Christy Doran & Stefan Banz: Aerosols

  The visual arts have inspired musical creativity in many different ways over the centuries. Typically, a composer or performer will react to a work of art without the participation of the artist. But not always. Guitarist Christy Doran & Stefan Banz, a Swiss artist, had known one another for a long time when Banz approached Doran about a project they could work on together. Doran immediately agreed, and the result is the endlessly intriguing Aerosols. To begin, Banz responded to five of Doran’s solo compositions with paintings done in acrylic on cotton. Doran then reacted to five other Banz paintings with a batch of new pieces. Banz unfortunately died of a heart attack in May 2021, but all the music had been recorded by then, and the booklet was nearly done. The artist’s son, his partner, and some friends pitched in to help complete the project. Doran has been heard in an amazing array of contexts since his recording debut in 1970 with Jazz Rock Experience. A founding member of Om, the Swiss quartet, Doran has worked frequently with drummer Freddy Studer (also in Om), with another Irish-Swiss artist, pianist John Wolf Brennan, along with Django Bates, Joe McPhee, Han Bennink, and many, many others. Having recorded a number of solo projects, he wasn’t inclined to do another until Banz presented his idea for this set. The guitarist’s suggestions for five paintings comprise the first half of the CD, followed by the five pieces composed in reaction to the images. The booklet reproduces Banz’s paintings, so the listener can try to get a sense of how this partnership developed. The images tend to be boldly colored and abstract, but there’s also a portrait of Banz’s brother Alexander and a group of loosely sketched people in From the Ballad of Affection. The variability of Banz’s visuals, from the plain pinkish moon of Cat Care to the surreal pale red and blue of Precious Sky to the color-altered portrait Alexander, finds its analog in the boundary-less musical zones that Doran explores with electric and acoustic guitars and electronic devices. The enhancements provide drones and loops, contributing to an overall fuller sound. Hard as it is to describe music with words, there’s really no way to convey anything about the relationship between say, the burning red of Broken View, the painting, and Kaleidoscope in a Blizzard, the mostly peaceable electric guitar piece that inspired it, or how the busy multi-colored patchwork of Banz’s Upgrading Equality evoked the folky blues feeling of Doran’s composition. All I can say is that I keep listening to Doran’s intricate pieces, full of surprising twists and turns, while looking closely at Banz’s art, marveling yet again at the human capacity for creative expression and startling beauty. 

Between The Lines BTLCHR71251; Christy Doran (ac & el g, electronic devices); Lucerne, Switzerland, January-April 2021; Cat care/ Venice/ Kaleidoscope in a Blizzard/ White Fields Full of Diamonds/ Defense of Defeat/ Lactus/ From the Ballad of Affection/ Alexander/ Aerosols/ Upgrading equality; 49:03. www.challengerecords.com

Beady Beast: On The Go (Pandemic duo, #5)

  Beady Beast is the acoustic guitar duo of Christy Doran & Franz Hellmüller. On The Go is the pair’s vastly enjoyable pandemic project. Hellmüller was Doran’s student once upon a time. They’re now good friends and with both living in Lucerne, Switzerland, this studio collaboration a very natural event. Doran’s Every Dog has its Day opens the program. It starts out as a sort of mutant blues, with insistent rhythms, drops back to a quiet passage, then picks up again and, well, let’s say the flow of the music is largely unpredictable but always sounds inevitable. Their rapport remains uncanny through performances of four more pieces composed by Doran and four by Hellmüller. Highlights include the zesty interplay on Doran’s Slippin’ , the high-spirited rapid-fire demands of Hellmüller’s Minimaxbum, the jagged freedom of Hellmüller’s Light in the Dark, and the angular provocations of Doran’s Paros in November. But really, every piece has its charms, as the acoustic environment brings out the best in both musicians. On The Go is totally enchanting, and happily recommended. 

between the lines BTLCHR71250; Christy Doran, Franz Hellmüller (acoustic guitars); Winterthur, Switzerland, January 26-27, 2021; Every Dog has its Day/ Slippin’/ Minimaxbum/ Far Away From Home/ Light in the Dark/ Paros in November/ Su Giudeu/ Lift the Bar/ Oneiron Street; 57:11. www.challengerecords.com