SLAMCD529 Edward Ricart Quartet – Ancón

The eight freely improvised pieces on this record demonstrate a dynamic group with a powerful, confident sound led by guitarist Edward Ricart.

The fiery free onslaught of tracks like ‘Dermatoglyphics’ and ‘Eurypterids,’ the sparse, AACM-influenced textures of ‘Truth.’ and the deep shifting-yet-unshakeable pulse of ‘Wake Up’ or ‘Celestial Mechanics’ could easily be mistaken for composition – but this group’s in/out approach to free improv makes for a very rewarding listen. ‘Ancón’ stands as a fine first offering from a hard-working young guitarist, and is not to be missed.

Edward Ricart presently resides in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he has been focusing on a new music trio called Hyrrokkin, while remaining an active collaborator of free music pioneers, as a member of the William Hooker Trio, Jason Ajemian’s Trash Island, and many more. An active supporter of the creative music underground, his weekly series of experimental music concerts has featured Han Bennink, Elliott Sharp, Paal Nilssen-Love, Rodrigo Amado, Frode Gjerstad, Andrea Parkins, Aram Shelton, Eugene Chadbourne, Uri Caine, Sabir Mateen, and many more.

A seasoned traveller, during 2011 he toured North America with Matta Gawa in the Spring and Hyrrokkin in the fall, played a weekly residency at Rodan in Chicago with members of Tortoise during the month of April, and toured with the William Hooker Trio in the Winter.

Edward Ricart: guitar
Herb Robertson: trumpet, little instruments
Jason Ajemian: bass
Andrew Barker: drums

“This quartet plays some seriously heavy music, improvised yet cohesive, noisy yet focused, raw and uncompromising. Fabulous playing all around by the four musicians, imaginative, creative and adventurous. Enjoy loudly.” – Bartek Adamczak, Jazz Alchemist

“Ricart, has already played with an impressive cross-section of America’s contemporary creative music community, from William Hooker to members of Tortoise. In fact, those two examples provide a pretty good clue to the feel of his quartet’s debut, which sits somewhere between free-jazz and improvised out-rock. At one extreme, tracks like ‘Eurypterids’ dabble in nervous, fidgety Improv and abstract Noise – with guitar effects providing whooshing sci-fi soundscapes – building to a muscular free-crunch thanks, largely, to Andrew Barker’s powerfully insistent drums. At the other end of the spectrum, tunes like the opening number ‘Celestial Mechanics’ – hung on a deep, fluid, spontaneously generated rhythm-section groove – allow the band to dig into bullish, Scorch Trio-esque free-fusion, topped off with stinging lead guitar and Herb Robertson’s high, alien trumpet trill. It’s as compact and manoeuvrable as an all-terrain moon-buggy, and a really convincing blast-off from a rising young guitar star.” – Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise

“Although this disc is a fully improvised date, the playing is completely focused and consistently inspired…We haven’t heard from Gold Sparkle Band’s ace drummer Andrew Barker recently so it is great to hear him pushing the intensity up a few notches throughout. Herb Robertson is senior member of the Downtown community and remains an unstoppable force, digging into his large bag of tricks & sounds, soloing like demon unleashed or just adding those unexpected odd nuggets to the brew. I’ve been noticing up & coming guitarist Ed Ricart’s name and playing more & moreover the past few years and I glad to hear him as a strong new voice on the guitar. An excellent debut from a colossal quartet!” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

All music spontaneously composed by the musicians.
Recorded & mixed by Jason LaFarge, December 10, 2009 at Seizure’s Palace in Brooklyn.

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