SPINIFEX MAXXIMUS

SPINIFEX MAXXIMUS

Trytone Records

Jasper Stadhouders, guitar; Gonçalo Almeida, double bass; Philipp Moser, drums/percussion; Evi Filippou, vibraphone/percussion; Elisabeth Coudoux, cello; Jessica Pavone, viola; Bart Maris, trumpet/piccolo trumpet; Tobias Klein, alto saxophone/bass clarinet; John Dikeman, tenor saxophone/bass saxophone.

Based in Amsterdam, Spinifex Maxximus is one of Europe’s foremost improvisational groups. Their music is rooted in European classical music, but full of surprises that reflect the influence of punk/rock and free jazz skipping hand-in-hand down a street of improvised creativity.

They open with what sounds like a suite of music, because of the twists and turns it takes in their unique arrangement of a tune called “Smitten.” It was written by Jasper Stadhouders, their guitarist. Halfway through the arrangement, it veers left, going totally erratic with the musical instruments racing into the atmosphere, tenacious and unencumbered. This is free jazz at its best.

The group boasts a core of six members including Maris, Klein, Dikeman, Stadhouders, Almeida and Moser. On this release, they sometimes steer their original presentation into a more Chamber music direction, with the assistance of the Berlin-based, Greek vibraphonist and percussionist, Evi Filippou. They have also added German cellist, Elisabeth Coudoux and New York based violist, Jessica Pavone.

“We wanted to approach this project with a different concept of our sound, opening more space to acoustic rather than amplified sound, to use a few colors that band members have used in their music individually,” Tobias Klein explained.

On Track #3, Tobias Klein contributes “Phoenix.”  It rises from a singular bass solo, like Phoenix rising from the ashes, first adding Klein’s woodwind solo atop the bass. Soon more instrumentation is added to grow the production. This arrangement continuously evolves, leaving space for others to improvise with self-expression. The drums suddenly sound like gunshots and startle me.

Cellist, Elisabeth Coudoux is the sole guest musician who contributes a tune called “Springend” to this album.

“In some ways Elisabeth’s piece leans towards Spinifex’s music and in some ways it doesn’t.  I really like that.  It shakes up the habits of the players quite a bit and even gives a different role to the other guest musicians, because it was something new for all of us,” Klein confesses.

Spinifex is the name of a tough Australian species of grass. Like its name, the Spinifex Sextet has remained strong and enduring for twenty years, combining free improvisation with punk rock and contemporary Western influenced music, fueled by the concept of jazz and freedom.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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