Grencsó Collective Special 5 - Do Not Slam the Door! (2019)

My experience of working with the Grencsó Collective in Hungary is a perfect example of how creative collaboration in the arts helps to build bridges between people. I think of Coleman Hawkins inviting Pee Wee Russell to record; I think of Archie Shepp asking Roswell Rudd to be in his band; I think of Peter Brötzmann collaborating with Han Bennink, Fred van Hove, Evan Parker, and Derek Bailey; I think of Anthony Braxton developing a quartet with Marilyn Crispell - all combinations which confounded preconceptions and socio-political pressure. Each pointing to the fact that there is something essential and human in each of us that needs to be shared to enable society to move forward as a whole.Ken VandermarkIs there such a thing as coincidence? Perhaps. But in the encounter between István Grencsó and Ken Vandermark some kind of necessity seems to have been at work. If we compare the careers followed by these two artists in the last decade and a half or so, it seems as if their paths have intertwined, with parallels and intersections. This is far from being self-evident, because a fundamental consideration for both of them is constant renewal, and the search for ever newer forms of expression. In the musical idioms of both Grencsó and Vandermark, we hear the effect of external influences on them, and changes within them. As well as their natural predispositions, they are led in this direction by the artists who have influenced and inspired them. One strength of all the musicians is that they are able to adapt to the musical material envisioned and to each other. All the performers on this CD give the best of their artistic qualities. The music, whether composed or improvised, moves through wide ranging territories - complex, accelerated, and austere.