Mick Goodrick & Fred Hersch: Feebles, Fables & Ferns
The ECM record label still surprises and delights, digging out – I assume from Fred Hersch’s archive – this previously unknown set of duos he recorded in his own studio in New York with guitarist Mick Goodrick in August 1988. At the time, Goodrick had recorded the In Pas(s)ing set with John Surman for ECM in 1978 – which included the track that gave this current album its title – and had recorded as an ECM sideman for Gary Burton, and many others, but as Hersch remembers, “Mick was a pretty modest guy. And he was very under-recorded. I call him the guitar whisperer. He was very content to teach, to be behind the scenes.” Hersch himself was mainly known as a sideman, notably for Art Farmer, had recorded only four albums as leader, and did not make his own ECM debut until 2022. But in 1988 both musicians were active in Boston, and on Hersch’s invitation, Goodrick came down to New York to record some duos together.
Looking back at this music almost four decades later – Goodrick himself died in 2022 – Hersch notes “The highlight to me is just the level of ensemble playing. There was a lot of profound listening going on between both of us.” It shows in their choice of material – in Goodrick’s title track, in Hersch’s Heartsong, one of his most harmonically engaging originals, and in a set of spontaneous improvisations between the two on Five Excursions. Joining these pieces are Steve Swallow’s Falling Grace and Amazing, Grant Green’s Out Of Nowhere and Mal Waldron’s Soul Eyes.
To hear Goodrick’s lilting solo intro to the title track is to understand why he was always held in such regard, Hersch gently sliding in behind him before his more forceful lines take over. Roles reverse on Falling Grace, largely a solo statement for Hersch, but as Hersch remarks, “Even though there’s some beautiful, intimate, quiet moments, there’s still a lot of energy. And there’s something very romantic about that unadorned, unembellished, just straight in, go-ahead-and-record sound to it. We really were a very good match…” Notably so on the caressing duo of Away 10/Amazing, on the intimate and unsettling suite of five improvisations, and on Waldron’s concluding classic.
This subtle, often unassuming set is an unexpected treasure. Cherish it.
Discography
Feebles, Fables And Ferns; Falling Grace; Away 10/Amazing; Five Excursions; Out Of Nowhere; Heartsong; Soul Eyes (38.56)
Goodrick (g); Hersch (p). New York City, August 1988.
ECM 2876
Florian Arbenz: Quiet Lights
For Swiss drummer Florian Arbenz, this project represents a dream come true, a chance to record with Greg Osby and Bill Frisell in one of the most significant collaborations of his career. The entire set was recorded in just four hours, the three master improvisers meeting in a spirit of openness, trust and instant, creative chemistry. Arbenz approached the session with some simple but distinctive sonic frameworks, each designed to highlight Frisell’s unmistakable guitar sound and Osby’s risk-taking saxophone voice. Each piece occupies its own space, shaped by texture, mood and interaction rather than complexity for its own sake. Arbenz used custom-made percussion instruments, allowing him to expand his role beyond traditional drumming into creating bass lines, counter-rhythms and atmospheric soundscapes, The music then moves naturally between subtlety and intensity.
The jazz-rooted, percussive Jammin’ In The Children’s Corner was originally written for saxophonist Dave Liebman, its urgency in great contrast to the lilting Swiss traditional piece Lueget Vo Berg Und Tal, taken at the slowest of speeds. Two rumba-inspired pieces, Homenaje and Rhumba, have their own character and narrative, while the buoyant title track has an almost pop-like clarity. Most of the pieces were first takes, preserving the spontaneity and immediacy of the moment.
Across all the tracks, the trio often sounds larger than the just the product of three musicians, largely because the different timbres of the echoing Frisell, the insistent Osby, and the ever-busy Arbenz add contrasting textures to the overall sound. What a fine and individual set!
Discography
Homenaje; Chant; Jammin’ In The Children’s Corner; Lueget Vo Berg Und Tal; The Barradas Opening; Quiet Lights; Rhumba (41.12)
Arbenz (d, pc); Greg Osby (as, ss); Bill Frisell (g). NYC?, 8 September 2025.
Conversation Lab/Hammer Recordings
Distant Birds: Vol. 01, Vol. 02
Keyboardist Chris Abrahams is best known for his work in the celebrated Australian jazz outfit The Necks, bassist Dave Symes as a member of Boy & Bear. In Distant Birds, the two musicians join forces in a hypnotic collaboration that blends extended improvisation and rhythmic interplay. Abrahams brings to the party his signature blend of minimalism, ambience and melodic disquiet, while his interplay with Symes forms a deep rhythmic foundation over which he can float and dance with ease. Symes infuses the music with earthy, infectious grooves. Beneath them drummer Evan Mannell’s fluid, instinctive patterns give the music its open, breathing pulse, his subtle balance of restraint and drive shaping the arc of each track. The two horns act like a fourth voice, interrupting proceedings and echoing themes to add further layers to the mix. Together, the band remain both structured yet spontaneous, their repetitions, in which the listener is invited into a continuous, unfolding soundscape, meditative.
These four long-form tracks were recorded live as single takes, traversing the twilight soundscapes of pulsing psychedelic soul grooves and moody atmospheres that channel 70s Afrobeat, soul and dub-reggae influences. What results is a deeply organic, genre-defying sonic journey of syncopated hooks and rhythmic interplay designed as much for the dance floor as for immersive, headphone listening. Not the usual fare for this journal, but enjoy nevertheless. You will be gripped.
Discography
Vol 01: Drill; Sea Grass; Vol 02: Spirit Level; Driver (66.42)
Chris Abrahams (elp, org, syn); Dave Symes (b); plus Ellen Kirkwood (t); Matthew Ottignon (ts, bar); Evan Mannell (d, pc). Sydney, Australia, c.2025.
Earshift Music EAR107
