Aan & Uit

by Dave LynchThose fortunate to have witnessed a performance by pianist Misha Mengelberg's ICP Orchestra on a night when their beautifully ramshackle conception comes together and pulls apart in perfect disharmony know there is no finer live jazz outfit on the planet. The experience at its best involves all the senses -- not just the ears -- as unpredictable set lists and improvisations draw from the languages of swing, bop, free jazz, and classical music. Scores are shuffled around on music stands; hand signals trigger unexpected escapades by the entire band, various subunits, or soloists; bandmembers wander on- and off-stage. How to capture such a thing in recorded form? While ICP albums such as Bospaadje Konijnehol I and II, Jubilee Varia, and Oh, My Dog have much to recommend them and belong in the collection of any forward-thinking jazz listener, they are no match for the living, breathing ensemble spread out on a stage in real time. Pieced together from three nights of recording at Amsterdam's BIMhuis in late 2003 and released in 2004 on the ICP label, Aan & Uit (On & Off) can't compare to "being there" either, but it is also one of the ensemble's most wonderfully diverting, entertaining, and even beautiful albums. Regardless of whether you have been to an ICP show, the consistently high-caliber musicianship and the integration of sometimes astoundingly diverse musical forms make this quite well suited for experiencing through the necessarily limited medium of a compact disc. ... Read More...