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Zu, an all-instrumental Italian band (Massimo Pupillo on bass, Jacopo Battaglia on drums, Luca Mai on saxophone, and, on the first album, Roy Paci on trumpet),
played some of the most adventurous post-rock music at the turn of the century, occasionally evoking the
legendary Last Exit with Sharrock's guitar replaced by Pupillo's bass.
They fine-tuned their aesthetics through a series of theatrical soundtracks
("Vladimir Majakovskj", "Il Funambolo", "Histoire du Rock'n'Roll", "Octavia")
and eventually debuted with Bromio (Wide, 1999)
in a wild, loud and fast style
that harked back to the heydays of jazzcore
(Saccharine Trust,
Universal Congress,
the Ex).
They simultaneously sprayed bits of funk onto their convoluted mix
in the manner of the Contortions
(Detonatore) and launched into gargantuan
free-jazz fanfares (Xenitis,
Asmodeo).
Their tone runs the gamut from
brainy (the hiccupping Testa Di Cane
to droll (the vaudeville-like Zu Circus.
The interplay is both geometrical and intricate, as best displayed in the
frenzied Erotomane. While most compositions stick to a unitary core with
little or no movement, La Grande Madre Delle Bestie ends the album
with a transition from chaotic partying to melancholy introspection.
Each of these short pieces is a strike at the core of prog-rock.
By the standards of jazz-rock, this is harsh and jarring music.
Zu's fame began to trickle to the other side of the ocean, and led to
two collaborations with
Eugene Chadbourne:
The Zu Side (New Tone, 2000) and
Motorhellington (2001), a collection of ironic covers.
Pared down to a trio, but boasting the collaborations of
saxophonist
Ken Vandermark ,
trombonist Jeb Bishop and cellist
Fred Lonberg-Holm,
Zu released their second album, Igneo (Wide, 2002 -
Frenetic, 2006).
From the beginning, The Elusive Character of Victory states an
"elastic" and sometimes deliberately unfocused concept of musical dynamics.
The roaring and rampant Solar Anus boasts
an almost tender break spoiled by an energetic saxophone solo.
Even at their most convoluted, like in
Eli Eli Elu, they can be both
abstract and intimate: the instruments collide and overlap, run away in a
breakneck race, but then pause and fade away, emitting only miniscule
radiations for the entire second half.
This is intelligent elegance that defies the laws of physics.
That rare balance is on display again in Muro Torto, whose irrational
concerto of timbres implodes in a jam of psychedelic colors.
The nine-minute Mar Glaciale Artico is another essay of tangled
eloquence: a propulsive fanfare that decays into a disjointed stream of
consciousness that, in turn, sounds like the post-rock remix of a
nocturnal blues jam.
With its irregular rhythms and chaotic counterpoint,
Monte Zu, on the other hand, is emblematic of how strident their
music can be.
Overall, this album stands as a tour de force of brutal, free-form instrumental music.
Dogon is bassist Massimo "Zu" Pupillo's project with turntablist Filippo "Okapi" Paolini and bassist Maurizio Martusciello. Before And After (Amanita, 2002) runs the gamut from Canterbury's jazz-rock to free-noise, but
Who Is Playing In The Shadow Of Whom? (Wallace, 2003), with Martusciello
mostly on electronics, sounds indulgent
and unedited.
Radiale (Atavistic, 2004) was a collaboration with
Chicago jazz-rock outfit Spaceways Inc
(Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Nate McBride), resulting in
in cerebral jazzcore and psychotic funk-rock.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Alessandro Martin)
Gli Zu sono un quartetto italiano (Massimo Pupillo al basso, Jacopo Battaglia alla batteria, Luca
Mai al sassofono, Roy Paci alla tromba), uno dei più avventurosi esempi di post rock all'alba del
nuovo secolo, evocando talvolta i leggendari Last Exit con la chitarra di Sharrock's sostituita dal
basso di Pupillo.
Affinata la propria estetica con una serie di colonne sonore tetrali ("Vladimir Majakovskj", "Il
Funambolo", "Histoire du Rock'n'Roll", "Octavia"), finalmente debuttano con Bromio (Wide,
1999), un'opera selvaggia, fragorosa e veloce (Detonatore, Testa di Cane, Epidurale, La
Grande Madre Delle Bestie) che ricorda l'apice del jazzcore (Saccharine Trust, Universal
Congress, the Ex), con pezzi di free-jazz e funk spruzzati in un contorto mix alla maniera di
Captain Beefheart e Contortions.
La fama degli Zu inizia a trapelare dall'altra parte dell'oceano, e porta a due collaborazioni con
Eugene Chadbourne: The Zu Side (New Tone, 2000) e Motorhellingtone (2001) una raccolta
di cover ironiche.
Ridotti ad un trio, ma vantando le collaborazioni del sassofonista Ken Vandermark , del
trombonista Jeb Bishop e del violoncellista Fred Lomberg-Holm, gli Zu pubblicano il loro
secondo album Igneo (Wide, 2002), un tour de force di brutale e destrutturata musica
strumentale. The Elusive Character of Victory, Eli, Eli, Elu e Mar Glaciale Artico
raggiungono il raro equilibrio fra l'accademico e l'emozionale.
I Dogon sono il progetto del bassista Massimo “Zu” Pupillo con il dj Filippo
“Okapi” Paolini e il compositore d'avanguardia Maurizio Martuscello. Before And
After (Amanita, 2002) spazia fra il jazz-rock di Canterbury ed il free-noise, ma Who Is Playing
In The Shadow Of Whom? (Wallace, 2003) suona indulgente e poco curato.
Radiale (Atavistic, 2004) è una collaboazione con la compagnia jazz-rock Spacewais Inc. (Ken
Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Nate McBride), ne derivano un jazzcore cerebrale ed uno psicotico
funk rock.
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