THE THING

MATS GUSTAFSSON saksofon INGEBRIGT HÅKER FLATEN bass PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE trommer

Trioen starta i 2000 med ei rekkje konsertar og innspeling av Don Cherry-komposisjonar. Miksen av tysk, britisk og amerikansk frimusikktradisjon er henta frå ulike kjelder som James Blood Ulmer, PJ Harvey, White Stripes og Joe McPhee. Dei tre musikarane har forlengst gjort seg berømte og beundra langt utanfor den skandinaviske scena og gjestar på plater og konsertar inkluderar Sonic Youth, Yhe Chicago Tentet og Bugge Wesseltoft. Ver budd på eit forsøk på å føra saman frijazz og garasjerock med garantert sjanse for å lukkast.

http://www.myspace.com/ingoquint

Noen anmeldelser: Garage-rock covers in a free-jazz wig-out style by Swedes: this easily constitutes the week’s leftfield release. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, White Stripes and The Sonics all get songs contorted in a frenzy of saxophones and upright bass, and Garage’s own creations are just as nutty. A sonic mess that is never the less enjoyable brainfood. Tim Perry The Independent 15th January 2005

Last year, jazz squares got excited by the Bad Plus, who tastefully jazzed up rock standards by Black Sabbath, the Pixies and Abba on Columbia, creating a kind of Mike Flowers Pops in-joke for pretentious losers. The Scandinavian trio the Thing, led by the Swedish saxophonist and sometime Sonic Youth collaborator Mats Gustafsson, have better taste, more talent and the sense of the absurd of true artists, rather than the frat-house sense of humour of musicians nerds. On Garage, they play free jazz as if it’s garage punk, a remit that includes finding new routes out of tunes by the Yeah yeah Yeahs, the White Stripes and the 1960s Seattle primitives the Sonics whose Have Love Will Travel, covered here, has gone from obscurity, via car-advert ignominy, to experimental reinterpretation in the space of the last 12 months. Stewart Lee The Sunday Times 16th January 2005

The Thing Garage (Smalltown Superjazz) Free jazz is well beyond the remit of a pop columnist, but it’s worth mentioning this release by this Scandinavian outfit because it takes rock as its starting point. As the title implies, there are covers here of garage songs by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (‘Art Star’) and the White Stripes (‘Aluminum’) done in the free jazz manner. They are joined by a version of ‘Have Love Will Travel’ (covered by the Sonics), plus a couple of original Thing compositions. It all seems a bit of an entertaining wheeze, like those Muzak renditions of ‘Wonderwall’, until the ferocity and commitment with which the players handle their task hits you. Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson is an especially explosive presence, but bassist Ingebrigt Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love are no slouches either, obviously relishing playing like a punk band. It will clear the cobwebs from your ears, at the very least. Kitty Empire The Observer 16th January 2005 «Tapping into rock’s most primal forces with the fire and fury that’s something to behold» Mojo «The Thing convert nouveau punk and vintage garage-rock into a roaring scream-up, but the sheer energy and love of the music keep gimmickery at bay» Uncut «The sheer power they generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning » BBC «Absurdly cool» DJ Magazine

Etter konserten blir det Musikk på roterommet i Tilbygget.