Let's end this day on a postive note!

A while back when I posted "For Don Cherry," Flux'us expressed some interest in some more Mats Gustafsson. Here is an album that is definitely out of print and fairly hard to find, "One to (Two)." Gunter Christmann really matches the style of Gustafsson well, and the album swirls with punctuated twists and turns. Gustafsson also manages to get some seriously strange and amazing noises out of his horn (Christmann does as well out of his cello and trombone for that matter). My wife and I have a green-cheeked conure (parrot) and one night it was making some very odd squawking noises. I went out to the living room and put select parts of this album on for my wife and she couldn't believe how organic and similar to the parrot this sounded at times. Art imitating life or life imitating (mimicking?) art? I'd like to think that soon our parrot will start imitating all kinds of wild jazz--it sure would save me a bundle on album expenses! Either way, we both had a good laugh about it. Seriously though, this album is way more than just that. If you are in the mood for something different, definitely check this out--you won't be disappointed. There are some intense spurts of unbridled fury on this album as well--it definitely runs the gamut. Here's a review I snagged from the Okka website giving a bit more of a detailed description:

"Rarely heard German provocateur Günter Christmann plays cello on twelve of eighteen freely improvised duos with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. On the other six, he is heard on the trombone, for which is he is better known. It all works exceedingly well, as Christmann ruptures more than a few bastions of complacency with percussive scratches and highly infectious scurried patches of pulverized explosions, while Gustafsson continues to impress with his perfectly drawn puffs, pants, and snorts. Together, their intense, puckered chops rip through stereotypical tediousness and blast charmed lines of unending fascination. Often quiet, swift, and supple, almost like lizards darting in the desert eve, these two intertwine magnificently, with little percussive sounds predominating, and breathy snorts meeting scratched ruffles. On trombone, Christmann is Gustafsson’s equal, never grandstanding, while both tweak uncharted skies. The trombonist favors muted forays, with intense, yet quiet blats the predominant focus. Both Christmann and Gustafsson can be hard-core, and the saxophonist enjoys energetic bursts to startle and surprise. Mostly, though, this is music that challenges as it subverts, its highly esoteric, yet disarmingly attractive lines an attractive hook. Highly ambitious, subtly exciting, and always formidable, Christmann and Gustafsson make a delightfully revolutionary pair. Not easy listening, but rewarding listening, and continuously challenging listening, these guys shake the heavens with heartfelt cries of mercy. There are no liner notes but what could be said? Powerful stuff, but you have to look below the surface."
— Steven A. Loewy, Cadence, May 1999



One to (Two)
Günter Christmann — cello, trombone
Mats Gustafsson — saxophones
Okka Disk
Recorded at the Kesselhaus in Hanover, Germany, August 15 (during live concert) & 16, 1997
128 Rate AAC Files (Equivalent to 192 rate MP3)

Track List:
1. One to... (3:30)
2. Two to... (4:07)
3. Three to... (1:07)
4. Four to... (3:29)
5. Five to... (4:54)
6. Six to... (2:26)
7. Seven to... (1:38)
8. Eight to... (5:32)
9. Nine to... (1:51)
10. Ten to... (3:41)
11. Eleven to... (3:34)
12. Twelve to... (3:42)
13. Thirteen to... (2:44)
14. Fourteen to... (5:01)
15. Fifteen to... (3:48)
16. Sixteen to... (2:25)
17. Seventeen to... (1:16)
18. Eighteen to... (7:07)

Total Time: 62:01