Le Son du Grisli review by Guillaume Belhomme

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Plusieurs fois avons-nous pu entendre comment fraternisent Joe McPhee et Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten : récemment en quartette sur Ibsen’s Ghosts et en duo sur Blue Chicago Blues. Quatre ans après cette rencontre à deux, McPhee et Håker Flaten enregistraient le matériau de Brooklyn DNA.

Un art nerveux de la confrontation, écrivait-on hier. Aujourd’hui, un alto répétant une sélection de graves permet au contrebassiste d’inventer une mélodie au son de laquelle fuir l’opposition ; un soprano met en joie un Håker Flaten hors ligne ; une trompette de poche change peu à peu ses expérimentations en expressions vives ; quelques souffles clairs commandent à l’archet de se lever enfin. Ci-fait, la contrebasse peut attirer à elle toute l’invention de McPhee : qui créé une intense ballade dans le sillon tracé par les cordes ou balance sur deux ou trois notes avant de jouer des épaules. Ainsi ces retrouvailles McPhee / Håker-Flaten gagnent-elles en diversité ce qu’elles perdent en autorité : font preuve de flamboyance quand ce n’est pas de haute impertinence.
http://grisli.canalblog.com/archives/2012/10/31/25455821.html

Culture Jazz review by Jean Buzelin

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Nous bouclons la boucle avec Joe McPhee qui cible précisément à l’année 1966 et le disque Blue Note de Don Cherry, “Where is Brooklyn ?“, auquel McPhee répond en 2011 par Here and Now ! On ne peut être plus clair. Les titres des morceaux renvoient explicitement aux clubs de ce célèbre quartier où jouaient Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Dewey Redman… sans oublier le fameux pont où s’installait Sonny Rollins. On appréciera, comme toujours, le jeu extrêmement sensible et prenant de McPhee, notamment au saxo-alto (il délaisse ici le ténor) et à la trompette de poche, son autre instrument de prédilection, et celui de Don Cherry. Il dialogue ici avec le contrebassiste norvégien Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, peu connu dans nos contrées mais parfaitement en osmose avec son partenaire. Une musique réfléchie qui ne manque ni de force ni de conviction, mais de la part d’un musicien aussi intègre, on ne pouvait en douter.
http://www.culturejazz.fr/spip.php?article1984#up

Squid’s Ear review by Paul Serralheiro

Joe McPhee/Ingebright Haker Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
The articulate and prolific American multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee is joined by Norwegian bass heavyweight Ingebright Haker Flaten in a tandem tribute to the Borough of Brooklyn in this recent release from Lisbon’s Clean Feed label. The duo, evenly matched for their common characteristics of brawny sound and ecstatic sense of musical phrase, here get to exchanges ideas about such thematic starting points as Sonny Rollins “The Bridge,” long-time Brooklyn resident Dewey Redman and the Brooklyn motto “Enoragt Maect Haght,” a Dutch phrase meaning “Unity Makes Strength.”

Strength is definitely a trait that jumps out from this session. It stems, right at the first listen, from McPhee’s sense of form, his consistent ability to develop motivic ideas with fertile melodic thinking in a free improv setting that results in coherent and formal, albeit spontaneously composed, pieces. The Calypso-like tune that emerges on “Crossing the Bridge” recalls Rollins’ inspired rhythmic flights, but is also reminiscent of McPhee’s long-time influence, Albert Ayer, for its concise yet powerful nature.

Fans of McPhee’s trumpet playing will be spoiled here, as the mostly saxophone-centric player lets loose on the pocket version of this instrument on “Putnam Central,” laying down his inimitable fluid style of brass, against a sympathetic bubbling bass counter line, and in “Enoragt Maect Haght” McPhee moans a lyrical dirge on the horn, replete with airy passages and an exchange of timbres and textural explorations with Haker Flaten of an imaginative and intriguing kind.

A stalwart of the free jazz scene since the 1970s, McPhee is blessed with a bottomless wellspring of ideas and gets them across with chops that only seem to get better with age. And here, there is the added bonus in Ingebright Haker Flaten of a more than suitable partner/foil who has the brawn and the brains to match the older master.
http://www.squidsear.com/cgi-bin/news/newsView.cgi?newsID=1469

Paris Transatlantic review by Jason Bivins

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten – BROOKLYN DNA (CF 244)
The superb multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee – who is this year receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Vision Festival – teams up on Brooklyn DNA with ace contrabassist Haker Flaten for a terse, tart series of duets that exude energy but are grounded in a undeniably engaging melodic sensibility. The riff-based “Crossing the Bridge” gets things started off in exuberant fashion, with hot, ragged, tone-bending alto teasing out an Ornette-ish refrain. “Spirit Cry” finds McPhee on soprano, exploring another simple, cell-like phraseology while Haker Flaten works out some chromatic shapes to create the effect of a staggered counter-phrase here, a pinwheeling harmonic center there. The focus and abecedarian structure of some of these tunes certainly recall Lacy, but in some sense I’m also reminded – perhaps especially with the restless lyricism of “Putnam Central,” with brassy sputter from pocket trumpet – of Julius Hemphill’s duets with Abdul Wadud. There’s more information in this brief album than in a dozen meandering duets, and the music is with each moment committed, emotional, and imaginative. Just listen to “Blue Coronet’s” groaning, gravity-sucked double-stops and that intensely forlorn McPhee melodic sense as the sound becomes aroused, with the bassist moaning and pizzing so vigorously that the tune ascends into buzzing joint pointillism. After a blast of heat and density on “214 Martense,” the squeaking circular breathing of pocket trumpet and bowed metal sounds of “Enoragt Maeckt Haght” make for a nice changeup. And for the concluding “Here and Now,” McPhee patiently blows soprano to create beautiful layered rhythms and contrasting articulations between the pair. This is the real shit.
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2012/06jun_text.html#4

All About Jazz Italy review by Vincenzo Roggero

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Valutazione: 4 stelle
Due anni dopo Blue Chicago Blues (Not Two Records), Joe McPhee e Ingebrigt Haker Flaten riprendono le loro esplorazioni concentrandosi su un altro luogo centrale per il jazz statunitense, Brooklyn. Brooklyn come centro vivo, palpitante della vita sociale e culturale dei neri di New York. Brooklyn come crocevia storico del jazz, popolato di personaggi che tra gli anni quaranta e gli anni sessanta, hanno contribuito ad alimentarne la leggenda. Brooklyn, quartiere che nel corso degli anni ha più volte cambiato volto, raccontato da musicisti che questa tradizione la leggono attraverso la lente d’ingrandimento dell’esperienza free vissuta in prima persona. Musicisti come Joe McPhee, fondamentale quanto oscura figura di quella galassia stilistica, qui in compagnia del fenomenale contrabbassista norvegese Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (già frequentato con il gruppo The Thing).

Luoghi, persone e immagini vengono evocate e omaggiate fin dai titoli. “Crossing The Bridge” fa riferimento al ponte di Williamsburg dove Sonny Rollins si ritirava ad esercitarsi e a meditare sulla sua arte. McPhee sfodera lo stesso suono robusto, la stessa fantasia ed un enfasi espressiva smussata in favore di un fraseggio secco, contiguo ai territori della libera improvvisazione. “Spiritual Cry” non può non evocare Albert Ayler, le sue urla di rivendicazione così viscerali abbinate ad un senso di spiritualità che creavano un contrasto unico. Qui il sax soprano lavora su un ritornello naive e giocoso, blandito accarezzato e condotto verso esplorazioni timbriche ai limiti della tonalità.

“Blue Coronet” è uno storico jazz club che ci fa respirare l’aria del blues, note lunghe languide e tristi, il sax contralto vibrante il contrabbasso caldo e pastoso che raccontano di amori impossibili e di vita quotidiana. Così come “Putnam Central,” locale dove sono passati personaggi come Charlie Parker e Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, e brano che rinnova i fasti di quei musicisti esaltandone lo spirito di avventura e la loro continua ricerca del nuovo.

Joe McPhee è straordinariamente efficace sia ai sassofoni che alla pocket-trumpet, profondamente ancorato alla tradizione del blues ed emozionante improvvisatore, per il suo modo unico di coniugare ricerca e cantabilità. Ingebrigt Haker Flaten sfodera l’usuale potente, muscolare sonorità che qui mette al servizio di una cantabilità non sempre esibita in altri contesti e per questo ancor più apprezzabile. Il suo walkin’ bass, il timbro scuro e pastoso che riempie lo spazio con la densità di una piccola orchestra sono il complemento ideale al rigore improvvisativo di McPhee.
http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=7971

Point of Departure review by Michael Rosenstein

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
While Joe McPhee is a masterful ensemble player, I’ve always found his solo and duo recordings especially rewarding, particularly his strikingly strong body of work with bassists. This recording, from 2011, is his second duo release with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and from the first alto blasts it is evident that this one is a winner. Over the course of eight relatively compact improvisations, McPhee and Håker Flaten hone in on a collective sound, navigating their way through pieces which build simple themes into conversational freedom. The CD pays homage to Brooklyn, NY and its jazz history, with titles that give nods to Sonny Rollins, Dewey Redman and Don Cherry, as well as Brooklyn clubs like Putnam Central and The Blue Coronet, settings for historic sessions. These references underpin the work, providing conceptual foundation but never stylistic confinement.

For this session, McPhee leaves aside his tenor sax, switching between alto, soprano, and pocket trumpet – getting a chance to hear so much of his alto playing is a real treat. While not quite as indelibly striking as his deeper horn, his full-throated, crying tone and muscular attack set his sound apart from most alto players. Soprano and pocket trumpet provide effective timbral contrasts as the pieces interleave the three instruments. Håker Flaten is a lyrical bassist and his lithe, darting lines provide a potent countering voice. Throughout, there is a fluid feeling of give and take informed by keen listening. The two know how to prod and propel each other, and just when to drop back to let the other stretch out. The sharp-edged melodic themes carry these pieces, underscoring the two musicians’ distinctive approach to thematic freedom.
http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD39/PoD39MoreMoments5.html

Gapplegate Music review by Grego Edwards

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten - Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Windmaster Joe McPhee and contrabassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten team up once again to pay tribute to the borough of New York City that, both historically and in the present, has formed a vital center for jazz musicians, and undoubtedly showcases as much of the music as any location in the United States today. Appropriately Brooklyn DNA (Clean Feed 244) is the title of the CD.   It’s a wide-ranging series of duets that have plenty of freedom, structured by the logic of the artists’ approach and the melodic themes that intertwine with the improvisations in many of the segments. A freely conceived theme-and-variations approach has been an important aspect of Joe McPhee’s work over the years and it continues on here at key points.   Flaten brings up the bottom with intelligent and resourceful all-over playing. He has technique and imagination. He seems to thrive on the open freedom such a duet provides. McPhee creates his vital presence on pocket trumpet, soprano and alto.   The music comes at you with energy and a depth charge or gets contemplative. There are segments that imply a free pulse and those that phrase openly without reference to time.   By now Joe McPhee is a sort of modern avant institution. He is in a classic present. Ingebrigt Haken Flaten gives the music the thrust it needs to move forward. It’s a great combination and they are at their best.
http://gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.pt/

The New York City Jazz Record review by Stuart Broomer

Joe McPhee/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Live Remi Alvarez/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – First Duet (JaZt TAPES)
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Dennis González – The Hymn Project (Daagnim)
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten has rapidly become one of the most prominent bassists in free jazz, in part due to his openness to varied musical situations, but much more so for the sheer power of his playing. First achieving a significant European profile in the late ’90s with Bugge Wesseltoft’s New Conception of Jazz, the first major ambassadors of Nu Jazz, Håker Flaten has since brought his ferocious drive to a host of prominent bands, often in company with the drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (The Thing, Atomic, Ken Vandermark’s School Days and Frode Gjerstad’s stellar improvising big band Circulasione Totale Orchestra) while showing off his softer side in duo with countryman saxophonist Håkon Kornstad. He’s now a significant musical presence in Chicago and Austin – where he resides – as well as Europe. These recent CDs track some of Håker Flaten’s American passages, all close to the beating heart of a fundamentalist free jazz.

Joe McPhee has been a frequent guest with The Thing and the senior saxophonist/trumpeter has previously recorded in duo with Håker Flaten (Blue Chicago Blues, Not Two), so there’s clearly developed musical chemistry on Brooklyn DNA. The duets hinge on the special musical character of Brooklyn, with pieces invoking various individuals and scenes prominent in its musical history. The two musicians craft a compelling vision of community. Håker Flaten’splaying is both empathetic and prodding as he sometimes maintains very fast tempos while expanding his own expressive range. “Crossing the Bridge”, dedicated to Sonny Rollins, suggests compound points of view, with McPhee’s honking alto recalling AlbertAyler, until Håker Flaten enters and the piece assumes the Caribbean lilt of “St. Thomas” and Rollins’ roots. There are fine invocations of Brooklyn visits by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and homages to residents like the late saxophonist Dewey Redman, but the most arresting music is also the most radical: “Enoragt Maeckt Haght”, named for the Brooklyn motto of “Unity Makes Strength”, is a probing exploration of bowed bass and airy pocket trumpet that represents the borough as terra incognita.

Remi Alvarez is a Mexico City-based tenor saxophonist whose work, like McPhee’s, has a direct expressiveness that’s immediately compelling. First Duet Live chronicles an Austin performance by the two musicians. On the 22-minute “First Duet”, Alvarez reveals himself as an incantatory tenor player and one hears his work as testimony, whether it’s creating a song-like stream, worrying a motif into new shapes and meanings or suddenly erupting into multiphonic cries and wails. Håker Flaten roots this discourse intime, surrounding, encouraging, framing and driving it forward. On “Second Duet”, the bassist comes to the fore with some wonderful bowed playing. Alvarez has a strong sense of voice, but he can touch on very different moods and different areas of his horn. There are moments when he finds a new effect in a series of high register yips or, alternately, wisps of sound, ably matched by Håker Flaten’s sudden flights into upper-register harmonics.

Håker Flaten’s aesthetic includes a kind of brutalist spirituality, certainly evident in his work with The Thing, but there’s a far subtler take on the legacy of Albert Ayler and other energy players embodied in The Hymn Project with the great Texas trumpeter Dennis González, his sons, bassist Aaron and percussionist Stefan Gonzalez, and cellist Henna Chou. The CD opens with the hyper-resonant sound of Stefan Gonzalez’ balafon and one eventually has a sense of this resonance echoing globally, touching spirits of Håker Flaten’s native Norway and the Gonzalez family’s Latin American heritage. There’s a sense of continuous melody here, a stream of sound running from instrument to instrument. It’s a chance for Håker Flaten’s lyricism to emerge and it does so in guitar-like lines and subtle pitch-bends, dove tailing with the other strings, the percussion and Dennis Gonzalez’ own inspired, soulful trumpet. Highlights abound, from the pensive mix of instrumental voices on“Doxology” to the rising tension of “Sweet Hour of Prayer” with Håker Flaten’s spare and intense solo.But it’s the cumulative power of the whole program, imbued as it is with an exalted musical nobility, that stays in memory.

JazzWrap review by Stephan Moore

Joe McPhee & Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten – Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Revolving around the organic energy of Brooklyn (a borough of New York City), Joe McPhee and Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten create a work that is inspired by their surroundings as well as their jazz forefathers. Brooklyn DNA is one of those shining beacons that helps others see the vibrancy and diversity of New York free form scene.

“Crossing The Bridge” and “Spirit Cry” quietly bring the listener into the spacious and inventive quarters of these renown musicians. A playful march with beautiful intersecting lines by McPhee that connect the two opening pieces with crisp fluidity. Haker-Flaten’s bass lines, while improvised, are subtle but matches McPhee chords with every step.

The ballad “Blue Coronet,” dedicated to the famous jazz club of the ’60s, is a late night walk on the streets, feeling the vibe of the neighborhood and how it influences your sound and vision. “Here And Now” is the perfect conclusion to this journey. A number that embodies the jazz scene today while still reflective of the traditions it’s built on. Calm improvisational chords by both musicians bold lines and immediacy as the piece reaches its latter stages.

Brooklyn DNA is not just a travelogue through the boroughs great jazz history, its a document of the quiet brilliance of two intercontinental musicians. Highly Recommended.
http://jazzwrap.blogspot.pt/

All About Jazz review by Glenn Astarita

Joe McPhee / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten - Brooklyn DNA (CF 244)
Veteran multi-reedman, trumpeter and consummate improviser Joe McPhee—along with Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten—serenades Brooklyn, NY, with allusions to tenor sax titan Sonny Rollins’ historic practice sessions under the Brooklyn Bridge and other inferences from the days of yore, on Brooklyn DNA. In recent years, the borough has enjoyed a bit of momentum with its chic restaurants and music venues, while serving as the residential area of choice for many artists. This duo’s intimacy and like-minded communion of musical spirits offer an upbeat and rather complex chain of musical events articulated with lyrically rich song forms and journeys into the freer realm.

The duo’s semi-structured approach draws upon abstracts but is not dominated by an avant-garde perspective. Nonetheless, McPhee is a dazzling, multifaceted improviser who joggles the psyche. In this program, the two communicate a loose game plan assembled with tangible harmonic applications and wily improvisational jaunts. Therefore, “Putnam Central” (named for a Brooklyn social club attended by Charlie Parker and others) is a piece that toggles between earnestness and mutable dynamics.

McPhee’s breathy, rhythmic, and darting pocket trumpet notes ride above Flaten’s nimbly executed countermeasures, where a semblance of camaraderie is occasionally dissected with moments of angst. Paralleling a social club, the duo executes a surfeit of dips, spikes and mutant themes. Perhaps mimicking the noise of a congenial get-together, the musicians mingle an abundance of emotive aspects without veering off into a cosmic void. Here, art prolifically mimics life.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=41937