Greg Goodman, Henry Kaiser, and Lukas Ligeti - Heavy Meta
(Ecstatic Yod)
Upon glancing at Heavy Meta's muscular packaging in combination with the title of the album, my expectations were of molten improvisations brimming with high-powered artillery bombardments of sound and shuddering masses of tonal cacophony. What Goodman, Kaiser, and Ligeti deliver, however, is improvisation of a far more giddy nature. Kasier, in a sense, the "superstar" of the session, plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as bass, while Goodman and Ligeti fill out the sound with piano and drums, respectively. Much of the album is made up of trio recordings, though each member is allowed the chance to interact with the other two in a shorter duo setting. Goodman's piano stabs and sprinkles, and the pianist proves himself to be a versatile, thoughtful listener. His energetic playing often forces itself to the front of the mix, making Kaiser and Ligeti sound like a backing band in sections of the disc. Kaiser is a man of many sounds and styles, and has a touch and sense of co operation that allows him to adjust his playing in almost perfect complement to that of his compatriots. Ligeti, though he often sounds restrained even in his most energetic moments, is an able percussionist, and, while his playing sometimes lacks the imagination of his partners, he helps keep the music afloat diligently. Surprisingly, the three duets on the album prove to be some of the best work included. Kasier's sonorous electric guitar makes its only appearance on "Tasurim," and Goodman's technique on "Does the Name Pavlov Ring a Bell?" and "Riddled" is ripe with alternatives to the simple striking of the keys.
Heavy Meta is an admittedly lengthy document at just under eighty minutes, and, as with nearly any album its length, there are moments and longer periods in which the music just isn't as striking, such as those spots in which Goodman, Kaiser, and Ligeti are seeking out a unified direction. But, however long, Heavy Meta is an exhibition of a trio of men who sound utterly comfortable playing together, and, though comfortable, never complacent. The neutral production of the album sometimes flattens its sound, and during the trio pieces, the group tends to stay within a similar improvisatory aesthetic, but Heavy Meta is an album of solid, ample-bodied free improv, and it's hard not to appreciate that.
|
