For those unfamiliar with The Necks, they are an Australian piano trio consisting of piano [Chris Abrahams], bass [Lloyd Swanton], and drums/percussion [Tony Buck]. They can loosely be filed under 'experimental jazz', but that is such a broad label as to be almost useless. They are not experimental in the sense that their music is typically atonal, nor indeed lacking any recognisable structure; it is however very rhythmic in nature, at times acquiring a drone-like quality. They have over twenty albums to their name, but they do not play any music from their albums live, it is all improvised. This comes in the form of two sets, roughly forty minutes in length. I have it on good authority that the only thing agreed upon beforehand is who plays first. This was my fifth concert, and all have been memorable in different ways.
The first set on Monday was started by Chris Abrahams, with repeated chords and individual notes creating a loose structure. Lloyd Swanton joined in, with initially mostly plucked notes, later with the bow. Tony Buck then completed the trio, with very muted sounds, either from small mallet-like sticks, or indeed using flat or cupped hands on the drums. This built up to a peak of intensity and volume, arriving at the drone-like tone referred to above, maintained for quite a long time, ten minutes plus. Following a cue that I have yet to identify, the piece slowly wound down, coming to a gentle conclusion. The second set began with an intriguing set of sounds coming from Tony Buck, gently-scrunched and rolled bells to begin with, then a wider range of drum and percussion sounds becoming ever louder. Again this was joined by the bass, and then the piano. The percussion continued to be focal point for the piece, becoming ever stranger with a sharp, piercing sound being generated by scraping the bottom of the drum stick on the large cymbal, from the centre outwards. A high level of intensity was maintained for a very long period of time, with a compelling variety of percussion and bass sounds, and the conclusion, unusually, came quite abruptly from Chris Abrahams. But it made perfect sense. One has the sensation, mid-performance, of being in some form of trance. Unforgettable.
The first set on Monday was started by Chris Abrahams, with repeated chords and individual notes creating a loose structure. Lloyd Swanton joined in, with initially mostly plucked notes, later with the bow. Tony Buck then completed the trio, with very muted sounds, either from small mallet-like sticks, or indeed using flat or cupped hands on the drums. This built up to a peak of intensity and volume, arriving at the drone-like tone referred to above, maintained for quite a long time, ten minutes plus. Following a cue that I have yet to identify, the piece slowly wound down, coming to a gentle conclusion. The second set began with an intriguing set of sounds coming from Tony Buck, gently-scrunched and rolled bells to begin with, then a wider range of drum and percussion sounds becoming ever louder. Again this was joined by the bass, and then the piano. The percussion continued to be focal point for the piece, becoming ever stranger with a sharp, piercing sound being generated by scraping the bottom of the drum stick on the large cymbal, from the centre outwards. A high level of intensity was maintained for a very long period of time, with a compelling variety of percussion and bass sounds, and the conclusion, unusually, came quite abruptly from Chris Abrahams. But it made perfect sense. One has the sensation, mid-performance, of being in some form of trance. Unforgettable.
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