The Antripodean Collective is an ever changing group of improvising musicians chosen by Extreme label boss Roger Richards. The idea is very basic. Put them in a room and press record. This collection finds trumpeter Scott Tinkler, who has previously recorded for Extreme, alongside pianist Paul Grabowsky, double bassist Phillip Rex, violinist John Rodgers and drummer Ken Edie. In particular Grabowsky’s piano, prepared with bolts, pegs and the like, sounds great as the quintet, playing together for the first time attempt to develop a shared language. It’s called massacre of the egos because the simple process of having no band leader, of having an outside curator who set this up, affords each musician equal footing, yet it also pushes each musician out of their comfort zone as they attempt to interact with each other and create something new. In the liner notes Scott Tinkler suggests that each musician puts their ego up as ‘collateral,’ yet this seems to really add to the energy of the music building in a palatable sense of tension. What appears on this disc are the results from the morning of the second day in the studio, after a full day of flexing their muscles and attempting to communicate in a pressure cooker environment. The results are definitely freeform as the musicians really do push their instruments into directions they would no otherwise go. It would be interesting to know what if any discussion was had prior to the recording because the players whilst not afraid of a bit of chaotic bluster also give each other plenty of space during some very low key micro-tonal moments. This kind of music is definitely an acquired taste, for many jazz fans it will be too unstructured, yet there is a certain breathless tension to the music as whilst the music seems to just be evolving onwards of its own accord the knowledge is there that this could fall apart at any moment. It’s also much more than the ‘plink plonk’ that many improvisors seem to favour these days which demonstrates not only the ability of the musicians, but their desire to not cheat, to really work hard to develop a unique language between themselves.
Bob Baker Fish
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