Editor's info:
Astral Spirit presents The Glass Delusion by Kuzu. Recorded October 13th, 2018 at Elastic Arts in Chicago and October 14th, 2018 at The Sugar Maple in Milwaukee, WI. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dave Zuchowski. All compositions by Rempis/Dorji/Damon. Special Thanks to Adrienne Pierluissi and Bob Szocik. Artwork & Layout by Robert Beatty.
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In her book In Praise of Risk, the French philosopher and psychotherapist Anne Dufourmantelle, who sadly passed away far too early in 2017, deals with the concept of suspense at a central point. For her, it means to hold your breath and to look with as much attention as possible at what is simply there, at what offers itself to you in the presence of things. According to her, suspension is not a standstill of time before the event, it’s the event itself. It’s the beginning of inner time, since the decision has in fact already been made, only no one has known it yet.
Compared to Kuzu’s latest album, The Glass Delusion, there are some interesting parallels. The band - Dave Rempis (saxophones), Tashi Dorji (guitar), Tyler Damon (drums) - feels its way forward with an idea of where the improvisation should go to, they stake out their field. In the process, the music resembles a conception that has become sound, that does not touch the ground and seems to refuse to take any direction. It’s perfectly open, it remains in an exciting uncertainty - for the musicians and the listener. Rempis and his colleagues seem to enjoy to dwell in this exciting position for as long as possible, because it forces them to remain tense for something unexpected that can happen at any moment. At the same time, it’s important to avoid prefabricated schemes, to stay as far away as possible from the big, worn-out gestures, answers and platitudes (as to Kuzu this would mean punk rock jazz). Rigid certainties must be avoided, though it’s ....... more