ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Extended Analysis
Henri Roger: When Bip Bip Sleeps
By EYAL HAREUVENI, Published: July 21, 2013
How can a free improvised setting, a typical serious musical happening,
serious-as-your-life, almost by definition, blend with music associated with
fun, such as cartoons soundtracks? Quite naturally if open-minded
musicians participate in such happening, ones who disregard such artificial
distinctions and like to blur outdated conventions.
French self-taught guitarist and pianist Henri Roger thought about such a
mixed happening. He asked vocal artist {[Emile Lesbros}}, cello master Eric
Maria Couturier, solo cellist for the noted Ensmble InterContemporain that
was founded by iconoclastic composer Pierre Boulez, and acclaimed jazz
drummer Bruno Tocanne—now all named as The SéRieuse Cartoon
Improvised Music Quartet—to join him for a free improvised session that
references the work of American composer Scott Bradley
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ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Extended Analysis
Henri Roger: When Bip Bip Sleeps
By EYAL HAREUVENI, Published: July 21, 2013
How can a free improvised setting, a typical serious musical happening,
serious-as-your-life, almost by definition, blend with music associated with
fun, such as cartoons soundtracks? Quite naturally if open-minded
musicians participate in such happening, ones who disregard such artificial
distinctions and like to blur outdated conventions.
French self-taught guitarist and pianist Henri Roger thought about such a
mixed happening. He asked vocal artist {[Emile Lesbros}}, cello master Eric
Maria Couturier, solo cellist for the noted Ensmble InterContemporain that
was founded by iconoclastic composer Pierre Boulez, and acclaimed jazz
drummer Bruno Tocanne—now all named as The SéRieuse Cartoon
Improvised Music Quartet—to join him for a free improvised session that
references the work of American composer Scott Bradley. Bradley wrote
music for many beloved cartoons series such as Tom and Jerry and Tex
Avery, but he was also known for introducing for what he defined as funny
musdic—exceptional compositional devices as the twelve-tones concept of
composer Arnold Schoenberg, as well as ideas from other modern
composers as {[Béla Bartók}} and {[Paul Hindemith}}.
With such influential references it is clear that humor, playfulness and game-
like interactions will characterize this happening. But this happening—
presented on a vinyl with accompanying disc—is so successful simply
because these four musicians regard their humor with utmost seriousness.
There are healthy doses of invented sounds, a sense of adventure and taking
risks, a unique sense of timing and reflection, as well as a stubborn attempt
to frame the immediate interplay in a broad picture. A much bigger, maybe
updated and futuristic picture, that on one side references the work of
Bradley with irreverent perspective but on the other side refuses completely
to root itself in any genre or style, or to attach itself to any articulation.
The ideas are flowing and accumulated, juggled between all four members,
toyed for brief seconds and abandoned for newer, shinier ones. Often the
busy and noisy musical conversations sound as paying tributes to Butch
Morris or early compositional devices of John Zorn. But these conversations
sound more as wandering in a long and winding labyrinth of mirrors. The
scope of ideas and its immediate exchange, elaboration and fast shaping
into other extraterritorial forms of sonic textures save this meeting from
falling into any musical clichés.
The interaction on improvisation on Don't Talk To Me Like That
acknowledges its roots in the dynamic plot of a cartoon series, but does not
obey the form of this genre. There are too many detours into sonic alleys,
the process of tension building is mocked, the leading players as portrayed
by the musicians sound as untamed, ill-mannered players who succumbed
joyfully to a deep and colorful psychedelic trip, busy inventing new,
proactive forms of expression and to get lost in this tasking process.
There are glimpses of free jazz interactions, mainly when drummer Toccane
takes a leading role, as on Are you Happy?, but most of the time he prefers
to color the dense conversations. Vocalist Lesbro's invented language and
the virtuous cello playing of Couturier with the invented sound universes of
Roger push these wild conversations to different poles. Only on At The
Circus the busy interplay slows down and this improvisation may sound as
part of extreme cinematic adventure, still nuanced and inventive, but with
more room for narrative progression.
A wild and highly engaging ride.
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