VITAL WEEKLY REVIEW




MATTHEW BURTNER - METASAXOPHONE COLOSSUS (CD by Innova)


The saxophone and me, well, we have no relation. That instrument was not made for me to listen to. So my hopes for some nice words on Matthew Burtner were not high. His 'Metasaxophone Colossus' is a tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins, in particular his 'Saxophone Colossus'. Burtner's saxophone is not just a saxophone, it's an electro-acoustic instrument, using computer-generated sound, feedback and somewhere in there the tenor saxophone. So my love of the saxophone is virtually non-existent, what would I think of Burtner's CD? Pun intended, but it blew me away. The saxophone is indeed there to be recognized, but there is so much more happening, from the singing bowl like textures of the opening piece 'S-Morphe-S' to the walls of feedback of the second piece (which graphic title is hard for me to type) and the creepy dark textures of 'S-Trance-S'. The only piece which is a direct tribute to Rollins is 'St Thomas Phase' which is a piece of drum samples and layered saxophone sounds. It wasn't wrong to include that on the CD, but I would perhaps choose a different spot on the CD. This CD came to me as a real surprise and could appeal to more people disliking the saxophone, but who are otherwise open-minded. (FdW)

 

BACK TO REVIEWS


 

 


H O M E