Drummer Chris Corsano has plenty of steady partnerships, whether it’s in his various groupings with the fire-breathing western Massachusetts saxophonist Paul Flaherty, the Arabic-infused free-rock trio Rangda, or Vampire Belt, his splattery noise project with guitarist Bill Nace. But in a broader sense I think of him as a free agent, an improviser who ignores all boundaries and limitations and seems game for any challenge—playing and touring with Bjork or going head-to-head with the legendary British saxophonist Evan Parker. He’s a busy guy who crisscrosses the country—and the world, really—with consistent gigs in countless contexts. On Monday he rolls into town for a solo performance as part of ESS’s Option series, followed by a conversation with fellow percussionist Tim Daisy about his work.
Finally, there’s a duo album with the Italian bassist Massimo Pupillo (of the band Zu as well as Peter Brötzmann’s Hairy Bones quartet) called Via Combusta (Trost). As you can hear on the impressive side-long piece below, “The Veil Is Thin Right Now,” the music isn’t nearly as in-your-face as one might expect; in fact, the first ten minutes or so cast a gorgeous ambient spell, albeit an ominous one, as elusive waves of quiet electronic textures drift and snake across the surface. I’m not sure who’s doing what—the credits only list Corsano on drums and percussion and Pupillo on electric bass—but it’s something very special. Eventually the rumbling, writhing bass kicks in, slithering within Corsano’s spacious clatter in characteristically liquid swells and dissonant eruptions. This pair could certainly summon a spaz-out postprog exercise a la Lightning Bolt, but what they present is far more rich, varied, and gripping.Via Combusta by CHRIS CORSANO / MASSIMO PUPILLO
