Invisible Documents

Now this one is gone. Drummer and percussion master Christian Burchard's Embryo, undergoing continual personnel changes since its inception, is caught live here in 1974. Charlie Mariano had already departed and was replaced by Edgar Hofmann, but his cohort, guitarist Roman Bunka, remains. The band is rounded out as a quartet by bassist Norbert Domling. This is the smallest Embryo manifestation on record, and it is one of the most adventurous and powerful, as well. This gig features four selections over two CDs, the shortest of which is just over nine minutes, and the longest almost 40 minutes. While they are listed as "compositions," these pieces are far more like structured improvisations. Burchard has less control over the proceedings here -- though he does play drum solos that last too long -- and they benefit as a result. Here saxophones, funk, African rhythms, and folk melodies collide in a mix of jazz-rock fusion's electricity and free-form out jamming. The individual selections don't matter so much, but the gig as a whole does. In particular, the sax playing by Bunka, and the violin work by Hofmann (who is a fine soprano saxophone player as well) are more than remarkable, they are astonishing in how they propel this music to a point where all ideas of time, space, and categorization blue and melt into the ether of intensity. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek