(Free Jazz) [CD] Olaf Rupp, Marino Pliakas, Michael Wertmuller - Too Much Is Not Enough - 2009, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Recorded live by Stefan Deistler May 27th and 28th, 2009 at Loft in Köln.

This album is the result of two days of recording that occurred at Köln’s Loft in May of 2009. A power trio is always expected to produce some variety of dynamic music whatever the context it performs in, yet Rupp, Pliakas and Wertmüller exceeded all anticipations, realizing their vision through the use of nearly superhuman energies, leaving us wanting for more even at the end of a quite long program (circa 65 minutes). An association that came to mind during one of the repeated spins was Last Exit. Too Much Is Not Enough vibrates in fact of the same devastating fervour, that kind of take-no-prisoners attitude imbued both with technical expertise and utter abandonment of pondering that characterizes the milestones of free improvisation, a category to which this release definitely belongs. Rupp – a guitarist who never managed to enter the realm of personal favourites – shows that his playing on the electric is abundantly superior to what he does with acoustic, scathing lines and sparkling harmonics defining an imperative: that of meaning plenty and thinking less, a quality that not many artists are able to develop. In this case the success is total, enhanced by Pliakas’ overwrought massiveness on the bass, treated as a generator of snarls, rumbles and growls rather than a bottom-delineating machine, and Wertmüller’s frantic drumming, characterized by a splendidly snappy snare amidst perennially rolling avalanches, under which my instinct kept detecting a fundamental vital pulse. Together, the musicians reach a point of continuous boiling that nevertheless doesn’t generate an explosion that would, in a way, waste that accumulation of forces. What is to be loved is the hardnosed threat symbolized by the trio’s implacability, in comparison to which certain hypothetically “rebellious” entities cannot but pale – or plain disappear. ~ massimo ricci, touchingextremes.wordpress.com
This guitar, bass and drums trio has clearly moved beyond the power trip that such a line-up might imply. In doing so they have entered what, on the basis of this release, is a kind of nihilistic phase in which the power stems from collective endeavor, as opposed to any conventionally virtuosic approach. This isn't necessarily a good thing, especially when much of the resulting music's impact is subcutaneous. An insidious sound lies beneath the skin of "Stoppare," even while the level of interplay is obviously very acute. Here, at least, the trio is engaged in something other than the headlong flight that's emblematic of "Adito 1," where skittering drums and overdriven guitar are the order of the day in a way that echoes Derek Bailey in the company of the Japanese bass-drums duo Ruins, albeit without the late guitarist's unquestionably singular way. Here the music's nihilistic too, and not in a constructive way. That said, the trio is capable of finesse and they prove it on the title track, the rewards of which are arguably greater because that much more effort is demanded. Rupp's fondness for the overdriven approach is again in evidence, and when he brings it to bear he sounds like a musician still striving to find a voice. That said, in the rupturing of conventional time and hyperactivity the steely heart of a coherent group identity is revealed which, while it might not be unique, does at least display an impatience with established methodologies. This can however be a little wearing, particularly in music so lacking in light and shade. Indeed, on "Typ. RPW," a kind of odd minimalism seems to blossom forth in the midst of all the hyperactivity. That nihilism's here again too, although Wertmuller's awareness of dynamics serves as counter-balance, especially as the music ends abruptly enough to offer an intimation of how well integrated the trio is. Ominous forebodings are however often the only thing on offer, as per "Boller Ballade I," where undercurrent is the only thing on display. It is, however, plain from this and perhaps oddly — that this is a group with a marked aversion to playing the same thing the same way twice, and whilst that isn't necessarily a mark of creativity it does suggest a collective of admirably insatiable curiosity. ~ nick jones, allaboutjazz.com

Olaf Rupp - electric guitar
Marino Pliakas - electric bass
Michael Wertmüller - drums