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Appreciating Merciless Ghost



Appreciating Merciless Ghost.


What do you say when the opening number kicks off with the quintet filling the room with sounds of crumpling, crackling and shaking white butcher paper before stuffing this extreme sheet music into the bells of the sax (George Cartwright) and cornet (Noah O.) , under the strings of the cello (Michelle Kinney) and bass (John Granowski) and on top of the snare (Davu Seru)? (According to Paul Metzger's podcast, http://khyberpasscafe.com/podcast, Kinney guested with the four regular "ghosts" this evening.)

“Wow!” is my answer.

The musicians, with their papers, created a music that went beyond mere rythmic noise and set a soundstage verging on magic.

The piece built from there for 45 minutes, inexorable, syncopated, with mainly minor moods. Cartwright’s sax contributions seemed at times like they might have descended from some of Zappa’s MOI oeuvre. Ever-changing, forward-moving and intensely focused exploratory meandering, with the papers re-appearing from moment to moment, Kinney soloing for a few beats by stabbing the bow on the crumpled piece at her feet.

No ballads or bebop, Merciless Ghost worked ensemble and with high precision solos through 75 minutes of modern experimental jazz. No bombast, nothing that sounded like being difficult for difficulty’s sake. Each player was sharp, polished and on edge, in the best senses of those words. Kinney and Cartwright in particular were ready to throw off convention in how they used their instruments. Seru seemed to be having a ton of fun throughout the evening.

After the set concluded, Noah told a listener that he learned of the paper approach as the gig was about to start.

“Wow!”

Merciless Ghost at Khyber Pass 2-21-19.
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