Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Randori (2006)

2002 album from Nik Bartsch's Ronin, released on the ECM Records star's own Ronin Rhythm label. The Swiss pianist/composer is famed for his "Zen Funk" sound, a "marriage of Steve Reich minimalism with Sly Stone grooves" (The Times).

"Modul 15" plays with time in much the same way as "Modul 22" on REA, in that what we thought we were hearing rhythmically in the bass is subverted when the drums come in. The beat keeps being "turned around" as the two rhythms drift in and out of phase. Rast is a master at almost defining a steady meter/rhythm but not quite, as he mutates his patterns just enough to throw us off.

The three tracks making up "Modul 8_9" (which appears two other times) are extraordinary in that they show how a characteristic cell that is minimally a rhythmic pattern or interacting patterns can come alive when arranged.

The word "beautiful" cannot be avoided for "8_9 II" as the first two thirds of the track provide a gossamer bridge between the pattern reoccurrences, which then leads to "8_9 III" which is led by Rast playing cymbals very much like Vernel Fournier in Ahmad Jamal's early trio. The buildup is spellbinding as this last member of the set gets into a very, very deep groove.

The almost thirty minutes of the three 8_9 moduls either take forever or fly by because time stopped (or became irrelevant), and that is perhaps the point. Listening to this would be deliciously unbearable in a live setting since you might not know whether to open your arms to the infinite or bang your head, but maybe that is also the point. –Budd Kopman

Tracklist:

1. Modul 15 (09:23)
2. Modul 8_9 I (06:03)
3. Modul 8_9 II (05:51)
4. Modul 8_9 III (17:15)
5. Modul 10 (10:08)
6. Modul 13 (12:12)
7. Modul 14 (04:58)
8. Modul 11 (07:59)
9. Modul 15_9 (04:22)

Musicians:
Nik Bärtsch - Piano, Fender Rhodes, DX-7
Kaspar Rast - Drums
Björn Meyer - Bass
Andi Pupato - Percussion

Recorded at Tonus Music Labor, Bern, 10. - 12. December 2001.