etwa

ETWA

Bertrand Gauguet . alto & soprano saxophones

Etwa 1 . 08:25
Etwa 2 . 06:19
Etwa 3 . 04:04
Etwa 4 . 04:10
Etwa 5 . 06:52
Etwa 6 . 06:30
Etwa 7 . 05:36

Total time | 41:56

Creative Sources . CS021, 2005

Selected review

Gauguet was also capable of making some of the most uniquely violent sounds of any sax player I’ve ever heard. Through an endless display of non-traditional techniques, Gauguet’s playing usually sounded more like guitar feedback and industrial machinery than a saxophone. Whatever he was doing, it was unrecognizable as a saxophone and he philosophically treated sound as vibrations that dissipate into the atmosphere. Okay, so that’s literally the definition of sound, and it makes for a truly unforgettable listen (whether you like it or not) that’s both primal and glorious. (Seth Kasselman, tinymixtapes.com)

Etwa développe un travail sur le souffle et véhicule un vocabulaire sonore singulier où naît une musique de l’effacement et de la transparence du temps. Cette expérimentation trouve ses racines dans les musiques ethniques et parvient à restituer des sons très proche des sons naturels de notre monde et de notre corps, transformant ainsi l’approche instrumentale comme une expérience physique, une incarnation. (Philippe Gimet, Octopus)

Such an unorthodox approach to pitch and timbre is worthwhile in itself, but more successful still is Gauguet’s fashioning of this material into articulated streams of subtle changes and sharper modulations that challenge and delight the ear and do so without recourse to schematic prefabricated structures. (Wayne Spencer, paristransatlantic.com)

“Etwa” is a pretty harsh work, not easy to absorb at a first try but full of propulsive energy anyhow. (Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes)

Etwa’ has some intense playing, leaving the attentive listener breathless. Probably the player aswell. (Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly)

Warta podkreslenia jest rowniez znakomita akustyka pomieszczen, w ktorych zarejestrowano nagrania i doskonale rozmieszczenie mikrofonow je rejestrujacych, ktore powoduja, ze wyraznie slyszalny jest kazdy, nawet najdrobniejszy, szczegol. Wszystko to, w polaczeniu ze znakomitym panowaniem Gaugueta nad instrumentami, daje prawdziwie wybuchowa mieszanke, nie zostaje mi wiec juz nic – poza zacheceniem do poznania tej plyty – do napisania. Warto tez wspomniec, ze okladka jest nadzwyczajnej urody.
Choc to dopiero poczatek roku, zaryzykuje i stwierdze, ze “Etwa” zostanie odnotowana na wielu listach najciekawszych plyt wydanych w 2005 roku. (Tadeusz Kosiek, diapazon.pl/)

On découvre dans la musique de Etwa un vrai bonheur pour l’écoute sensuelle, un souffle inspiré, une authenticité. Gauguet étend le champ du possible en le faisant chanter comme le vent dans les branches. (Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, Improjazz)

“Etwa” presenta un nuovo enfant prodige dell’improvvisazione astratta. Musica, suoni, fraseggi estremi e viscerali. Ondulazioni del respiro circolari che tanto ricordano la precisione in tale tecnica della scuola fiatistica inglese di John Butcher ed Evan Parker. (Sergio Eletto, Sands-Zine)

It is worth a try for those who want to hear things done with a saxophone that have probably never been done with a saxophone before in the history of the instrument. (neo-zine)

L’admirable poème des colonnes d’air de Bertrand Gauguet dans Etwa (CS 021) est la matière vivante et réfléchie du souffle à l’état pur, sublimé par la prise de son de Pierre Olivier Boulant. (Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, Improjazz)

Can we now speak of post-Butcher, post-Doneda saxophone? Who knows. This is lovely, state of art stuff, regardless. The kind of thing to play softly on your own, late at night, or blaring in the middle of the day, with the windows open and noises blending in. (Jason Bivins, Signal to Noise)