Non solo a Milano e Cortina d'Ampezzo, in questi giorni i Giochi olimpici si svolgono anche a Casa Zorn (e non è la prima volta): per il curling si confrontano ai massimi livelli due squadre californiane, il Rova Saxophone Quartet (Steve Adams, Jon Raskin, Bruce Ackley, Larry Ochs) e il William Winant Percussion Group (Jordan Glenn, Robert Lopez e Scott Siler assieme a Winant). Con esito non scontato: John Zorn’s Olympiad, vol. 4 - Curling.
Curling is built on long tones. As with all of the game pieces, the “rules” are unpublished, so outsiders won’t know the parameters for the improvisation. Still, we can work out some of the principles. The interactions between musicians seem to operate a bit like old-school screensavers: one long tone bumping into another (like a curling stone, natch), then another, and so on. The collisions can gain in complexity, but only so much so. Unlike most group free improv, the aim isn’t to explore a full range of dynamics or colors. The Rovas, in particular, embrace those limitations. They bring out all sorts of gritty and scratchy saxophone sounds, but they rarely rise above about mezzo piano. The rules seem to give players the option to replace long tones with repeated short notes, like those of notated minimalism. A percussion quartet is an intriguing choice for a piece centered on sustained tones. The transition from the Rovas to the Winants is surprisingly smooth, as the percussionists begin with bows and cymbals: the sounds aren’t that different from alto and soprano saxes. In a span of 20 minutes, the group also deploys drums, maracas, and the occasional mallet instrument. The fact that they are often hitting things - and thus playing lots of short notes in place of literal long tones - gives the percussion version more variety than the saxophones.
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