https://bigheartmachine.bandcamp.com/album/viscera
“Viscera”- the second full-length recording from saxophonist and composer Brian Krock's working band, liddle- was recorded live at the venerated venue/recording studio Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut. Following the critical success of their first album, 2019’s liddle, Krock wanted to capture the telepathic, fiery interplay of the band in a live setting for their sophomore effort. “Those sets at Firehouse 12 were absolutely wild in terms of the energy in the room,” remembers Krock. “This album captures the sixteenth show of our first tour as a band, and we were equal parts exhausted and inspired.” Knowing that the band would have the all-but-unheard-of luxury of three weeks of warm-up gigs before the recording sessions, Krock felt comfortable writing his most challenging book of music to date. As complex and abstract as the music may be, it also reveals the emotive cohesion of a band on the road together- sleeping, eating, and breathing nothing but music for weeks on end.
The title track, “Viscera,” was inspired by the internal organs of the human body. While many theoreticians talk of the natural symmetry of the human body, Krock was interested in conveying the organic, uneven mess of intestines, pancreas, lungs, heart, and the like that live inside each of us. Drawing on the limitless talents of his longtime cohort Olli Hirvonen, Krock wrote an arpeggiated guitar part which stretches and contracts in surprising ways.
“Eyes beseeching, hands gagged” features a frenetic duo between Krock and the newest member of liddle, drummer Steven Crammer. Their fast 13/8 groove slowly dissolves into a chaotic mess, with sinewy shapes mirrored between guitar and alto saxophone.
Bassist Marty Kenney- also a member of Krock’s big band, Big Heart Machine- has no trouble navigating the constantly shifting irrational meters within “Nurturing a vulture (in my body).” This piece is an exploration of various gradations of swing at a sluggish tempo, with Kenney articulating extremely precise subdivisions of 5, 7, and 9 within the bands lilting triplet feel.
As the new compositions began to solidify on tour, the “old” tunes from Krock’s last record began to change in interesting ways. “This was due in large part to the new personnel and instrumental configuration,” says Krock, “but also because our night-to-night experimentations led to unforeseen musical territory.” So, Krock felt it was necessary to include live versions of two previously-recorded songs: “Saturnine” and Anthony Braxton’s “Composition no. 23b.” “Night after night, we tried tweaking elements of these pieces both large and small, and taking big chances, so that by the end of the tour, these pieces felt fresh and new.”
https://somethingelsereviews.com/2020/07/22/brian-krocks-liddle-viscera-2020/
Brian Krock is a composer, bandleader and reedman who is making big splashes in a very short period of time. Consider that two years ago, his discography was as deep as mine — zilch — and today he has four albums: two big bands (under Big Heart Machine) and two quartets (under Brian Krock’s liddle). His ‘big’ and ‘liddle’ output are all getting notice for his sophisticated blend of avant-garde jazz, rock, folk and classical elements.
Viscera came after the self-titled liddle debut only some 14 months later, with a second Big Heart Machine release wedged in-between. Probably a good part of the reason why Krock was able to put out Viscera so quickly is because it was all recorded live, at the tail end of a North American tour. By the time they wrapped things up in New Haven, CT, Krock and his guitarist Olli Hirvonen, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Steven Crammer had become a well-oiled machine. However, the songs on this album were made for this album, too, adding to Krock’s fast-growing and critically praised oeuvre of well-thought-out original material.
Coming from a composer very comfortable creating and arranging music for large bands, it’s easy to think of Brian Krock’s liddle as a pocket version of his Big heart Machine, and in many ways, it is. Likewise, it a big part of what make liddle great.
“Instead, I’ll Try To Be…” is a chamber jazz windup to the rock of “I Am a Worm and No Man,” which means Hirvonen’s wailing guitar gets the primary focus. But step away from that one feature and you’ll find a composition full of the linearity rarely found in rock (as Crammer is kicking in muscular support that’s anything but plodding). After Hirvonen is done, the song even sounds orchestra-like in its maneuvering with Krock leading on clarinet, while Kenney saws away low-end moans.
Krock changes up tactics for each song to keep things interesting. “Eyes Beseeching, Hands Gagged” suggests a little of the free-funk of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time band and the funky drum/sax interlude is just plain fun. “Nurturing A Vulture (In My Body)” is less about complex song structure and more about Krock stretching out on that alto.
“Viscera” commences with an arpeggiated intro from Hirvonen and when Krock’s clarinet makes its entry, so does Kenney in unison with him. But the roles subtly shift and before you know it, Hirvonen is harmonizing with the leader. Just in time for Anthony Braxton’s 75th birthday, the band pays homage to him with a lively depiction of his hopped-up bop number “Composition No. 23b.” In covering Braxton, it becomes clearer how much he informs Krock’s own approach to composition, though Krock has clearly developed his own style that pulls in many other influences as well. But also like Braxton, this composer can wield a mean alto sax.
Brian Krock lays out tall orders for his bands and they always produce. His liddle quartet is indeed little in size but the ambitions are ‘orchestra big.’ Viscera is now available from Bandcamp and other usual outlets.
