How much shit can one take? Well that depends. If it is being served by the quirky Polish trio 100nka—featuring guitarist Tomek Leś, bassist Adam Stodolski and percussionist Przemek Borowiecki—there may not be quite enough. Their music is rather undefinable, jumping and sneaking as it does into odd nooks and crannies. Much of it comes from being inquisitive; some of it has to do with the men who influenced them, including John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Drew Gress, Ellery Eskelin, William Parker and DJ Logic.
100nka has the perfect cohort in trumpeter Herb Robertson, who melds seamlessly into their manipulations. It is a different kettle of fish for him; long an inspired presence on the avant-garde map, with his marvelously tangential trumpet playing, Robertson tucks himself largely into the overall ambit of the trio.
The CD was recorded live, and gets off with the improvised "Elephant Shit." Sawed bass, tortured trumpet notes, lines scraped across the guitar, and vocals that scuttle to bring in an air of theater, waft across the imagination. The group moves from one track to the other, bridging them with logical cohesion. New sound patterns emerge and link with what has gone before.
"Donkey Shit" changes the mood. Robertson leaps into a fiery outburst, shards of tempest flying from his trumpet. Stodolski zaps a hard bop rhythm as Borowiecki lets the beat roll on the toms to transform the atmosphere.
"Moose Shit" is one of the strongest and most complete tracks, with all four making a distinct impression. The initial spell is cast by drums and guitar, conversing while changing shape and texture. The pith gets more pronounced when Robertson comes in and gradually targets the stratosphere. Volatility churns, and as the rhythm section rumbles in anticipation, LeÅ›ś gets into jazz-rock mode; an articulate messenger of the form, with a host of potent phrases and a blitz of feedback.
A whole load of shit is more than a Superdesert. It is a hearty meal. The real dessert is the exceptional cover art.
Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz
*******
Herb Robertson has to be one of the most intrepid trumpeters around. He seems to be most willing to put himself in anomalous situations: the two-trumpet group he shares with Dave Ballou (MacroQuarktet), work as a sideman in various groups, membership in ad hoc assemblies like a trio with Evan Parker and Agustí Fernández or guesting with Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra. On Superdesert, Robertson collaborates with the Polish trio 100nka.
This reviewer was unfamiliar with 100nka (guitarist Tomek Les, bassist Adam Stodolski and drummer Przemek Borowieki) prior to this release. Based on this recording, they're a scrappy group, seemingly concerned more with splintering sound and rhythm, textural explorations and group interaction than with standard improvising. Robertson and the trio are clearly on the same wavelength as, in his own music, the trumpeter seems concerned with these properties as well. One hears lots of improvisation but very little soloing on this disc; it's true group music. There are long periods of quiet, tension-building explorations that are abruptly shattered by full-tilt aggressive explosions. (i.e. the first three tracks that lead into "Donkey Shit").
Much of Superdesert is filled with short pieces (in the one- to three-minute range) with lengthier explorations interspersed. Perhaps the most standard piece would be "Dog Shit" where Robertson is to the fore, sounding (surprisingly) a bit like Miles Davis in one of those languid interludes during his Agharta (Columbia, 1975) phase. The 13 pieces flow and jam into each other with artful deliberation belying their improvised natures. While much of this is off-the-cuff, it sounds like a lot of thought went into the sequencing and if there may be some reference points (Davis, Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, a bit of Sonny Sharrock in Les' playing), most of this disc doesn't sound like anything else. And I can't believe I got through this review without making any bad jokes tied to this disc's shitty song titles.
(review by Robert Iannapollo and AAJ, Published: January 12, 2010)
