1, 2, 4, 5, 6 by\u00a0Luis Lopes, Robert Landfermann, Christian Lillinger
\n3, 7 by Luis Lopes<\/address>\nRecorded 22nd<\/sup> February by Joaquim Monte on Namouche Studios, Lisbon, Portugal. Mixed and Mastered July 2011 by Joaquim Monte at Namouche Studios, Lisbon, Portugal Produced by Lu\u00eds Lopes. Executive production by Trem Azul. Design and artwork by Travassos.<\/p>\nPress Release:<\/h3>\n
The encounter of a Lisbon-born and two Berliners documented by this CD isn\u2019t, of course, the only focus of interest proposed by this music. There\u2019s something more to add to the equation. Lu\u00eds Lopes and the rhythm section provided by Robert Landfermann and Christian Lillinger are three good examples of a new generation of European musicians with a rather distinctive understanding of the musical language called \u201cjazz\u201d. They don\u2019t specially care to give a 21st century content to the jazz format; it just happens they enjoy, and play, different kinds of music, and usually do it crossing boundaries and mixing vocabularies. Lopes comes from blues and rock and, as such, loves to use riffs and has a special liking for feedback, distortion and electrical textures and noises. To Landfermann and Lillinger, there\u2019s no real incompatibility between hard bop structures, free form improvisation and punk beats; they use everything possible if it fits and makes sense to them. The result is, truly saying, jazz of the 21st century, but without a program of intentions. \u201cLisbon \/ Berlin Trio\u201d is as intuitive and authentic as it can be, and that\u2019s what really matters here. That, and the high quality achieved.<\/p>\n
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Reviews:<\/span><\/h2>\n“<\/span>\u00c8 un territorio arido e pieno d\u2019insidie quello coltivato da Lu\u00eds Lopes, vertice alto del Lisbon Berlin trio, realt\u00e0 completata dal contrabbassita Robert Landfermann e dal batterista Christian Lillinger. Perch\u00e9 i suoni prodotti nel loro album Lisbon Berlin Trio sono spesso dissonanti, taglienti, difficilmente masticabili da chi non ha denti di ascolto ben affilati. Niente melodie dunque, almeno per ci\u00f2 che riguarda l\u2019evidenza delle cose, mentre sotto la cenere di assoli visionari, come quello di Lopes nell\u2019iniziale \u201cHang Out With,\u201d si muove qualcosa in maniera compiuta e tangibile, costruita dalla sezione ritmica. Musica spesso frammentaria \u2013 in tal senso vedi le note staccate di \u201cMutant Free 1\u2033 \u2013 e slegata da qualsiasi definizione plausibile, se non quella della libert\u00e0 formale estrema, e di una sequenza espressiva che difficilmente rimane ferma su se stessa anche all\u2019interno della medesima traccia. L\u2019album si mantiene in tensione per tutta le sua duranta, non molla mai la presa di uno sviluppo imprevedibile e spesso labirintico, come in \u201cMutant Free 2\u2033 uno dei passaggi pi\u00f9 cervellotici della tracklist, in quanto ognuno dei protagonisti instaura con il proprio strumento un rapporto conflittuale e lontano da qualsiasi logica di gruppo.<\/p>\n\u00c8 cosa buona munirsi di pazienza e della giusta voglia di cercare in profondit\u00e0 la valenza di questo lavoro, dedicato a chi ha il carattere adatto per incamminarsi in un\u2019esperienza a ostacoli, concretamente difficile e insidiosa”\u00a0(3.5 stelle<\/strong>) \u00a0Roberto Paviglianiti \/\u00a0All About Jazz Italy\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Luis Lopes has been making a name for himself in Portugal and the world at large with some premier avant electric guitar for the Humanization 4tet and other luminaries. His latest album Lisbon Berlin Trio<\/em> (Clean Feed 234) shows him pulling every musical rabbit out of his considerable hat. It’s Lopes with Robert Landfermann, contrabass, and Christian Lillinger on drums, a very game combination that gives Luis plenty of torque whether it’s for free-falling cosmic onslaughts or pulse-implied torrid burning.<\/p>\nLuis sounds especially inspired for this one–very electric and avant, in his own way a smartly conceived synthesis of Sharrock’s electric barrage with a McLaughlin line scorch and the guitar-color sensitivity of Derek Bailey. It has moments of relative calm and room for some very interesting bass and rhythm section presence. He is from the evidence here rapidly becoming a key stylistic presence in the avant-free guitar world. Miss this one and you will miss something that may cause you remiss. All plectrists and friends of stringers, take note!” \u00a0Grego Aplegate Edwards \/ Gapplegate guitar and bass blog<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Un petit \u00e0 la mani\u00e8re d\u2019un Marc Ducret et parce qu\u2019on commence \u00e0 mieux conna\u00eetre le guitarriste Luis Lopes grace au label Clean Feed, l\u00e1uditeur sait que la musique va \u00eatre \u00e2pre, saturante, rocailleuse. Et, ici, il sera servi. En trio (Robert Landfermann, Christian Lillinger), l\u2019\u00e9cart\u00e8lement sonique est encore plus resonnant. Il y a le plus souvent, en d\u00e9but d\u2019improvisation, un \u00e9veil au bruit, une discretion s\u2019incrustant puis brutalement repouss\u00e9e au profit d\u2019une implosion sonique gargantuesque (Trip To). Par ricochets ou par grappes \u00e9paisses, la guitare ne s\u2019\u00e9puise jamais \u00e0 \u00e9bouillanter le cercle. Elle sait aussi s\u2019appliquer \u00e0 l\u2019errance, se faire nonchalance, r\u00e9p\u00e9ter des traits monocordes (Mutant free 1, She is). Soit deux facettes d\u2019un guitariste \u00e0 (re)d\u00e9couvrir d\u2019urgence” \u00a0Luc Bouquet\u00a0\/\u00a0improjazz<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n“<\/span>Lisbon Berlin Trio starts with the scratching and scraping of picks across the coils of round wound electric guitar strings. Percussion rattles below and a bowed bass fills the space in between. The muted soundscape grows and soon the guitar is lashing out with distorted chord tones and a disjointed rock-ish melody. By the end of the tune, the song is far from where it began. While it seems like the ten minute long ‘Hang Out With’<\/em> covers a lot of ground, other vibes permeat this album as well.<\/p>\nThe probing bass on song ‘Mutant Free 1’<\/em> invites Lopes to play flowing and rhythmically punchy lines. The percussion adds pulse to the mounting tension, ultimately breaking down into free sputters, scratches and plucks. Most likely entirely improvised, each song is listenable and interesting, featuring thoughtful and controlled playing, but also the willingness to let go and let the moment take the songs where wherever they will go. ‘Song for M’<\/em> is a good example of group restraint, whereas ‘Mutant Free 2’<\/em> builds to a climax with the guitar shooting syncopated blasts of energy from his fretboard. On guitar is Luis Lopes from Portugal, and on bass and drums, are Robert Landfermann and Christian Lillinger, both from Germany. This collection strikes me as being different than some of Lopes’ other efforts I am aware of, like Humanization 4-tet and Afterfall. The playing here feels more raw and immediate, with a stronger rock elements throughout. The Clean Feed web sites describes the music as the results of musicians who “don\u2019t specially care to give a 21st century content to the jazz format; it just happens they enjoy, and play, different kinds of music, and usually do it crossing boundaries and mixing vocabularies.”<\/p>\nSo, perhaps The Lisbon Berlin Trio is and is not a guitar trio. It almost doesn’t matter that Lopes is playing guitar, it really is a whole new instrument in his hands, one that is approached in clusters, shapes and abstract extrusions rather than more familiar “guitaristic” sounds and shapes. Overall, a very nice album in which all the songs belie a telepathy between the musicians. It is a trio that I hope to hear more from in the future” \u00a0Paul Acquaro\u00a0\/\u00a0Free Jazz Blog<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>O guitarrista Lu\u00eds Lopes tem percorrido um percurso vasto, espraiando-se entre m\u00faltiplos projectos. Liderando o \u201cHumanizariam 4tet\u201d (com Rodrigo Amado e os irm\u00e3os Stefan e Aaron Gonzalez), editou dois discos e foi respons\u00e1vel por um vibrante concerto na edi\u00e7\u00e3o deste ano do Jazz em Agosto; editou um disco em trio com Adam Lane e Igal Foni (\u201cWhat is When\u201d); formou o quinteto Afterfall, grupo \u201callstar\u201d com Sei Miguel, Joe Giardullo, Benjamim Duboc e Harvey Sorgen (com disco hom\u00f3nimo na clean Feed). E entretanto j\u00e1 se apresentou ao vivo com um novo grupo, exclusivamente nacional: \u201cNo Changes Quartet\u201d, com Rodrigo Amado, Hern\u00e2ni Faustino e Gabriel Ferrandini \u2013 sec\u00e7\u00e3o r\u00edtmica \u201cemprestada\u201d pelo Red Trio<\/p>\nA editora Clean Feed, que celebra este ano o seu 10\u00ba anivers\u00e1rio acaba de lan\u00e7ar um novo projecto do guitarrista. Lopes regressa ao formato trio, desta vez com a colabora\u00e7\u00e3o de dois alem\u00e3es: Robert Landfermann (contrabaixo) e Christian Lilinger (bateria). O \u00e1lbum arranca com os tr\u00eas m\u00fasicos que parecem perdidos, sem refer\u00eancias, procurando um caminho comum, sem GPS. A m\u00fasica avan\u00e7a, v\u00e3o surgindo ideias, territ\u00f3rios comuns, e cada m\u00fasico \u2013 sem ceder \u00e0 tenta\u00e7\u00e3o de um caminho \u00fanico, \u00f3bvio \u2013 vai articulando em tempo real solu\u00e7\u00f5es de compromisso. \u00c9 esta a magia da improvisa\u00e7\u00e3o, que os tr\u00eas instrumentistas confirmam dominar com mestria. A tranquilidade chega ao terceiro tema \u201cSong for M\u201d, composi\u00e7\u00e3o de Lopes, com o contrabaixo a alinhar numa dan\u00e7a subtil com a linha da guitarra. J\u00e1 na quinta faixa, \u201cTrip to\u201d,chegamos a outro territ\u00f3rio: a guitarra abandona-se ao \u201cnoise\u201d, deixando o feedback definir a viagem (Lopes tem aprimorado este formato ao vivo, apresentando-se em exclusivo formato \u201cnoise\u201d em alguns pequenos concertos solo).<\/p>\n
Independentemente da est\u00e9tica assumida, o guitarrista confirma que mais do que seguidor de uma determinada linha, possui uma grande diversidade de recursos e solu\u00e7\u00f5es, adaptando-se \u00e0s necessidades das circunst\u00e2ncias. Ora exibindo o seu habitual fraseado inteligente, ora trocando-o por uma intensa energia rock, Lopes confirma ser um dos mais interessantes e vers\u00e1teis improvisadores da nossa pra\u00e7a”\u00a0\u2217\u2217\u2217\u2217<\/span> (em\u00a05) \u00a0Nuno Catarino\u00a0\/ \u00cdpsilon-Jornal P\u00fablico<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“Scritchy, discordant but clean guitar improvisations from Luis Lopes\u00a0out of Portugal. To me, Lopes rises from the rock-inflamed mountain\u00a0of guitarists, Sonny Sharrock, Anders Hana, Ido Bukleman. That\u00a0being said, his playing, while crazed and clustered minimally\u00a0dips into the fuzzy lands of effect pedals. At least on this (his\u00a0first release to find KFJC!) The album opens with this dry vibe,\u00a0Robert Landfermann\u2019s upright bass is bowed slow like a crypt\u00a0opening. Drummer Christian Lillinger blows tense air over his\u00a0cymbals, and Lopes tip-toes in with some feedback and maybe a\u00a0little delay ringing. It\u2019s like he\u2019s limbering up over the stretching\u00a0of the bass strings. At about 4min, he\u2019s ready to catch fire. The\u00a0tone of the album pretty much follows that track, on \u201cMutant Free 1\u2033\u00a0his playing is really bright and at the end seems he is whistling\u00a0through his pickups, kinda has a Mats Gustafsson thing going. \u201cSong\u00a0for M\u201d is indeed the most song-styled, with a kind of ECM walking\u00a0bassline and then spider-webbed chords in it too. It all came together\u00a0on \u201cTrip to\u201d which starts with Lillinger doing a call\/response\u00a0between his hi-hat and snare, some distant and driven-to-distortion\u00a0guitar approaches and a whirlwind ensues. Check out Landfermann\u2019s\u00a0bass dervish before the softer coda. Nice work all around!” \u00a0Thurston Hunger \/ KFJC 89.7 FM<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“O \u00e1lbum come\u00e7a com sussurros e rangidos da sec\u00e7\u00e3o r\u00edtmica berlinense, criando uma subvers\u00e3o negra t\u00edpica deste car\u00e1cter explorat\u00f3rio da nova m\u00fasica experimental e improvisada alem\u00e3. \u00c9 um in\u00edcio prometedor para o que acaba por ser a melhor faixa do \u00e1lbum. As interven\u00e7\u00f5es crescentes de Lu\u00eds Lopes acabam por determinar a est\u00e9tica que se segue por diante: este \u00e9 um disco de jazz com uma forte dose de rock, fazendo a guitarra lembrar-nos, por vezes, incurs\u00f5es de Marc Ribot ou de Makoto Kawabata, em ataques com distor\u00e7\u00e3o at\u00e9 toda a m\u00fasica se transformar numa esp\u00e9cie de trash-jazz .<\/p>\n
Este desenvolvimento cria uma expectativa que, infelizmente, acaba por se desvanecer. Em parte devido aos temas, que s\u00e3o algo pass\u00e1veis, por soarem mais a perfeccionismo t\u00e9cnico do que a procura de uma sequ\u00eancia de notas com significado. Lillinger, que \u00e9 um excelente baterista, comporta-se como um interruptor de electricidade: ou est\u00e1 ligado a 100% e a carregar no pedal ou atira-se para o \u201cnear silence\u201d, o que acaba por tornar as faixas num duelo de casmurros em que cada um tenta impor a sua m\u00fasica, com Landferman a aguentar a ponte entre ambos.<\/p>\n
N\u00e3o que tal signifique que seja um mau trabalho, mas \u00e9 desapontante o facto de haver desenvolvimentos excelentes em v\u00e1rias faixas que acabam sempre por ser cortados ou tornados curtos atrav\u00e9s das for\u00e7as individuais”\u00a0\u2217\u2217\u22171\/2<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(em 5) \u00a0Pedro Sousa\u00a0\/\u00a0Jazz.pt\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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