Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Baertsch's Ritual Groove Music No. 4

In our survey of Nik Baertsch's minimalist ensemble recordings released on Ronin Rhythm, we're now up to 2003, and his Ritual Groove Music No. 4--Live. Baertsch performs here with his paired down Ronin ensemble--Baertsch on keys plus bass, drums and percussion.

This one lays the groove on pretty heavily. And though, at least at first, it might be his most conventional set to date, there are polyrhythms and counter rhythms to appreciate, especially towards the latter part of the disk. Those who are attracted to Baertsch's music for its mesmerizing funk will like this one much. Those who also look for freshly interesting minimalist lines would do better with the first three.

It's quite nice, just not his best.

You can get the first seven Ronin releases as downloads now, as well as CDs, natch.

No comments:

Post a Comment