js “Inti” is the second album by avant-garde jazz group Machine Mass and finds them returning to similar devices as their first album, but with a little more aggression, noise and freedom this time around. Michel Delville returns on guitars and electronics, while Tony Bianco continues to fill the drum chair, but woodwinds player Jodi Grognard has moved on to be replaced by long time avant-fusion superstar Dave Liebman. Bringing Dave on is a nice touch, especially considering his broad experience and roots in this kind of 60s/70s influenced psychedelic free fusion. I can remember when I was young, older jazz fans would speak longingly about the sound of Coltrane’s tenor horn. I suppose if that generation had Coltrane, then mine had Wayne Shorter and Liebman, and certainly when Liebman’s beautiful soprano tone makes its first appearance on “Inti“, its hard not to get memories of those heady days when this sort of experimental music first opened the minds of young listeners.

Dave’s finest moment on here happens during the intro to the cover of “In a Silent Way”. “Silent Way” is a very risky piece to take on and most should leave it alone, but during the poignant intro Delville presents a pad of floating tambouras over which Liebman plays a timeless melody on the wood flute before they move on to Zawinul‘s classic tune. It’s a sublime moment which leads to possibly the best cover of this tune I’ve heard. Elsewhere throughout this CD, Dave and the Machine Mass guys present a variety of free form jazz fusion, often swing based in a post bop style, but sometimes in a jagged avant-funk manner as well. The band is very skilled at this kind of imoprov, so your enjoyment will probably depend on how much you appreciate free improvisation in the first place. Generally speaking, fans of modern free jazz have been very pleased with “Inti”. If there is one possible problem that persists here, it’s the occasional use of looped bass and/or keyboard parts. Obviously Machine Mass has no bass player, and the lack of bass on many tunes presents a pleasing open sound to their mix. On the other hand, the tunes that utilize something that sounds like a repeating bass loop as a sort of bass part can sound cluttered.

Fans of modern avant-garde jazz will want to get this, Delville and Bianco are very thoughtful and careful in their approach and Liebman sounds like nothing less than a sage.

kev rowland There has been a change to both the band name and line-up since the Machine Mass Trio’s debut in 2011, as although Michel Delville is still here on guitars and electronics, and fellow douBt colleague Tony Bianco is still providing the drums, they have a new saxophonist/flautist in the shape of legendary Dave Liebman. Known as one of the hardest working saxophonists in jazz, he has released more than a hundred albums as either band leader or co-leader, and has guested on many hundreds more, with credentials that are second to none. Note, there are only three musicians and this album was recorded in a single afternoon, with first takes used for the most part. Both Michel and Tony trigger loops and sounds while they are playing, using computers to assist with the load, and some of the loops are themselves more than 100 bars long. It certainly never seems that there are only three musicians involved, and certainly not that the whole thing was recorded without any overdubs.

That they are all consummate musicians is never in doubt, and the way that they support each other within the framework of a song is quite astounding. The drumming on “In a Silent Way” really takes the song to a totally different level, with Michel and Dave playing quite gently and in a very controlled manner, which is the total opposite of what Tony is delivering from behind the kit. It is this dichotomy of sound, the use of structures and arrangements that should never really fit together that makes this album work as well as it does. This is a fresh landscape, new, exciting and vibrant. There are vocals on just the one song, “The Secret Place”, which are provided by Saba Tewelde, and while it is interesting, I did find this is something of a distraction to the rest of the album as there isn’t the same feeling of adventure and vitality.

But that is just a minor niggle, as overall this is an album that fans of modern jazz really ought to be seeking out. www.moonjune.com