May 13, 1997

We had an auspicious beginning: during the past few years more avant garde and improvisational music acts have found their way to Orlando. Among the first show of its kind this year was the Maslak Ground Zero Quartet show at the Sapphire Supper Club on Sunday, March 2.

Now we need the resolve: the ensemble played an inspired hour-long set to a dismal audience of 83 (yes, I counted) very appreciative fans.

The Maslak Ground Zero Quartet comprised Keshavan Maslak on saxophone and electric guitar, Maslak's fourteen-year-old daughter Melissa on bass guitar and keyboard, Otomo Yoshihide on turntables, samplers, and guitar, and Matsubara Sachiko on keyboards. The latter two are from the Japanese noise ensemble Ground Zero.

The pieces, although directed and coordinated by the elder Maslak, seemed to veer and careen according to the turntable sampling and collages of Yoshihide. The pieces ranged from a piquant cacophony of compact car horns to a kitschy Vegas-cum-Don Ho luau sounding affair. Only one piece seemed a little half-baked, a ponderous Gary Wright / "Dream Weaver" meets a Milton Babbit synthesizer out-take bin composition, which dragged on toward the end of the set.

And as we witnessed last year, when Keshavan Maslak and Sergey Kuryokhin played to a full house at the Sapphire, Maslak is not beyond wacky histrionics to augment the music. This year he alternately "sang in tongues" and donned a blue pillowcase over his head, while playing a miniature electric guitar, for that special hypnagogic-avant garde effect.

If these important musicians return to Orlando after such a dismal showing, we'll be a lucky bunch.

Now we have a plan: we'll show up!

Ray Gunn Virus A.k.a.: Ray Gunn Virus; Mr. Ray Gunn Virus, Sir; Shinygodhead; J. Alvarez; sometimes even old plain Jorge (go ahead say whore-hey) never mind George will do. Stuff he like to do someday: Make a living out of writing "junk and stuff" and going places and seeing things ... Other Articles I've Written