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Caress of My Fist | Etudes in Violence CDR (Cohort Records) |
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Written by Abby H.
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Caress of My Fist is a duo consisting of violinist Mike Khoury and saxophonist/flautist Fred Bergman, who are joined here on various tracks by drummer Curtis Glatter and guitarist Chris Riggs. Etudes in Violence features eight improvised jazz sketches, each with suitably visceral titles like Punched in the Stomach, Knuckle Sandwich and Fat Lip. Given this tumultuous framing, one could be forgiven for expecting a sonic assault akin to the fury of acts like Borbetomagus, but instead, Caress of My Fist’s palette is a more spartan one. The players inhabit a very clearly defined space, each allowing the other to breathe and explore their own sound. While some of the musical choices are abrasive, there’s patience evident in how they are eked out. On the opening Sucker Punch, Khory’s violin produces mournful figures as well as subtle microtonal gurgles that sound like so many parasitic species hiding behind walls in science fiction movies and video games. While Bergman’s sax creates the harshest sounds throughout the release, with the kind of atonal stabs one would expect from free jazz, on Sucker Punch he uses his flute to mirror Khory’s work with simple and evocative melody lines before descending into abrasive squalls. Glatter’s percussion is subtle through out, adding the occasional fill and thud in the background, but never over powering the others. The guitar of Riggs is equally subtle, appearing almost imperceptibly, save for tracks such as Knuckle Sandwich, where his close-miced Baileyesque plucking comes to the fore. In total, Etudes in Violence is a coherent release, despite the abstract and improvised nature of the music. Cohort presents this release in a rather darling hexagonal card packaging that closes itself with an origami-like flower fold. The CDR is pro-printed and pro-duplicated. www.cohortrecords.0catch.com/
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