ASAF SIRKIS
Inner Noise
Konnex
KCD 5113
Ballsy enough to admit that one of his inspirations was the ProgRock of
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, as well as more fashionable jazz and classical
names, British-Israeli drummer Asaf Sirkis has come up with the sort of
unselfconscious fusion CD that it seemed they didn't make any more.
Of course part of INNER NOISE's appeal is not only Sirkis' multifarious
and almost obsessively focussed percussion work, but the solos and underlying
tonal continuum created by Steve Lodder manipulating the massive church
organ. Recorded at London's St. Michael's the triple keyboard behemoth,
with its resemblance to an early 20th century furnace, gives the nine
Sirkis compositions the heft they would lack if a more conventional instrument
like the electric organ or synthesizer was used.
Classically trained, Lodder has worked extensively with British saxophonist
Andy Sheppard, toured with composer/keyboardist Carla Bely and was musical
assistant to Paul McCartney on the ex-Beatle's orchestral project. Sirkis,
has been part of dissident Israel saxophonist Gilad Atzmon's Orient House
Ensemble and played with American fusioneers guitarist Larry Coryell and
bassist Mark Eagan.
Mike Outram, the third trio members, is a professor of jazz guitar at
Middlesex University. But on evidence here, it seems that academic background
and music biz experience backing the likes of vocalist Jacqueline Dankworth
has made his playing conventional, at least compared to the others'. "Floating",
a ballad that showcases his long-lined adoption of a clean Johnny Smith
style, and "Desert Vision" are where he fares best. On the later,
Lodder's percolating organ ostinato that moves up to legato reverberation,
and Sirkis' flams, ruffs and bounces, give Outram the license to wiggle
out bubbling single notes.
Everyone gets a workout on the "White Elephant" the final and,
at more than 12 minutes, longest tune. Unfortunately this vast expanse
of space encourage the most flamboyant tendencies of all three. Sirkis
bears down anvil-like on his kit, expanding the backbeat so that it moves
past a steady pulse to dominate, while Outram mutates and flanges notes
to such a degree that his efforts seem to be heading for guitar hero heaven.
Only the cultivated timbres from Lodder's keyboards adhere to the standard.
Far more palatable are pieces like "Three Ways", whose relative
brevity and slower tempo keep things in context -- at least until the
drummer and guitarist start to indulge themselves ponderously.
Overall, INNER NOISE posits that jazz-rock fusion can be a legitimate
expression for 21st century players just as long as "lucidity",
which is also the title of track one, is paramount. But if the self-indulgence
exhibited at certain points here gets out of hand -- as it did for bands
like Weather Report and Return to Forever -- Inner Noise, the group, won't
presage a new appreciation for the form. Instead, to steal the final track
tile, it will be seen as a white elephant that confirms fusion's emptiness.
Over to you Sirkis.
-- Ken Waxman
Track Listing: 1. Lucidity 2. Three Ways 3. Hope 4. Floating 5. Inner
Noise 6. Desert Vision 7. The Only Way 8. Questions 9. White Elephant
Personnel: Mike Outram (guitar); Steve Lodder (church organ); Asaf Sirkis
(drums)