BISE DE BUSE

First nine pieces are played by saxophonist Pierre Michel, keyboardist Laurent Spielmann and cellist Jean Bataillon with guest performances by Didier Malherbe on soprano sax and Louis Merlet on violin.At this point the band was mostly influenced by HENRY COW and similar Avant Rock combos, playing a dissonant, hardcore mix of Chamber Music and Avanta Garde with absence of electric or rock instruments and a deep emphasis on string and wind instruments.The music is completely atonal with some improvised and loose parts and a chaotic palette of strings and saxes, which produce an experimental, acoustic sound, flirting with neighbours JULVERNE, but lacking some deeper moves and consistency.''Chocolate Field'' comes from the 73' album of Steve Miller and Lol Coxhill and is the more ethereal piece of the mass with some dreamy piano and sax parts.

Michel and Spielmann were the only members to be present in the alternate formation of Bise de Buse, which featured also Gerard Dosdat on guitar, Maxime Malka on drums and Jean-Louis Heitz on bass.This formation was heavily influenced by Canterbury Prog and acts like THE SOFT MACHINE, GONG and HATFIELD AND THE NORTH, represented here by the last five tracks.At least now they sound like a normal prog band with Spielmann playing synths and electric piano and the style simulating the unique sound of Canterbury groups.The material here is pretty jazzy and still quite loose, led by some inventive rhythms and solos, exploding for a richer and more convincing sound, which goes from ethereal Jazz Rock to Electric Fusion and instrumental, jazzy Prog Rock.However two tracks, ''Kings and queens'' and ''You can't kill me'', are covers of the respective THE SOFT MACHINE and GONG tracks and the five-piece line-up of Bise de Buse is shortened actually to only two original pieces, as ''Valse a 5 temps'' is a reworking of a cut already played by the acoustic trio.

Too experimental and atonal sessions of Chamber Music with Canterbury flashes.I would recommend this only to strict fans of Experimental/Avant-Garde/Chamber Music, maybe some diehard Canterbury fans should check this out as well due to the later pieces.As a whole this is a rather average documental release in my opinion.

As a trio, Bise De Buse was really a chamber rock or chamber jazz group and as such, their music is among the best of the genre, even if their line-up does not allow all the freedom that their previous quintet line-up had given them. This is quite obvious with the two tracks where Gong's Didier Malherbe and violinist Louis Merlet appear as guests, and the group's possibilities are simply exploding. Not that the rest of the tracks are far behind, quite the contrary. If you are a fan of the cello instrument, you can only be overjoyed, because you get plenty of it, along with some delicious baritone sax, throughout the album. Throughout the album, you'll recognise some lesser-unknown themes, such as Steve Miller's (UK, not US) Chocolate Fields. The group develops some very entertaining chamber music, most notably the heart-stopping Gambang and its predecessor the cute Sax-Cello.

Comes as a first bonus track, another take of Valse A Cinq Temps, dispensable maybe, but far enough time-wise from the other take not to sound double. The rest of the bonus tracks are maybe the most interesting of this release: they date from 79 when the group was a quintet, and if sonically not perfect (these were basement recordings), they are highly enjoyable, especially the Soft Machine's K&Q and Gong's very own You Can't Kill Me. Immediately the electric bass picks the group on flying carpet, and Dosdat's Fripp/Pinhas-ian guitar mixed with Michel's winds are stealing the show from Spielmann's Fender Rhodes, giving Tex a Nucleus feel. Indeed, the group's discovery of Canterbury bands and other prog acts of those days, where influencing them beyond reasonable limits: K&Q is not only a homage, but e reverence to their inspirational heroes. The following almost 9-min Errance (iffy on some passages sound-wise) is a fantastic jazz-rock tune that could come from early 70's England. The closing instrumental version is a great wink to GonG.

Although Bise De Buse's sole album is not exactly essential music, even in the RIO/Avant field, I am not the least concerned with my four star rating, because if you are a fan of the genre, this is an highly enjoyable disc, even if the better moments are not impeccable sound quality. .