cyberinsekt

Chris Corsano is best known as a drummer. In this vein that he can be found playing with artists from Jandek to Björk. However, as anyone lucky enough to be familiar with his recent album The Young Cricketer¹ can affirm, he's very much a multi-instrumentalist. Corsano seems to have an admirably liberal attitude as to what constitutes an instrument. If he can make some sort of controlled noise out of it, he's probably interested.

Phoenix & Pheasant, from the compilation Less Self is More Self, sees him try his hand at what sounds very much like a clarinet. On this short piece he adopts a very Ned Rothenburg-like approach to the instrument, playing long fluttering passages that say much about his breath control. He applies increasing pressure on the reed thoughout, transforming the initial dulcet warbling into something guttural and howling. Towards the end, it sound almost as if he is playing the mouthpiece alone, such is the harshness of tone. Something of a curiosity this, but one that continually drags me back for repeated listenings. An experiment gone right.



Chris Corsano - (Live at the) Phoenix & Pheasant