Improvisation
- it's always been about
placement.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT
NOTE:
My friend Phil Sudo, author of Zen
Guitar, and I never got to finish our duets project together.
Phil lost his brave battle with stomach
cancer and has moved on up.
Improvisors familiar with his writings
and recordings who would like to participate in a fund-raising CD to benefit
Phil's survivng wife and children are invited to contact me. TOUCHTHIS
Improvisation Journal
Bret Hart discography
home
Improvisational Duets Series
(begun Summer 1999)
Basic Guidelines:
Ask
yourself, "What are my extended techniques?"
Then,
exploit them to tape.
Sourcetrack
by "Initiator" is improvised with/against, in real-time, during recording
of response by "Finisher".
Avoid
all overdubbing.
Simultaneous
use of multiple instruments is great.
Goal:
Document
the mating of two distinct solo performances into a whole greater than
the sum of the individual perceptions.
Improvisational
Duets Series 27-39
(2002-present)
Available NOW or coming soon from
www.homemademusic.com
Amy Denio
v.1 itids#39
Eric Wallack
V.2 itids#38
Ken
Hyder V.1 itids#37
"...the Hyder/Hart team are at a zenith stage on this
CD! Actually, if mem'ry serves me correctly, I don't think I've heard
Bret improvising against a percussionist all that frequently... but this
guy Ken is a killah...There are some reviewers who tend to write this kind
of experimentation up as something that "anybody with a washboard &
a guitar" coulld do... & while that may be true (in one sense),
it is pure balderdash with music like this duo is playing...anyone with
even a dollop of adventure in their blood will fall in love with this beautifully
odd CD... I did... enough so that it gets our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating!"
- Rotcod Zzaj Improvijazzation Nation # 59
REVIEW
Eric Wallack
V.1 itids#36
"Some of the most seamless and attractive guitar/string
based improvisation you will ever hear!...what really strikes me as I listen
to this is the hearkening back to my earliest listening to Hart's solo
guitar works...When I first met Bret, he talked (muchly) of how important
he felt it is to keep improvised music(s) non-linear... that if you truly
want spontaneity, you must drop all preconceived notions. There
is, in my ears, no better example of spontaneous guitar playing than this
(particular) duets CD." - Rotcod Zzaj Improvijazzation Nation # 59
"I wonder if I played this for
a group of free-improv fans and told them it was a Fred Frith/Derek Bailey
duet how many would believe me? Not that Bret and Eric sound like Frith
and Bailey but this is definitely in that realm." - Jerry Kranitz/AI
(cover art: bhh)
Mika Rintala
V.2 itids#35
(cover art: bhh)
Mika Rintala
V.1 itids#34
"Finnish musician Mika Rintala has been the subject of
a fair bit of ink in Aural Innovations, having submitted several of his
highly creative Verde releases which showcase Mika's many imaginative homemade
instruments. Mika has notably also been a member of Circle and Ektroverde.
But the thought of what a Bret/Mika pairing would produce sounded pretty
tantalizing...There's plenty of variety here. Strange spacey electronics
and percussion workouts. (Check out the last track for a totally cosmic
UFO ride!) Wailing rock guitar against pulsating drones. A few of the drones
start off hypnotic, but gradually build in volume and power until it seems
like your head might split." - Jerry Kranitz/AI
(sourcephoto: Bulbous Confusion)
Funkmeister
G v.2 itids#33
"Sublime frantic avant gtr improv skronk." -
Ben Waters
(cover art: Hargreaves)
Phil
Hargreaves v.2 itids#32
(cover art: bhh)
Bob
Jordan v.3 itids#31
(cover art: bhh)
John
Jasnoch v.2 itids#30
(cover art: bhh)
Fred
Hall v.4 itids#29
(cover art: bhh)
Steve
Blake v.2 itids#28
(cover art: bhh)
Greg Segal
itids#27
"Ambient guitar, both meditative
and aggressive, is accompanied by more abstract improv guitar to produce
an enjoyable and always interesting ombination. There's also some
Frippoid guitar and rumbling acid-space work that gives a cosmic edge to
the music, and waffles tentatively around the noise line, without ever
crossing too far over it." JK - AI
Press, Ink Splatter
and Other Textual Observations
Free-Improv
Case Studies: Bret Hart's Duets Series 2/2002
A.I. Article
Four from Aural Innovations
Zzaj
Splat
Aural-Innovations
Interview
Homemade
Instruments
Improvisational
Duets Series 1-26
(1998-2001)
Tragic Bunny
& Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Jeff Mills: electric guitar,
tons o' pedal effects, loops and layers
Bret Hart: electric guitar,
Pignose amp, Boss BR8, water
[Duets Series release itids
26]
"Intentional or not, this is like
avant-improvisational space rock, with lots of sounds that recall the glorious
early 70'ssonic rock explorations of bands like Hawkwind and Guru Guru,
not surprising given some of the music I've heard from Automatic Music.
The music is acidic to the max, but the multiple layers are clear and distinct
rather than being a wall of noise mish-mash."Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Phil
Hargreaves & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Phil Hargreaves: sax, flute,
sourcetracks
bhh: guitar, pan-jo, prepared
guitar, hose-bone samples, organ
[Duets Series release itids
25]
"One of my favorite tracks has
Phil off on a sax rant accompanied by Bret playing what sounds like avant-ambient
Japanese koto music. But Phil's sax, which is traditionally a high volume
and imposing instrument, is played in a frantic but quietly subtle style.
He's busily cranking out his jam, but with a restraint not often so more
jazz rooted tracks where we get to hear what a fine usician Phil
is...some of the flute tracks remind me of Sun Ra's old cool jazz sounds,
though Bret's additions give the music an edge that Ra would have surely
considered mental therapy."Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Larry
Marotta & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Larry Marotta: acoustic guitar,
sourcetracks
bhh: banjoto, dobro, ScIrving
1, prepared guitar, electric mandolin, looped gtr samples, saz
[Duets Series release itids
24]
"Some of the best moments are the
most sparse... percussive attacks on a string or the guitar body, often
with several seconds between each, allowing each note or sound the opportunity
to make its statement. String manipulations that produce harsh or ambient
sounds, and run an impressive range of tones and textures."Jerry Kranitz
- Aural Innovations
Mark Kissinger
& Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 2"
bhh: dobro, treatments, final
arrangements
Mark Kissinger: slide guitar,
guitar sounds
[Duets Series release itids
23]
(cover art: Ben Waters)
Bret Hart & Ben
Horrendous: "DUETS - Volume 2"
bhh: sourcetapeBen Waters: guitar
and bass additions
[Duets Series release itids
22]
Bret Hart & Rotcod
Zzaj: "DUETS - Volume 1"
bhh: sourcetapes
Dick Metcalf: Kurtzweil keyboard
[Duets Series release itids
21]
"I love hearing such seemingly
divergent sounds parallel and blend so naturally. "Another Flight Of Stares"
takes this style a step further with Zzaj taking off on a more overtly
free-jazz jam on piano while Bret creates a mini symphony of bangs and
bells. If given a title I'd have called this album "Symphony For Alterna-Jazz
Keyboards, Cosmic Tones, And Cool Bangin' Shit".Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Fred
Hall & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 3"
Hall: electric guitarH
art: percussion, tone-shifting
[Duets Series release itids20]
Bob
Jordan & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 2"
Jordan: guitar, percussion,
keyboards, tape-manipulation/looping
Hart: stereo electric guitar
[Duets Series release itids19]
"...enough instruments and toys
to make a two-man improv and found sound orchestra."Jerry Kranitz - Aural
Innovations
Bob
Jordan & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 1"
Jordan: guitar, percussion,
keyboards, tape-manipulation/looping
Hart: stereo electric guitar
[Duets Series release itids18]
Funkmeister
G & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 1"
Halliday: anarcho-guitar &
piano
Hart: environments, low sounds,
tape-manipulation
[Duets Series release itids17]
"It's like hearing an improv performance
in a working machine shop, a setting that works quite successfully. Ripping
guitar leads blaze alongside measured industro-noise beats, and all manner
of free-improv guitar stylings cohabitate with harsh electronic fuzz tones
and sonic swirls."Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Don
Campau & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 2"
Hart: Strumstick, E-Bow, Can-Jo,
dobro, flour sifter, etc.
Don Campau: Gibson Ls Paul XR-2,
Gibson ES175, Lyle classical guitar, and Yamaha steel-string acoustic guitar;
all played simultaneously with effects
[Duets Series release itids16]
"The guys grabbed me right out
of the starting gate with a bit of drone and noise psychedelia that includesfree-improv
guitar ("Howl"). Is it avant space rock? Perhaps so. "Kessel/Crumbs" is
another standout track with very cool dual guitars, one playing somewhat
jazzy patterns and the other strumming in a style that straddles the line
between jazz and avant-rock." Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Fred
Hall & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 2"
Hall: electric guitar
Hart: other sounds
[Duets Series release itids14]
"...a more minimal work. Repetitive,
slowly developing patterns are a trademark of this set...the music has
a strong noise-ambient quality...atmospheric and image-inducing." Jerry
Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Bret Hart & Tom
Nunn: "DUETS - Volume I"
bhh: strings, wood, metal, woodwinds,
electronics
Tom Nunn: "T-Rodimba", "Bug-Arp",
"Nailboard"
[Duets Series release itids13]
"Atmospherics are prominent on
this collaboration, the stringed instruments often sounding like an avant-garde
chamber orchestra with plenty of wind instrument sounds like flutes and
whistles. Percussive sounds are equally in the forefront, and at times
I thought I was hearing vibes... a strange Caribbean feel.."Jerry Kranitz
- Aural Innovations
Bret Hart & John
Jasnoch: "DUETS - Volume I"
bhh: percussion, slack-string
gtr, 'hosebone', 'tubeflute', banjo-ukulele, Vietnamese moon lute, electronics
John Jasnoch: electric gtr,
lap steel, soprano 12-string electric gtr, fretless baritone gtr, mandolin,
tenor banjo, oud
[Duets Series release itids12]
"Frith/Bailey styled improv guitar,
but add lots of extra textures like electronics, dashes of noise, and percussives
to keep things varied and interesting. Many of the tracks are less than
a minute, but everything flows so seamlessly from beginning to end that
I was oblivious to the fact that this wasn't one continuous performance.
The subtlety of the playing is striking, and only attentive listening reveals
some of the most proficient musicianship of the series. The musicians dance
like ballerinas across the fretboards, the shred guitarists of free-improv.
Yet exploring, discovering, and sharing a range of sounds, tones, and textures
is as much a part of the adventure as the splendid playing."Jerry Kranitz
- Aural Innovations
Phil Kellogg
& Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Phil Kellogg: slide guitar,
shoutingBHH: dobro, preparations
[Duets Series release itids11]
Scotty
Irving & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Scotty Irving: acoustic and
electric slide guitars, E-Bow, "The Crutch"
bhh: E-Bow resonated stringed
instruments & homemades
[Duets Series release itids10]
"Things get a bit clashing and
banging at times, though the noise levels are very controlled. I'd say
my hands down favorite track is "Knitting Factory" which consists of fiery
jazz/ethnic percussion alongside the E-bow atmospherics. I never cease
to be amazed by the variety of sounds that can be wrenched from stringed
instruments and the Duet's releases are genuine case studies of this phenomena.Jerry
Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Steve
Blake & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Blake: electric guitars
Hart: dobro, Can-Jo, Strum-stick
[Duets Series release itids9]
"Whooooo-eee!!! This sucker opens
up with some sonic space blasts á la Space Ritual-era Hawkwind,
the guitar rumbling and screaming as it does it's brutal space magic."Jerry
Kranitz - Aural Innovations
(cover painting: Ben Waters)
Bret Hart & Benjamin
Horrendous: "DUETS - Volume I"
Horrendous: bass, clean &
distorted electric guitar, slack-string guitar
Hart: solidbody electric mandolin,
banjo-uke, electric saz
[Duets Series release itids8]
"...a glorious marriage of contrast
and cooperation, and the superior sound quality helps bring each element
to forefront. Definitely one of the stronger entries in the Duets series.
When I first put on the CD I went directly to the last track as a penned
note from Bret on the tray card mentioned that a bread machine is heard
on it. Sounds cool... I would have never guessed."Jerry Kranitz - Aural
Innovations
Bret Hart & Alonzo Phillips: "DUETS -
Volume I"
REVIEW
Hart: dobro
Phillips: acoustic and electric
guitar
[Duets Series release itids7]
Fred
Hall & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
Hall: electric guitar
Hart: guitar, bass, things
[Duets Series release itids6]
"...oodles of rumbling guitars that build a wall of feedback
and drones, and are accompanied by layers of varied guitar patterns which
include chaotic and noisy takes on traditional styles. I love all kinds
of traditional music, and Bret and Fred succeed in creatively destroying
a parade of styles including country and Blues, giving it all a crazed
acidic blast of energy and pure sonic thrust. Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Don
Campau & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
REVIEW
Campau: acoustic, electric,
and classical guitar
Hart: dobro
[Duets Series release itids5]
David Wortman & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume
I"
Wortman: reeds and woodwinds
Hart: guitar, dobro, prepared
guitar
[Duets Series release itids4]
"We have listened to (even played
on) many of the artists/combos that Bret has put together for his extensive
"Duets" series.This one is a perfect matchup, any way you listen to it,
tho'... Wortman's horns weave in, under, around & through strange string
soundscapes that Bret paints for Wortman to play against. Much thicker
& richer than any of the others in this series, to my ears... If memory
serves me right, Bret started out with horns (way back in HS), so playing
against Wortman's reeds is a natural!"Dick Metcalf - Improvijazzation Nation"With
this set the Duets series has scored another hit in the wild and wooly
contrasts department, incorporating "almost" standard jazz stylings into
the avant-garde free-improv realm."Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Mark Kissinger
& Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume I"
REVIEW
Mark Kissinger: guitars
Bret Hart: low sounds
[Duets Series release itids3]
" From the left speaker comes crazed avant-acid rock
string raking, and from the right comes semi-dissonant single notes. The
contrast really stands out given that the listener is blasted so cleanly
with these varied guitars from left and right."Jerry
Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Ernesto
Diaz-Infante & Bret Hart: "DUETS - Volume 2"
Diaz-Infante: prepared guitar
Hart: tape-montage, "musique
cement", sampling, tape loops[Duets Series release itids2]
"...explores different territory
than the first, this outing again featuring Ernesto on prepared guitar,
but Bret contributing electronics and tape manipulations instead of instruments.
A series of guitar manipulations are accompanied by drone electronics and
not unpleasant levels of noise. The electronics get pretty heavily into
the space-drone/noise realm, with Bret exploring some of the coarser corners
of the cosmos. There's even some parts that reminded me of old 1950's sci
fi flick soundtracks, though much grittier than the standard ooh-wee-ooh
sounds."Jerry Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Bret Hart & Ernesto
Diaz-Infante: "DUETS - Volume I"
REVIEW
Hart: dobro, Strum-Stick, Can-Jo,
electric mandolin, homemade instruments
Diaz-Infante: prepared guitar
[Duets Series release itids1]
"Hart uses electric saz and E-bow
which, along with the prepared guitar, creates a variety of noises and
notes. There's really a lot happening here, the duo functioning more like
a band constructing something along the lines of an experimental symphony."Jerry
Kranitz - Aural Innovations
Hey Ernesto, THANK YOU
for helping kick-start this sprawling billboard for free playing!