An odd little recording, "Reverberations from Spring Past" is equally an electronic record as it is a true improvised set. From the very start of the session, you hear these four men are giving their all to draw you into their wild world of improvised mixology. Acoustic guitarist Ernesto Diaz-Infante is joined by electronics guru Robert Montoya, percussionist Marcos Fernandes and saxophonist Rent Romus. At every step of the way, they blow the perceptions of what this music "should" sound like. Is there too much electronics in their music or are they improvising too much? Or are they simply not jazz-enough for an ensemble that plays this "sort" of music - whatever sort that may be? Thing that I like about the record is the prominent interplay between Montoya's electronics gear and Fernandes on percussion and phonographies. Having played together for a decade with Wormhole, these two musicians have a sharp mind for collaboration. Squeaky, tweaked-up, high-pitched crescendos go hand-in-hand with percussive lines that seem to come from another planet. Nothing sounds linear in the universe of this band. Nothing sounds as if planned out ahead of time and more importantly, none of the music sounds chaotic in the least. From the jagged, hawking saxophone bursts to the scratched-up vinyl excursions to the delicately strummed guitar parts onto the horns and whistles [and various toys as well], the quartet have come onto a formulae of sorts. Play as you learn and learn as you play is what I think the quartet is after. Whatever the equation of that formula may be, it works in droves.

To a generation, who grew up on Rock, Jazz is something for later – for when you’re old and take your grandchildren to see that Dixieland band play at the seaside. Alternatively, the jazz-vibe has crept into contemporary dance productions, teaming up with electronic grooves and lush textures to create that relaxed and sophisticated lounge-feeling. In either case, it has definitely lost the sweat, the blood and the tears of those early years and become a synonym for carefree entertainment. “Reverberations from spring past” breaks with this modern-day complacency and puts Jazz decidedly back into the driving seat of a roaring roller-coaster hotrod. Without a doubt, this is not music for your lazy Sunday morning – “Reverberations” is wild, raw, energetic and headstrong, a revitalising coctail of aural acupuncture and tonal caffeine. Ernesto Diaz-Infante’s steelstring guitar pushes and shoves itself into a trance, like a spaced-out raga-master, Marcos Fernandes’ percussions crash, crack and crush like a giant magnet being dragged through your kitchen, while Robert Montoya’s sizzling and fizzing electronics irritate and irrigate the dried-out fields of your imagination. You press the “play”-button and you’re right in the middle of it, there’s no classical ouverture or slow build-up, everything is right there from the very first second, without a chance to rethink or consider. It’s as if the band is constantly glued to the tip of their seat, immersed in the pain of not being able to stop and the extatic joy of forging forward. If the ship-analogy may be applied, then the three aforementioned players are the sail and the body, shaping the form things are going to take and Rent Romus and his Sax are the rudder, guiding the way. In “Premonition”, his frenzied summersaults lead the band ever upwards towards the sky, in “Blues for Ezra” he lets down the drapes and colours the room all blue and mournful, while the melodic simplicity of “An Offering of Interconnectedness” lifts itself into this loop-mode, which you wish might go on forever. All of these band-erruptions are bathed in phonographic waves, field recordings and noises of the city and of unknown origin, which lend additional depth and texture to the tracks. Which brings an almost ethereal and unreal sensation to the record – one of the most beautiful moments happens when frantic “Premonition” abruptly stops and flows into the sounds of cars, passers-by and people talking. Suddenly, it all makes sense. The cover suggests a decent dose of flowerpower and the good spirit of the 60s and 70s indeed seems to have been present during these recordings – this makes for a wonderful summer record. Yet, “Reverberations” needs no allusions to the past, nor comparisons with the “great”. It is the best example that even the most fortified cliches will crumble, when faced with a brutally executed simple and good idea – Jazz is here and now and it’s for you!

Now this is what I call an improv ensemble: Ernesto Diaz-Infante on acoustic steel-string guitar, Robert Montoya providing electronics, Marcos Fernandes on percussion and "phonographies," and Rent Romus on sax, voice, and "toys." Between the four of them there's about 75 years of improvised experimentation crammed onto this disc -- nine tracks of upredictable noises and improvisational strategies with a distinctly acid-jazz feel. The first seven tracks were recorded at Hit Single by Randy Fuelle and mixed by Fernandes and Montoya; the second two tracks are actually one long (17:33) piece broken into two parts, recorded at MCASD Downtown by Jeff Wilson. The studio tracks include a lot of incidental sound, most likely from field recordings, in addition to the actual playing, with a resulting sound much like a series of improv jams happening in a room with the window open. There's a nice balance between the clean studio sound and the sounds of real life, and while they're inclined to let things drift toward chaos if that's where the energy is going, for the most part this is relatively low-key, controlled chaos. It's also the first time in a while I've heard Diaz-Infante actually play his guitar (which he does real well) rather than just using it to make perverted sounds, which is nice. The long live jam, "an offering of interconnectedness (live at spring reverb 04) parts 1-2," has a different (but not overwhelmingly so) sound to it thanks to the location, but otherwise fits in well with the rest of the album -- in fact, in a sense it works as a summation of the ideas of the previous tracks, with plenty of time and room to stretch out. Fans of any of the individual players will not be disappointed by this swell collaboration.

A nice little improvisational quartet: Ernesto Diaz-Infante, Robert Montoya, Marcos Fernandes and Rent Romus. What I like best about this particular set is the driving energy in the songs. There's not a lot of dicking around here. Rather, the folks have a destination in mind and they get there--with the requisite fuss, of course. One of the most engaging improv sets I've heard in a while.