Mats Gustafsson — Bengt

Mats Gustafsson is an avant-garde jazz saxophonist with an impressive discography I can claim no familiarity with.  "Bengt", named after a primary influence of his, is his latest album, a 40 minute, completely freeform solo improvisation for saxophone.  Releasing an album like this is a bold move, to be sure, and all the more bold because Gustafsson seems to be in no hurry, and not at all striving to impress, or entertain.  The album is as naked, intimate and exploratory as if he were practicing by himself late at night, playing with the sound and feeling it out as he went along. 

The album sneaks into being...  It is several minutes before he plays a tone with enough body that you could call it a 'note'.  In fact, over half the album turns out to be comprised of breathy, wet sounds produced by Mats pushing air through the saxophone too gently to make a tone, at times rhythmically tongueing, or using various experimental techniques to get atonal but harmonically rich textures out of the instrument, which at times will have the listener shaking their head is disbelief. 

It can sound, at times, like he is playing two tones at once, some kind of saxophone equivalent to thoat singing.  And there are jagged animal bleats, uncomfortable groans and shrieks, grating but always possessed of divine metallic overtones as well, making for uneasy beauty.  Sometimes you hear the man behind the instrument as well, a short 'um' or an 'ah' before a breath, and the recording is all the more human for it.

His noise-making comes at first in short bursts, short, hurried phrases each separated by 1 to 3 seconds of silence...  As the piece goes on, these spaces between phrases grow shorter and shorter; Gustafsson's intensity and passion increases.

When it finally does rear its head, his more conventional playing is stunning, beautiful...  There are 3 or 4 moments of real melody on this record, and I'm happy to say they are elusive and timeless, perfect jazz, that perfectly sad, smoky soliloquy you stumble upon the lone saxophonist playing in the alley behind the club.  These moments appear at random, as whimsically as the rest, and what is more, they are utterly effortless.

His true mastery is also shown in the variety of approaches found in these 40 minutes...  It is, against all logic, a reasonably listenable record.  His playing seems to naturally shift in mood, intensity and style every 3 - 4 minutes, making for informal 'movements'.  There is still some real downtime on the record, though: sections so quiet, scatterbrained and anti-musical that I find it difficult to hear Gustafsson's virtuosity and technique.  For this reason, I can't give "Bengt" a perfect rating.

It's worth mentioning that "Bengt" is divided into two roughly 20 minute tracks, but that listening to the album, it's clear these were not really meant to be separated, and were performed as a whole.  The 2nd side actually starts in the middle of an intense yet quiet section that began in the 1st side, so it's quite important to hear the album as a whole.

This is ultimately a very expressive piece of avant-jazz, and anyone already used to free jazz should be able to find enjoyment both in Gustafsson's timbral explorations and his brief moments of lamenting tonality.  I can't compare it to the rest of his discography, as I've never heard it, but I can say "Bengt" is a fine addition to the Utech catalogue, and shows the label diversifying ever further.