(Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz-Rock) [CD] Peter Van Huffel's Gorilla Mask - Bite My Blues - 2014 [Clean Feed], FLAC (tracks), lossless

When the late Lewis Thomas, geneticist and essayist, had listened to Gustav Mahler’s 9th Symphony, he was struck by the sense of disenchantment—even doom—he seemed to feel relating the symphony to the prospect of destruction due to war that seemed to plague modern society. That, it bears remembering, was during the Vietnam war, which America was embroiled in. Today’s death by terrorism seems to inform much modern music as it did not only the prospect of Mahler’s 9th, but also the music of the roaring 60’s. While Peter van Huffel’s Gorilla Mask’s recording, Bite My Blues may not sense doom, it certainly—like the protestations of African American 60’s music—suggests disenchantment. Even in the sense of desperation of the destruction of nature, which is suggested by the sardonic name of the ensemble, the music of dissonance and atonality marked by the compositions on this recording would appear to be de rigueur. The screaming of Mr. Van Huffel’s alto saxophone, the mighty groans of Roland Fidezius’ bass and the incessant rattling of the drums, and the snap and crackle of the cymbals and other percussion at the hands of Rudi Fischerlehner would suggest that something of that order is going on in the soulful depths of this trio. This makes for music that is not only beautifully terrifying, but significant as well.
Mr. Van Huffel is an accomplished alto saxophonist. His roaring, wailing voice is informed by influences as far removed as Igor Stravinsky is from Eric Dolphy. But the saxophonist’s a voice of marked individuality. In the exquisite excesses of wild glissandos and mournful vibrato is a virtuoso who is mindful of every note he chooses to play. Sometimes it takes an elegiac song such as “Broken Flower” to make that patently obvious. But somehow Mr. Van Huffel can also exhibit great courage and skill in the rapid and desperate-sounding structures and motifs that inform such fare as “Chained” and “Bite My Blues,” both rather powerful reminders that sometimes even many notes in a phrase can be raw and beautiful. And Mr. Van Huffel is not the only one doing this although he is the lead voice of the group. His terrific bassist Roland Fidezius and his drummer Rudi Fischerlehner are up to the task of making the sound of the group not only vociferous, but voluminous and appropriate to the music in a meaningful manner.
Gorilla Mask continues to pit the socio-political aspects of contemporary musical art against the very nature of sound itself. The ensemble did that on an older album, Howl. AN investigation into the musical values of this ensemble reveals thus not only raw virtuosity on the part of the players, but also a deep sense of commitment. While the end chart, “Z” might not be overtly a picture of impending doom, it is loud and dissonant enough to suggest that all is not well with the world—both musical and otherwise. For this and other reasons Gorilla Mask and the music they will continue to make will demand growing listenership and more serious thought as the ensemble develops further into the future. (Raul Da Gama)

[Peter Van Huffel’s primal scream therapy outlet is called Gorilla Mask, a thrash metal jazz trio we previously summarized as bringing “both the Brötzmann and the Black Flag together into a tidy, compact package.” Immediately following the alto saxophonist’s Boom Crane project with Michael Bates and Jeff Davis, Van Huffel again turns to a different rhythm section of Roland Fidezius (electric bass, effects) and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums) for getting his ya-ya’s out.
Bite My Blues (currently on sale via Clean Feed Records), picks up where the debut Howl! left off, delivering primordial outbursts with a hardcore punk body and an out-jazz engine. Performed live — the only way to play this — in front of a Toronto audience, it’s a set devoid of ballads and rich in bombast.
Fidezius’ thrumming bass kicks off the punk-minded “Chained” where Van Huffel reels off a series Arabic-styled lines before going off the rails. But group improv is always in play here as the bass riff changes and Van Huffel adjusts accordingly, finding a repeating figure as things settle down before band regroups for an encore of the thematic bass riff.
Managing to insert yet more ethnic music into this cauldron of doom, the main vamp of “What?!” is Slavic madness, and Van Huffel’s shrieks here can jolt you out of any slumber. As song moves into solo section, Fidezius’ bass emerges with fonky pedal effects and Huffel goes berserk. “Skunk” introduces itself with math-y head that’s really more bebop than math rock, and a bass solo almost immediately follows with no discernible meter. Van Huffel re-enters and it’s improv city, getting louder, faster and more urgent, a quick return to the head and just like that, they take the song out. A snarling, nasty-assed two note bass riff hovers over most of “Bite My Blues,” as Van Huffel emits harrowing, long notes and climaxes with an ear piercing solo before a return to the riff.
The glacial, three-note vamp of “Broken Flower” calls to mind Miles’ Bitches Brew-era “Feo,” but the three collectively move off of it to go exploring with building intensity before returning home. “Fast and Flurious” bears little resemblance to the version performed on Boom Crane until the comedic theme appears two-and-a-half minutes in. And finally, the distorted bass lines matches to the staggered beat of Fischerlehner’s drums, morphing into an “Immigrant Song” type of groove about halfway in, sending Van Huffel on his way. Eventually, things deconstruct into free form, culminating in tension release and a return to that groove.
Bite My Blues is madness, but there’s a method to this madness. Van Huffel sets the parameters wide, encouraging flexibility amongst everyone and it works, because everyone is so attuned to everyone else. From a punk attitude comes jazz aptitude; Gorilla Mask does it again. (S. Victor Aaron, somethingelsereviews.com)