NINNI MORGIA CONTROL UNIT – Ninni Morgia Control Unit

Ultramarine

Guitarist Ninni Morgia is slowly but surely becoming a “name” in the circle of contemporary improvisation, well accepted by the likes of William Parker (with whom Morgia has recently released Prism on this same label – unluckily not heard here – which is receiving rave reviews even by establishment-nourished journalists). In this double vinyl from 2009, the Unit is completed by Daniel Carter on sax, clarinet and trumpet and Jeff Arnal on drums and percussion. Their interaction, definitely reminiscent of freeform jazz-rock aromas from the late 60s and early 70s (though I don’t get the Popol Vuh reference in the press release), flows across a spacey kind of vibe which is perceived as contemplative in a somewhat “stoned” fashion rather than constituting a veritable challenge for ears used to harsher kinds of adventurousness. This must not be intended as a lowering of the release’s worth; these juicy conglomerations of fluidly repetitive and heavily processed guitar lines, unadulterated melodic pensiveness-cum-blowouts and masterfully delivered metrical abstraction occasionally transcending in ritualism (at times, Arnal’s pulse sounds like the actual foundation of the whole creative edifice) can easily find a way into our short-term liking, for sure deserving a number of concentrated listens.