Heinz Geisser & Guerino Mazzola - Live at Airegin

Jake Harper, AllAboutJazz

Percussionist Heinz Geisser, founder of NYC improvisational group Collective 4tet and mathematician, theoretical physicist and pianist Guerino Mazzola, author of The Topos of Music, which applies the advanced mathematical concept of topos theory to music, have covered an enormous body of work together in many formats. For Live at Airegin, they explore all things fortissimo. Starting out with a long drum introduction, the piano finally enters the foray aggressive and ready to dance. It does not take long for these two to connect and they continue fast paced and dynamically intense for the next half hour.

On one track they are joined by Yuki Saga on vocals and Takayuki Kato on electric guitar, though the terms vocals and guitar are somewhat of a misnomer in this case. Saga’s falsetto incantations of nonsensical vocal noises are somewhat reminiscent of what a Teletubby would sound like if it were being tortured for war secrets while Kato’s guitar is utilized not so much for the frets but as a conduit for sound effects.

All in all, through the frantic flourishes and sonic screaming these musicians definitely still show through as being expert improvisers and quite an ensemble unit.