From Miles in space to Jazz for the Deaf: Ben Neill & Mörglbl
May 19, 2009
Two distant jazz mutations from opposite directions when Ben Neill and Mörglbl hit Philadelphia.
Ben Neill @ The Gatherings (photo: Jeff Towne)
I caught two very disparate shows in Philadelphia this weekend, both drawing upon elements of jazz, but ultimately having little to do with jazz at all. First up was Ben Neill, performing at Saturday, May 16 at The Gatherings concert series. He’s released several recordings including Green Machine, Tryptical, Goldbug and Automotive. A new CD is slated for the fall.
Neill doesn’t make it easy on himself. He wrestles with his “mutantrumpet” a Rube Goldberg contraption with 3 trumpet bells, one of them muted, 2 sets of valves, a mini-trombone slide and electronics that trigger other sounds. He creates a layered, realtime performance with trumpets sometimes having contemplative inner dialogues and sometimes shout out call & response exchanges. All the while, electronic sounds swirling to the rafters on waves of synth pads. As near as I can tell, he was controlling everything in real time with rhythm loops triggered in Ableton live. Even the screen images were being manipulated via his trumpet, pulsing and warping in sync to what he was playing.
Ben has roots in the usual sources, notably Miles Davis and Jon Hassell, but he’s staked out his own terrain in the sonic landscape, mixing fractured jungle loops under his free-form improvisations. His music is like a digital river, with a different fractalized scene around every corner, the constant being Ben Neill greeting you on your way.