Featured Artist: Adam Bohman & Roger Smith

CD Title: Reality Fandango

Year: 2007

Record Label: EMANEM

Style: Free Jazz / Avante Garde

Review:

British improvisers/experimentalists Adam Bohman (prepared violin & objects) and Roger Smith (acoustic guitar), extract the Reality Fandango moniker from the second from last phrase of Elizabeth James’ poem, included in the CD booklet.  Regardless none of this music seems to have much in common with a fandango (Spanish dance) – well, at least in literal terms.  But the duo’s animated and daintily exercised trade-offs speak more to a horizontal plane of spurious fragments of sound and execution. 

Bohman and Smith often blurt out transitory musical notions while surfacing as playful and investigative improvisers.  Bohman’s angular prepared violin lines and slanted permutations work seamlessly with Smith’s nimble plucking and fervent strumming maneuvers.  It’s sort of like a razor’s edge style of sound-sculpting.  And on the thirty-five minute work titled “Your Friend,” they execute shadowy passages, consisting of rattling objects and perplexing developments.  Moreover, the organic element prevails throughout. 

On “Look At A Foot,” the artists seemingly scratch and claw at one another via intricately designed nip and tuck style dialogues.  No doubt, subsequent listens will unveil previously undetected sub-themes.  And of course, the music iterated here is pure freedom of expression style improvisation that shuns the slightest reference to mainstream or modern jazz.  Curiously interesting indeed, yet these performances demand the listeners’ attentiveness and commitment.  Otherwise, all is lost. 

Record Label Website: http://www.emanemdisc.com

Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita

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