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Zlatko Kau?i?: Diversity

By John Sharpe
February 27, 2019
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Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kau?i? learned his craft in the diverse jazz scenes of Barcelona, Berlin, and Amsterdam before returning to his newly independent homeland in 1992. He collaborated extensively with local musicians as well as illustrious visitors such as

Steve Lacy

saxophone, soprano
1934 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Lacy,

Paul Bley

piano
1932 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Bley,

Chico Freeman

saxophone
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Chico Freeman, Kenny Wheeler, and

Paul McCandless

woodwinds
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul McCandless, often utilizing composition and poetic texts. Not that you would know that from this five-disc set, which instead concentrates on Kau?i?'s command of unfettered expression alongside a stellar cast of improvisers drawn from across Europe.

Diversity isn't even the first multi-disc celebration of Kau?i?'s career. That honor goes to the triple album 30th Anniversary Concerts (Splasc(H), 2009) which included saxophonist

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann and singer Saadet T��rk?s. Since then, Kau?i?'s discography has featured a series of adventurous outings with high profile artists like

Ab Baars

clarinet

" data-original-title="" title="">Ab Baars on Canvas (NotTwo, 2015),

Daniele D'Agaro

clarinet, bass
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Daniele D'Agaro on Disorder At The Border Plays Ornette (NotTwo, 2016), and

Barry Guy

bass, acoustic
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Guy on Without Borders (Fundacija Sluchaj, 2017).

Kau?i? belongs to the lineage of tone colorists such as

Tony Oxley

drums
1938 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Oxley and

Paul Lovens

percussion
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Lovens, although he seems less beholden to free jazz expectations than either of them. He extracts rattles, reverberations, crackles, and other remarkable textures from a kit that includes homemade objects and electric zither, often alternating the resultant sounds in cell-like pulsations. He excels in the direct conversational environment of the duets on CDs two and five, where his unexpected timbres elicit surprising reactions. In larger group formats, Kau?i? plays the full part while sensitively allowing breathing space for ensemble interchange.

CD one showcases a heavyweight encounter with Catalan pianist

Agusti Fernandez

piano
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Agusti Fernandez and British saxophonist

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker that constitutes the highlight of the whole collection. It uncoils in a stream of fast changing interaction and naturally emerging double acts. Initial flurries separated by silence become taut with tension. Kau?i? perfectly paces Fern��ndez's under-the bonnet alchemy as well as Parker's fluttering reiterations, split tones, and abstract lyricism. His transparency permits the interior piano resonances to be heard clearly in a tremendously empathetic trio.

Parker reappears on CD two, this time in a splendid twosome with the percussionist. After an incremental percussive start, Parker is focused and incantatory, which Kau?i? matches through an unbroken rumble. On "Kras #2," the electric zither's sudden sonic distortion creates a conundrum for the saxophonist, who responds with a lightly articulated, circularly-breathed murmur. Further give and take ensues when the drummer moves behind his kit. On "Kras #3," they blend meditative minimalism with a tolling undercurrent, but the spiky discourse on "Kras #4" finds both men at their most intensely animated, invoking classic free jazz drum and saxophone pairings.

The nine tracks on CD three present Kau?i? alone in the studio, with the percussionist as a painter of sound. The electric zither develops into a major component, making an exhilarating entry on "Drive Through Obstacles," which pitches the piece somewhere between noise and prog rock. He later evokes

Sun Ra

piano
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Sun Ra in some of his wilder moments and " Himna Za Mojo Teto Karlo" even recalls a duel between Ra and a free jazz drummer. Kau?i? betrays a fondness for combining order with chaos as he mixes rhythmic cells with unusual textures, sometimes in call and response, at other times in striking juxtapositions. He fully exploits the studio environment, expanding his palette to successfully maintain interest, even adding warped vocalizations to the mix on "Predor."

On CD four Kau?i? joins with three other improvisers: acoustic bassist

Rafal Mazur

bass, acoustic
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Rafal Mazur and trumpeter

Artur Majewski

" data-original-title="" title="">Artur Majewski from Poland and Danish saxophonist

Lotte Anker

saxophone
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Lotte Anker at a concert in Slovenia. They negotiate a shared ethos of collective improvisation, characterized by nervy exchanges, dense voicings, and sublimated egos. Majewski figures as one of the dominant voices, suggesting a Polish

Bill Dixon

trumpet
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Dixon with his spluttered, gusty smears. It's not until "Iconic Thoughts" that the interplay turns a little sparser, with a passage for tinkling percussion and trumpet susurrations one of the subtle peaks. This is selfless music that enfolds the listener in a warm embrace. One piece by this agglomeration, perhaps from the same concert, has already been released under Anker's name on Plodi (Klopotek, 2017).

The final CD contains two different duets. In the first duet with the late German trombonist

Johannes Bauer

trombone
1954 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Johannes Bauer, the twosome partake of stark dialogue. Bauer's predilection for spontaneously structured improvisation draws orderly rejoinders from Kau?i?. The trombonist'ss muttered imprecations and exhalations mesh well with Kau?i?'s melodic/rhythmic motifs in a wonderful pairing. The second portion of the disc twins Kau?i? with

Phil Minton

vocals
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Minton's incredible vocal gymnastics for a surprisingly percussive meeting.

Considered as a whole, this box set forcefully makes the case that Kau?i? deserves far more attention than he has even gathered so far. He proves adept at both stimulating his partners to think anew, while remaining resolutely himself.

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