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Konstrukt: L.O.T.U.S.

By Mark Corroto
August 21, 2017
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With each new Konstrukt release I get anxious, wondering just where these Istanbul musicians, and current bearers of the free jazz banner, are headed next? To our Western ears, they seemingly arrived from nowhere. Turkish free jazz, really? But it didn't take long before we became familiar with names like guitarist Umut ?a?lar, saxophonist Korhan Futac?, and bassist Barlas Tan ?zemek. Together with a cast of other Turkish musicians that swelled, the ensemble attracted giants of free jazz, including

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann,

Marshall Allen

saxophone, alto
b.1924

" data-original-title="" title="">Marshall Allen,

Joe McPhee

woodwinds
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe McPhee,

William Parker

bass
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">William Parker,

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker and ex-Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore.

Their next stop, and it appears to be a regular terminal now, is London's Caf�� Oto. The band released the 2015 concert Live At Caf�� Oto (Holidays Records, 2017) with

Alexander Hawkins

piano
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Alexander Hawkins. The pianist is back for this live date, along with saxophonist Alan Wilkerson, and Daniel Spicer. Although Konstrukt invited these luminaries of the UK's free jazz scene, the music gravitates very much towards the Continent and American fire music.

Let's call them the 21st century equivalent to the Art Ensemble of Chicago. From the opening notes, Hawkins pinging the insides of his piano, the ensemble initiates a percussive panoply with an insistent pulse that travels from Eastern vibes to drum'n'bass and funk. These are cultural marauders in the best sense. Pulling jazz passages from chaos, and exhibiting free improvised quotations over orderliness. Hawkins, Williamson, and Spicer are eager participants here. Their Turkish brothers know the language. It's their accents that make the Brits conscious of the structures. Where Br?tzmann introduced us to the T��rogat��, Futac? sets aside his saxophones here for the double reed gralla and zurna, and ?a?lar also hoists a gralla and various flutes. It's not quite befitting to say "East-meets-West" because with Konstrukt, East has been absorbing Western free jazz for the past fifty years and they're now coming to the table with the freshest and tastiest ingredients.

L.O.T.U.S. is released as a limited edition, 300 copies gatefold double-LP, 200 CDs, or as a download from Otoroku.

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Track Listing

Side A: Free-flowing; Ararat; Side B: Konfrontations; Rumi; Domino; Side C: Bahia; Far Side Of The Mountain; Bits And Pieces; Side D: Ancestors? Song; Exit; White Lotus.

Personnel

Konstrukt

various

Korhan Futac?: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flutes, sipsi, kaba zurna, voice; Alan Wilkinson; baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, voice; Ediz Haf?zo?lu; drums, cymbals, bells, turkish hang drum; Barlas Tan ?zemek: electric bass; Umut ?a?lar: electric guitar, gralla, bamboo flutes, pocket drum machine, xylophones, percussion, tape echo; Alexander Hawkins: acoustic piano; Daniel Spicer: pocket trumpet, bugle, bamboo saxophone, shenai, recorder, pan pipe, whistle, cow bell, kalimba, voice.

Album information

Title: L.O.T.U.S. | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Omlott

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