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Ned Rothenberg - alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Uchihashi Kazuhisa - guitar and effects, bass, daxophone
Samm Bennett - electronics, drums and percussion, records
Track list
inroad
extracto
overstepper
work-a-day
undercurrent
fond illusion
adhere and now
you don't love what no is
mal venus
blue grit
reacharound
gobble
scenic route
Recorded
in Tokyo in February 2002, Are You Be mixes live improvising,
compositions from each player, slippery sonic textures and hard grooves into
a wide-ranging but focused presentation. The music moves from driving garage-jazz
to intricate polyrhythmic electronica to somber atmospheric narratives, yet
retains a band ‘sound’ throughout. With Are You Be,
Bennett, Uchihashi and Rothenberg have brought their unique strengths and
highly individual artistic perspectives to bear on 13 exciting tracks, essential
listening for those who like their records consistently interesting and deliciously
unpredictable. And for those who don't - hey, just turn on the radio!
R.U.B.
is the cooperative trio of Ned Rothenberg, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, and Samm Bennett
and their cleverly titled Are You Be is a tour de force sonic exploration
of rhythm and tonality notable for the many different soundscapes it traverses.
Rothenberg's formidable technical skills and imaginative improvisational abilities
on alto saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet have grown even more impressive
since his excellent early solo expositions on Lumina records and his sound
has matured to become both darker and more expressive. Bennett is a veteran
of the downtown scene who moved to Japan several years ago. The symbiotic
relationship between Bennett's percussion and electronics is central to the
group's expansive nature. He is a very tonally aware drummer and extremely
rhythmic in his use of electronics, which sound alternately earthy and ethereal.
Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa, who has worked with Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne,
Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser, as well as Tom Cora, Zeena Parkins and Hans Reichel,
possesses a multifaceted approach to his instrument that reflects the influences
of these collaborators within his own truly personal style, which meshes perfectly
with his current colleagues. The 13-track disc consists of ten tight terse
group improvisations and one trio composition by each member of the group.
The record remains interesting by seamlessly segueing through a varied program
of vastly different sounding tracks that range from minimalist textural tapestries
to rocking psychedelica to hard grooving electric jazz reminiscent of Ornette
Coleman's Prime Time, Arthur Blythe's Lenox Avenue Breakdown and Ronald Shannon
Jackson's Decoding Society. Maybe others would be better able to describe
the music on the disc to those who regularly listen to this type of music
and relate it to its traditon. I can only admit how surprisingly satisfying
I found the new-to-me music of this very fine band. -Russ Musto, All About
Jazz
"a
real mind-stretcher." - Greg Burk, LA Reader
Samm
Bennett is a creator of electronic music, drummer and percussionist.
He has long maintained an interest in sampling and electronic instruments,
and has often combined electronics with his drum and percussion playing in
a wide range of musical settings. Much of his work is characterized by propulsive,
multi-directional rhythm and a love of rich and varied sonic textures.
He has recorded and performed with the groups BOSHO, SEMANTICS, CARBON, DOUBLE
BAND, George Cartwright's CURLEW, Umezu Kazutoki's FIRST DESERTER (with Wayne
Horvitz, Marc Ribot and Tom Cora), John Zorn's "HWANG CHIN-EE",
Okinawan singer/sanshin player Daiku Tetsuhiro, singer HACO, country-blues
unit the KROPOTKINS, noise-guitar legend Haino Keiji, Korean hojok master
and shaman Kim Suk Chul, as well as with his own group CHUNK. Bennett's main
ongoing project is SKIST, a duo with singer and electronic sound creator Haruna
Ito. SKIST tracks have appeared on compilations from labels such as Mille
Plateaux, FatCat and Luaka Bop, and their first full length CD "Ellipsis"
was released in Japan in September 2002 on their own POLARITY label.
Very
active in the field of improvised music over the years, Bennett has performed
and recorded with players including Eugene Chadbourne, shamisen virtuoso Tanaka
Yumiko, Zeena Parkins, Shelley Hirsch, ondes-martenot master Harada Takashi,
Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Marclay and many others. He was co-founder, along
with the late Tom Cora, of the group THIRD PERSON, an improvising trio which
always featured a different guest member.
Born
and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Bennett has lived in Boston, Massachusetts,
Benin City, Nigeria, Brussels, Belgium and Brooklyn, New York, before moving
in 1996 to Tokyo, where he now resides
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Uchihashi
Kazuhisa
was born in Osaka, Japan in 1959. He picked up the guitar at the age of twelve,
and through his teenage years played in rock and pop bands, later becoming
involved in jazz. Since 1983 he has devoted himself intensively to free improvised
music. With a keen interest in sound, he has experimented extensively with
many different kinds of machines and sound-devices to expand the sonic possibilities
of the electric guitar. In addition to guitar, Uchihashi also performs regularly
on the daxophone, an utterly unique instrument (invented by Hans Reichel)
consisting of variously shaped pieces of wood which are bowed or struck
He
has worked with improvisers Fred Frith, Tom Cora, Barre Phillips, Kang Tae
Hwan, Peter Brotzman, Derek Bailey, Steve Beresford, Jon Rose, Zeena Parkins,
Elliott Sharp, Eugene Chadbourne, Henry Kaiser, Chris Cutler, Hans Reichel,
Charles Hayward, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, GURU GURU and many others. For
twelve years he has been leader of the rock-oriented improvising trio ALTERED
STATES.
He has composed music for film and dance, and has been the sole musical director
and composer for the noted Japanese theatre group ISHINHA for more than 15
years.
Since
1995 he has directed the monthly New Music Action Workshop for young improvisers
in Kobe, a project he now continues in Tokyo and in other cities across Japan.
He is also the organizer of the annual new music event Festival Beyond Innocence
(FBI), started in Kobe in 1996 and now taking place in Osaka.
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