The Classics: 19th June

Enceladus.  Dave Lisik (trumpet), Jorge Sosa (electronics).  Rattle CD

Rail 16. Dave Lisik (electronics) and musicians. Rattle CD

Hikoi, Journey. Richard Nunns (taonga puoro), Paul Dyne (acoustic bass), Amy Rempel (piano), Tom Hopkins (saxophone), Jorge Sosa (electronics). Rattle 2CDs

Early Rattle discs (2011) show New Zealand musicians (Dave Lisik, in particular) cutting their teeth on modern ways of composition. Improvisation, electronic acoustics and experiments abound in modern jazz/classical crossover. Hikoi, Journey is a double album: the first disc devoted to the horn-like sounds and whistles of traditional Maori instruments, while the second has Lisik (who recorded, edited and mixed the discs) developing the hikoi themes into a more jazzy journey, introducing piano and saxophone with Sosa’s clever electronic sound manipulation.

Rail 16 is another of Lisik’s compositions, featuring seven musicians in action, following music and improvising, plus Lisik’s skill in electronics. It is inspired by the infamous Lindbergh baby kidnapping and subsequent trial in the early 1930s. It is a dark and daring, mesmerising work, but one continuous 49-minute track makes it difficult for a listener to shift between favourite sections.

Enceladus (my pick of these albums) is an electric-acoustic work by New York-based composer Sosa handling the electronics, while Lisek adds improvisations and his skills on the trumpet. Described as at times reminiscent of late-period Weather Report and Miles Davis in the jazz world, it works well illustrating a true story.

One of  Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, studied by a Nasa mission, was found to have frozen dust propelled into space by Saturn’s volcanoes. This dust is also trapped by the planet’s gravitational pull to become part of its rings.  There are six exciting tracks on this CD.

Verdict: Foundations of modern music experiments in New Zealand.

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