What’s always surprising about this, and what’s especially in evidence on European Echoes, is how broad the canvas of Goin’ Completely Off actually is. Chaos, as it turns out, isn’t a single violent force: it’s multifaceted, sporting not only its generally-imagined convulsive face (as at the opening of many free jazz compositions, where everybody plays real loud notes all at once) but innumerable other aspects, limited only by the listener’s capacity for engagement. The harder you listen, the more you hear; virtually all free jazz players cite “listening to each other” as the single most important element for success in playing this kind of music. That’s all well and good for a trio, but there are sixteen people credited on European Echoes. How can they possibly listen to one another? How can they even hear each other? |