MATANA ROBERTS — Matana Roberts & Sam Shalabi & Nicolas Caloia : Feldspar (review)

MATANA ROBERTS — Matana Roberts & Sam Shalabi & Nicolas Caloia : Feldspar album cover Album · 2014 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
American sax player Matana Roberts,who is best known from her "Coin Coin..." albums series, regularly participates in other projects which are obvious less known.Between second and third "Coin Coin" series albums (2013 and 2015),she recorded and released highly experimental album with Montreal musicians - electric guitarist Sam Shalabi and acoustic bassist Nicolas Caloia.

Both Canadians are part of left-field Montreal scene, it's interesting to hear how their aesthetics work (or don't work) in collaboration with American trad music rooted Matana's jazz. Album is titled "Feldspar"(from my University time classic geology studies I still remember that feldspar is very hard mineral of silicate composition, which contains no ore or other valuable elements and Earth's outer crust is composed mostly of it), each album's song is titled by one of minerals name as well.

Seven improvisations present more or less tight interplay between extended ultra acoustic low bass vibrations, processed electric guitars sounds (from almost metal-rock shredding to synth-like soundscapes)and bluesy and tuneful Matana's clear sax soloing over it. At best, all three musicians find quite reflective if not telepathic interplay and demonstrates really effective and attractive form of free but tuneful jazzy improvs. Still often each of them three plays as he's interested in his own music first of all and don't care much about what happens around. In such moments Matana's sax works as cement molding music from components,which trying to run away each to its own direction. Sometimes it sounds even attractive, but more often just destroys music's integrity.

Not of the same league as Coin Coin albums, "Feldspar" has its moments and are quite interesting release for listeners liking Matana's music. I expect her collaboration with free-improvs artists here (as well as work with different forms of processed sound) influenced Roberts' upcoming third Coin Coin album where differently from her two first Coin Coin releases,she plays solo all instruments with massive use of synths and samples and only accidental use of her main instrument - saxophone.

Matana's new album "Always" is already announced to be released in few months, what will she offer next?
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