Anderson, Bennink And Lovens Hitch Free Ride At Citadelic

Every summer, the gloriously scenic Belgian city of Gent gives the keys of the park to Citadelic, a five-day outdoor happening of free jazz and improvisation. An abundant programme opens every day at noon, and continues until around 10pm, though the actual finish-time is usually later, once all of the continuous sets have wound their way through their exploratory pathways. Admission is gratis, and the mood is relaxed, a down-home aura pervading, with security absent, the audience trusted to behave themselves. There’s a childlike freedom, as we roam Gent’s Citadel Park, moving from stage-to-stage, grazing at the victual-vending stall, spreading around the natural amphitheatres, or encircling the bandstand.

Rogé Verstraete has produced 12 editions so far, always displaying his fine taste in the local Belgian vanguard, and this time, also ensnaring a clutch of international visitors, from Germany, Japan, Italy, the USA, the Netherlands, and beyond. Verstraete runs el Negocito, one of Belgium’s best labels, devoted to musics of extreme investigation.

Exemplifying such national splicing, the NYC trombonist Ray Anderson made a rare Euro-crossing, teaming up with Dutch sticksman Han Bennink. Their quartet was completed by Paul Van Kemenade (alto-saxophone) and Ernst Glerum (bass). This quartet’s set came early in the afternoon, at 1pm, pouncing with exuberance, springing alert, and operating within traditional jazz realms. Nevertheless, these restless characters made the old sound new, and the new sound old. Kemenade smeared sour alto, bending and sliding phrases, then gradually handing over to Anderson, who trotted out a glowing solo of his own, holding pristine high notes, then slithering off into an articulate commentary. There was a thin humour to the themes, frequently opening up to free stretches, as Bennink clicked and clacked with micro-detail. A fresh tune reared up, as the beetling horns gnashed. Anderson’s ‘Solid Ground’ was an old-timey blues slugger, with its slow shoulders dipping, and a tight ring to Bennink’s skins, which became even more evident while he was soloing. This was heartily creative jazz, providing an endorphin rush that was to last for much of the remaining day.

In the park’s large, natural amphitheatre, a trio (pictured) performed with hardly any amplification. Seppe Gebruers played a pair of specially-tuned pianos, sitting so that the keys of each formed a broad arrowhead-shape. He was joined by the Portuguese bassist Hugo Antunes and the German drummer Paul Lovens. It was a special opportunity to catch the latter, as his appearances are all too rare nowadays. The audience sat on grassy steps that rose with a gentle gradient, and the removed piano lids stood upright, acting as sound-projecting acoustic panels.

Gebruers provoked an atonal harmonising effect, while Lovens laid out small cymbals on his skins, rubbing, clicking and knuckling them with great sensitivity. Abundant butterflies appeared drawn to the sonics, one of them alighting on the percussionist’s white-shirted shoulder. Both he and Antunes were wearing shirts and ties, seeming quite incongruous in this park situation. Gebruers set his pitch-shifting pianos into a unison slide, shifting relationships, as Lovens paused for a spell, letting a duet develop between low-end keys and deep-bass bowing. Soon, though, he returned with a persistent clattering. The trio merged with their environment at this magical stage of the early evening, creating a monumental piece that had the aura of a ceremony, buoying the audience into a state of ecstatic suspension.

Citadelic offers the extremities of jazz and improvisation as an extended feast and there were plenty of other exceptional sets across the week, among them NYC’s manic Talibam!, Peter Brötzmann’s Full Blast, and the Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii, organising multiple improvising teams to play at various locations around the park. The Belgian contingent was also strong, with outstanding performances coming from Spook, Punk Kong and Jozef Dumoulin. There was also an inspiring drum summit that featured Chris Corsano, Paul Lytton and Giovanni Barcella in its six-piece spread, set-up close together under a hanging-tree shade.

(Photos by Cedric Craps)