leading figure among saxophonists involved in that period’s reductionist movement (Doneda, Bosetti, Denzler, etc.). There, we heard his very personal practice of playing in a stream near his home, immersing himself like a salmon swimming up river. That image colors my perception of this reemergence alongside Ernesto Rodrigues, who plays harp here, and Carlos Santos, on electronic synthesis. These two run the irreplaceable record label, Creative Sources (200 titles in its catalog!). The harp leaves a welcome space here, allowing an almost visual balance among the three musicians and their “floating music.” Carlos Santos’ iridescent and volatile sounds curl like networks of lines and signs on the surface of an imaginary stream that eddies among the stems of stylized branches evoked by Ernesto Rodrigues’ limping, trickling harp. In this context, Katsura Yamauchi’s weightless blowing takes on a new specificity. His manner of stripping and slowing the dynamics of his multiphonics will fascinate connoisseurs of the alternative saxophone. All the same, the group has its jerky moments. An anemic life slips in like a dream in a bare gallery hung here and there with familiar signs that resist understanding. But the musicians know how to bring character and a contained expressivity to the details of their improvisations at points where the listener’s attention may begin to fade. Beautiful work.

The two minds behind Creative Sources—a leading label in the renewal of musical forms in the world of improvisation—have collaborated with dozens of improvisers, researching and regularly renewing their approach and contributions as they find the perfect musical match with their successive partners. In this universe of radical, “abstract” and minimalist improvisation, that makes no concessions, their open approach and great adaptability merit underlining. The recordings they have made for Creative Sources over the years and the present trio show how to remain faithful to oneself while fully sharing the proposals of the other musicians they meet. Quite a rare accomplishment indeed.Young creators entering this musical path have plenty to learn from them.

JEAN-MICHEL VAN SCHOUWBURG

Translation by Wade Matthews

1. Scene1 - Cookie's Birth - 9'29''

2. Scene2 - Cookie's Role - 12'35''

3. Scene3 - Cookie's Departure - 11'08''

Ernesto Rodrigues - Harp

Katsura Yamauchi - Alto Saxophone

Katsura Yamauchi - Alto Saxophone

Carlos Santos - Computer

Recorded in July  2010, Lisbon

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/three-rushes

Reviews

Big surprise: Portuguese viola player Ernesto Rodrigues is heard here... on harp! It’s the first time I hear him on anything else than viola. He is in the company of Japanese sax player Katsura Yamauchi and electronician Carlos Santos. Three Rushes is a short record (33 minutes) consisting of three free improvisations of the reductionist persuasion. Rodrigues approaches the harp like a sound source made to be struck, brushed and occasionally pinched. Rather dark pieces, dry, a demanding listen. This is not the most enriching music Rodrigues has committed to record. François Couture (Monsieur Délire)

Rodrigues once again on harp (and objects), Yamauchi on alto and Santos wielding computer and piezos. Nice, quiet improv in three parts. Rodrigues' harp work (first I've heard it, I think, on the recording above and this one) is well considered, more recognizable than one might expect (a good thing, in this context). Yamauchi is restrained as well, adding brief daubs of gentle color and Santos electronics tinge and tickle the canvas; all grays and tans with hints of pink and orange. It's very calm and enjoyable; nothing earthshaking but doesn't strive to be and that's fine. A good recording. Brian Olewnick (Just Outside)

Ernesto Rodrigues on the harp, which sound played more like an object by sudden and unexpected strokes, whose strings are just occasionally played in the conventional way, as they sound more whacked (so that they sometimes give the impression of breaking springs) than plucked, Carlos Santos' sonic creatures from computer and piezos which sometimes goe up to the surface like imaginary sea serpents with their threatening eclat and subtle crimping, Katsura Yamauchi, whose technique on saxophone hit the headlines of more demanding lovers of the so-called reductionist movement by his album Salmo Sax and integrates into the ensemble with muffled breathing, which sometimes look like puffs in the bottleneck, and temporary stews of melodic glimmers, improvised this amazing and somewhat estranging three rushes on the borders between noise and silence. Some moments could let you imagine a narcotized emotional tension which explodes by means of abrupt rashes, while they gradually interlace thin torn mantles. I found particularly catching the central and second of three tracks (they call them scenes), "Cookie's Role", for the cliff-hanger they managed to set, even if the third one, "Cookie's Departure", is quite rich of funny flaky disfigurations of respective instruments without turning the "thespian" aspect down. Vito Camarretta (Chain DLK)


L’enregistrement né de la rencontre d’Ernesto Rodrigues (ici à la harpe et aux objets), Katsura Yamauchi (saxophone alto) et Carlos Santos (ordinateur), n’excède que de peu la demi-heure. Ce sont là trois plages, trois scènes, et aussi trois fois trois « précipitations », trois fois trois « hâtes ».
Pas toujours virulent, le produit des opérations électroacoustiques abonde en souffles découpés, cordes tremblantes, qui traînent avant de disparaître quand les larsens et parasites en liberté persistent, eux. Car Santos ne ménage pas ses efforts, multipliant les déstabilisations électroniques d’un champ acoustique déjà perturbé. A force de mouvement, les instruments en présence vous ont assigné une place : cœur de cible que dessinent les trois anneaux de sons qu’ils ont enchassés. Guillaume Belhomme (Le Son du Grisli)

Three rushes est une courte suite de trois pièces improvisées par Ernesto Rodrigues à la harpe cette fois, Carlos Santos à l'électronique et Katsura Yamauchi au saxophone alto. Les trois pièces se ressemblent assez, il s'agit à chaque fois d'improvisations réductionnistes et minimalistes. Une musique toute en finesse, en délicatesse, poétique et subtile, parcimonieuse et attentive. Rien de très nouveau en somme mais j'aime beaucoup la harpe de Rodrigues, ses résonances disséminées à travers un espace éthéré, ainsi que l'aspect très espacé de ces improvisations. Un souffle, un bol tibétain, une courte sinusoïde, du bois frotté, une corde pincée, une légère note au saxophone, quelques bruits, ça fait bling - tsss - chhhh - tzzz - hmmm -et ça s'imbrique facilement. 

Trois rushes subtils et délicats, aux sonorités pures et audacieuses. Une musique calme, belle, aventureuse et sensible, comme seuls ces trois musiciens peuvent en produire. Un beau morceau de réductionnisme, sans nouveauté, mais qui est achevé et personnel. Julien Heraud (ImprovSphere)

One of the abiding tropes of documenting improvised music is the role of the recording as silent partner. Its role is to remain largely unnoticed, to recreate the live performance as faithfully as possible. Accordingly, many listeners tend to have some kind of a mental picture of the performance proceedings. One has a sense of the room, the instrumentation, the relative positions of the players.
One of the things that makes Three Rushes a special — and especially effective — recording is that this sense of a spatial locale is often missing. Or, when it is not missing, it is distorted. Acoustic sounds hover briefly in the foreground before they seem to twitch, then stretch at the edges, then morph into something less recognizable. It is something of a filmic effect. Haunting and surrealistic. Perhaps this is reflected in the tracks on the record being called "Scenes."
Electronic music's recording aesthetic tends to be less about documenting performance events. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that it is Carlos Santos' work with computers and electronics on this album that seems to be behind its pleasantly alien demeanor. "Electroacoustic" has become a familiar term lately, and has become something of a catchall phrase. However, this blended term seems more appropriate to a recording like this one, where the sonic elements are so deeply and effectively integrated. This synthesis of elements is so ingrained in this music that sometimes has more in common with composed music or soundtracks than other musics that fall under the category "improvised." A quiet, restrained approach to improvisation, associated with players like Rhodri Davies, John Butcher, and Bhob Rainey, is not new. But there is a seamless quality on tracks like "Scene1: Cookie's birth" that seems to transcend the genre. There is a less a feeling that the musicians are trying not to break the "keep it quiet" rule, and instead that they are all contributing just the right ingredients to the mix.
We get the most distinct flavor of the three players on "Scene2: Cookie's Role." Ernesto Rodrigues plays harp and objects, producing pleasantly junky rattles, buzzes, and cluster chords. Katsura Yamauchi, on alto, maintains the "small sounds" approach to saxophone throughout the album, his breathy wheezes only occasionally punctuated with slightly louder, sustained tones. Even on this track, though, Santos' electronic sounds set the scene, sometimes seeming to swirl around the acoustic players like a swarm of cicadas; other times fading-in ominous computer moans that subtly darken the music like clouds moving in.

This is quiet, subtle, and moody music; you'll need to look elsewhere for a fix of raucous, noisy improvisation. Wyman Brantley (The Squid's Ear)

Álbum em que Rodrigues tem a companhia de Katsura Yamauchi e Carlos Santos, “Three Rushes” transporta-nos por sua vez para um plano de maior proximidade, sendo nesta edição de assinalar a poética atmosfera de tonalidades escuras, não estranha aos preceitos de algum “soundscaping” electrónico e electroacústico. Rui Eduardo Paes (Jazz.pt)

Ernesto Rodrigues utiliza aqui (novamente) a harpa, acompanhado por Katsura Yamauchi no sax alto e Carlos Santos, parceiro regular, no computador/electrónica. Os três temas que correspondem a três cenas: “Cookie's birth”, “Cookie's role” e “Cookie's departure”. A música do trio é trabalhada, como habitualmente, de forma contida, precisa. A segunda faixa (“Cookie's role”) é paradigmática do trabalho do trio: a harpa é utilizada de forma pouco convencional, apenas pontualmente se reconhece o seu som tradicional; o saxofone de Yamauchi repete obsessivamente o mesmo som, de forma repetida; e Santos fornece um leve tapete textural, em fundo. Nuno Catarino (Bodyspace.net)

Creative Sources label leaders Carlos Santos on computer and Enresto Rodrigues on harp are joined by saxophonist Katsura Yamauchi, using unorthodox techniques to create a beautifully floating album of modern ea-improvisation. (Squidco)

Monochrome bleu sans titre

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS223, Lisbon 2012

1. (IKB1) - 18'53''
2. (IKB2) - 13'04''
3. (IKB3) - 10'55''
4. (IKB4) - 18'54''

IKB ENSEMBLE

Ernesto Rodrigues – Harp, Inside Piano

Guilherme Rodrigues – Cello

Miguel Mira – Double Bass

Rogério Silva – Trumpet
Eduardo Chagas – Trombone
Bruno Parrinha – Clarinet, Alto Clarinet
Nuno Torres – Alto Saxophone
Pedro Sousa – Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone
Abdul Moimême – Prepared Electric Guitars
Carlos Santos – Computer
Ricardo Guerreiro – Computer
José Oliveira – Percussion
Nuno Morão – Percussion
Monsieur Trinité – Percussion

Recorded in March 2012, Lisbon

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/monochrome-bleu-sans-titre

Reviews

Referencing the work of French artist and composer Yves Klein, this large group of Creative Sources regulars perform the 4 part Monochrome Bleu Sans Titre, a subtle and rich work of acoustic and electronic improvisation. Squidco

A cor International Klein Blue criada pelo artista plástico Yves Klein, serve de ponto de partida para a criação do ensemble IKB, como uma afirmação estética mais vasta da criação musical contemporânea. Esta formação composta por 14 músicos foi constituída por Ernesto Rodrigues, incansável dinamizador no tecido da música improvisada nacional, e responsável pela editora Creative Sources. Trata-se de um ensemble que privilegia o espaço arquitectónico, a escuta activa e o timbre. Através da disposição instrumental, da escolha das texturas e gestos musicais que os seus membros colocam em evidência durante a performance, a pausa e o silêncio criam contraponto com a produção sonora, mais, são parte vital da mesma. Com instrumentação mista, acústica e electrónica, utilizada de um modo eclético, explora a noção de espaço composicional numa perspectiva reducionista, partindo de linhas simples que se vão complexificando dando lugar a tensões e desenvolvimentos. Trem Azul

Inspirée par le peintre Yves Klein, la musique collective de l’IKB (orchestra ?) couronne avec succès les années d’activités musicales et d’édition des animateurs du label Creative Sources, Ernesto Rodrigues, son fils Guilherme, Carlos Santos, Ricardo Guerreiro et compagnie. Seize musiciens rassemblés pour une superbe création sonore. Une musique en suspension, apaisée où une multitude de sons se croisent, naissent et meurent lentement dans un sentiment du temps et de la durée qui tende à l’infini. Les souffles, grattements, frottements, grésillements, harmoniques, vibrations et chocs légers s’interpénètrent, émergent ou disparaissent dans un flux univoque et une couleur spécifique. On en oublie la source sonore, les instruments utilisés avec des techniques étendues, de manière réservée et dans une douceur quasi cérémonielle. C’est un des plus beaux enregistrements que j’ai pu entendre parmi ceux qui résultent de ces mouvances « New Silence », « réductionnisme », « soft noise », « drone », « eai », « post-industriel ». Plus qu’un paysage sonore, c’est un univers pluri-dimensionnel complexe et changeant où chacun apporte des sonorités toujours renouvelées avec un beau sens de la continuité. Citons les tous : Ernesto Rodrigues, harpe et intérieur du piano, Guilherme Rodrigues, violoncelle, Miguel Mira, contrebasse, Rogerio Silva, trompette, Eduardo Chagas, trombone, Bruno Parrinha, clarinette, Nuno Torres, sax alto, Pedro Sousa, sax tenor et baryton, Abdul Moimême, guitare électrique préparée, Carlos Santos, ordinateur et microphone, Ricardo Guerreiro, computer, Nuno Morao, percussion, Monsieur Trinité, percussion, José Oliveira, percussions. Une harmonie bruissante dans une entente parfaite. La suite des quatre morceaux (IKB 1, IKB 2, IKB 3, IKB 4) évoluent vers la diminution de l’activité sonore de la fin. La qualité de l’enregistrement et le fait que chaque instrument est à distance égale dans l’espace font de cette belle expérience d’écoute, une aventure réellement fascinante. Un véritable événement dans l’évolution de la musique improvisée et de l’art sonore que je réécoute avec grand plaisir. Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Orynx-improv'andsounds)

IKB is a 14-piece improvising ensemble organized by Ernesto Rodrigues. Monochrome bleu sans titre (“untitled blue monochrome”) is a studio project recorded in March 2012. Rodrigues plays harp and inside piano. His son Guilherme and regular partners Miguel Mira, Carlos Santos, José Oliveira, Ricardo Guerreiro and Abdul Moimême are among the players. The stereo separation of the musicians is exemplary, and reproduced in the booklet, so you can localize each contribution to this extremely delicate web of sonic interactions. Sensitive electroacoustic improvisation, deliberately white-washed – or should that be blue-washed. François Couture (Monsieur Délire)

A 14-piece ensemble in homage to Yves Klein--Ernesto Rodrigues (harp/inside piano), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Miguel Mira (double bass), Rogerio Silva (trumpet), Eduardo Chagas (trombone), Bruno Parrinha (clrinets), Nuno Torres (alto sax), Pedro Sousa (tenor and baritone sax), Abdu Moimeme (prepared electric guitar), Carlos Santos (computer, microphone), Ricardo Guerreiro (computer), Nuno Morao (percussion), Monsieur Trinite (percussion) and Jose Oliviera (percussion). Four tracks, the first a fine, quietly ringing piece with high, suspended harmonics hovring over delicately scurrying percussion and several strata between, an entirely enjoyable AMM-ish exercise for large group. The work slowly gains volume though the activity is never frantic, more a gradual awakening. But things never get above a good simmer, the ensemble demonstrating fine control, varying the colors widely but not excessively. I'm not sure if there was a guiding force behind the set or if it was more purely a group improv but, either way, the results make for excellent deep listening. Good job. Brian Olewnick (Just Outside)

In spite of the semicircle on the inlay artwork, which is similar to the typical graphical representation of the seating arrangement of different musicians of an orchestra, and so many improvisational musicians involved in the project, referring to IKB as an "orchestra" could be quite misleading. IKB could better be defined an ensemble with some specific and somewhat original features: its conceptual framework focuses on French painter Yves Klein, leading figure of the artistic movement he co-founded in 1960 with art critic Pierre Restany, the so-called "nouveau realisme" (new realism), as suggested by the fact this ensemble names after the bright and intense blue hue, International Klein Blue, that Monsieur Klein first mixed and widely used for a lot of installations and paintings. According to the Nouveau Realism Manifesto, whose members autographed on a rigorously IKB panel, and the artistic perspective of this group, the surrounding world could be observed as a sort of modular picture and any artist could take single parts as well as incorporate them into their works in order to "seal" a sort of bond between art and life and a return to concrete world in opposition to abstract art. Their aggregation/congregation was considered a sort of "collective singularity" as it derived from the awareness of their differences, whose "trait d'union" was mainly methodological and based on the grabbing of reality. Whereas that movement mostly unfolded itself in visual arts, IKB ensemble could be considered the missing link with sound art. On the four sonic canvasses, it seems that they apply their precepts by means of instrumental clips and sounds derived from objects, which sound like emulations of daily sounds or rubber-stamps or casts from concrete reality and while it seems they flow into tonal streams, listeners could have the impression of a choral mimicry. Ernesto Rodrigues and his crowd of talented collaborators (Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Miguel Mira on double bass, Rogerio Silva on trumpet, Eduardo Chagas on trombone, Bruno Parrinha on alto clarinet, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, Pedro Sousa on tenor and baritone saxophones, Abdul Moimeme on prepared electric guitar, Carlos Santos and Ricardo Guerreiro on computers, Monsieur Trinite', Nuno Morao and Jose Oliveira on percussions) presumptively invented a possible new direction for improvisational scene. Vito Camarretta (Chain D.L.K.)

L’IKB (nommé ainsi d'après la série de peinture d'Yves Klein - International Klein Blue) est un collectif portugais de quatorze musiciens, habitués pour la plupart du label CS et proche du cercle qui gravite autour d’Ernesto Rodrigues. Ce dernier quitte ici son alto pour explorer la harpe et l’intérieur du piano, et à ses côtés, on retrouve Guilherme Rodrigues (violoncelle), Miguel Mira (contrebasse), Rogério Silva (trompette), Eduardo Chagas (trombone), Bruno Parrinha (clarinette et clarinette alto), Nuno Torres (saxophone alto), Pedro Sousa (saxophones ténor et baryton), Abdul Moimême (guitare électrique préparée), Carlos Santos (ordinateur et microphone), Ricardo Guerreiro (ordinateur), Nuno Morão (percussion), Monsieur Trinité (percussions) et José Oliveira (percussion).

Les quatre pièces proposent des versions différentes d’une musique identique à elle-même. Une musique lente, calme, posée et abstraite. Une musique qui glisse insensiblement d’une matière abstraite à une autre par micro-variations. Tout ici se joue ici à l’échelle microscopique, des écarts entre les notes et les sons à la présence des musiciens qui effacent leurs instruments derrière de la matière sonore pure. Les instruments se distinguent assez bien, mais ne se hiérarchisent pas, tous ont ici pour fonction de produire des textures sonores avant tout. Ordinateurs, instruments traditionnels et préparés ne se confondent pas mais plongent sans concession au plus profond du son, dans ses propriétés souvent les plus abstraites. D’où, comme vous pouvez vous en douter, une effervescence de registres extrêmes, de techniques étendues, de notes jouées de manière machinale et neutre, de sons abrasifs et longs qui vont des peaux raclées à l’émission de salive dans les cuivres et toutes sortes de souffles spectraux.

Je ne suis pas un grand fan des travaux d’Ernesto Rodrigues avec ce genre d’ensemble très large, mais quand même, il y a toujours quelque chose de très surprenant. Car avec des formations réduites, il peut produire une musique abstraite et minimale dans la veine d’un réductionnisme radical, une musique aérienne, légère, calme, posée, au niveau de l’atmosphère et de la durée; et abrasive ou corrosive, bruitiste en somme, mais aussi collective et cohérente, au niveau du son. Et toutes ces qualités se retrouvent dans les grands ensembles qui parviennent à produire une musique aussi calme et aérée – si ce n’est plus parfois – qu’un trio ou un quartet instrumental. Le résultat est donc tout de même toujours étonnant. Julien Héraud (ImprovSphere)

De la lente suspension proposée par Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, Miguel Mira, Rogero Silva, Bruno Parrinha, Eduardo Chagas, Nuno Torres, Pedro Sousa, Abdul Moimême, Carlos Santos, Ricardo Guerreiro, Nuno Morao, Monsieur Trinité et José Oliveira, on n’oubliera pas de sitôt la lente suspension. Ici, chacun frôle son propre effacement sans jamais s’y résoudre. L’instrument s’oublie mais pas la douceur qui s’y déploie. Le temps s’arrête, n’a plus aucune prise avec la réalité. Le songe se révèle, intense et irradiant. Luc Bouquet (Le Son du Grisli)

“Monochrome Blue Sans Titre”, CD de tributo ao pintor Yves Klein proposto pelo ensemble IKB. O interessante deste trabalho, e deste agrupamento de 14 elementos dirigido por Ernesto Rodrigues com alguns dos nomes mais importantes da improvisação lusa, não reside propriamente num esforço de contenção colectiva, e sim de focagem, de concentração. De um ponto de vista malfattiano, há demasiados sons a acontecerem, demasiados cortes na superfície do silêncio. Mas são, precisamente, os jogos de timbres aquilo que mais agrada no disco, a forma como cooperativamente se vão construindo as situações, sem atropelamentos nem colagens, cada músico estando consciente do seu lugar e percebendo que é apenas uma parte do todo. A música surge em camadas e tem uma dimensão orquestral, mas é de uma transparência que não se julgaria possível com uma formação de grande número. Rui Eduardo Paes (Jazz.pt)

Surgido das cinzas da Variable Geometry Orchestra (VGO), o IKB Ensemble é uma formação de grande dimensão que trabalha a improvisação sob direcção de Ernesto Rodrigues. Para este disco de estreia reuniu um grupo alargado de músicos improvisadores nacionais: Guilherme Rodrigues (violoncelo); Miguel Mira (contrabaixo); Rogério Silva (trompete); Eduardo Chagas (trombone); Bruno Parrinha (clarinete, clarinete alto); Nuno Torres (saxofone alto); Pedro Sousa (saxofones tenor e barítono); Abdul Moimême (guitarra eléctrica preparada); Carlos Santos e Ricardo Guerreiro (computador); Monsieur Trinité, Nuno Morão e José Oliveira (percussão); e Ernesto Rodrigues (harpa e piano – excepções ao instrumento habitual, a viola). Apesar da quantidade de músicos e da multiplicidade de recursos, a música gerada pelo colectivo é marcada pela moderação, sempre controlada, sem dar lugar à expansividade. Inspirado por Yves Klein, que criou a cor “International Klein Blue” (IKB), este ensemble trabalha uma música assente em fervilhantes pequenas ideias, mas sem nunca chegar a explodir. Nuno Catarino (Bodyspace.net)

Referencing the work of French artist and composer Yves Klein, this large group of Creative Sources regulars perform the 4 part Monochrome Bleu Sans Titre, a subtle and rich work of acoustic and electronic improvisation. (Squidco)