On Monday I went to a local club to catch a performance by John Russell. I’d never heard of Mr. Russell before, other than that he is a well respected free-jazz guitarist. My decision to go to the show was largely based on the fact that the amazing Kajiyama Shu, a local bassist and friend, would be on hand as a supporting musician.

Kajiyama-san opened the night with his awe-inspiring solo bass/vocal/looping performance. That was followed by Mr. Russell, performing with local musicians in various combinations of duos and quartets. Having never heard free-jazz before, I hadn’t really known what to expect. I had assumed something along the lines of free melodic and harmonic improvisation, built upon a solid rhythmic foundation. To my surprise, the performance was 100% free, in every sense of the word. Although I tried to keep an open mind, the seemingly endless and random waves of squeaks, skwaks, swishes, slaps, pops, taps, twists, scrapes, peeps, bumps, clicks, thumps, crashes, and occasional fwips, from guitar, drums, saxophones, and assorted woodwind implements, left me grasping for something familiar to hold onto and keep me afloat.

I didn’t hate it. But, I didn’t understand it. And then, I found myself wondering if I was missing the point by trying to understand it, which led to a whole mess of thinking too much for someone who had paid good money to be entertained. There were very few moments when I felt the individually improvising musicians gelled and melded into a common spirit. I began to hope that Mr. Russell would do some solo performance as well, but it apparently wasn’t on the schedule.

The night ended with Kajiyama-san coming back to the stage, this time with a different drummer, percussionist, and didgeridoo. This was quite the opposite of the previous set; nearly an hour’s worth of amazingly wicked improv, over funky dance beats and constant bass drone alternating from electric bass and didgeridoo. It was a wonderful way to end a night of musical contrasts.