Jerry Chardonnens,Leon Francioli ,Radu Malfatti-"Humanimal"(Hat Hut lp 8)1980

Here’s a wholly improvised set from master trombonist Radu Malfatti from way back, long before he became the eminence Gris,new school minimalist guru spawning a new generation of no input process orientated improvisers and composers.
The André Breton like,lofty eyed arbiter of the orthodoxies of the genre.

Actually it’s a collective effort, also featuring Frenchmen Jerry Chardonnens(the nominal leader) and the better known bassist Leon Francioli.. Who in the 70’s performed and or recorded with Mal Waldron, Alan Skidmore, Pierre Favre , Joe Mcphee



and countless others no doubt.
in fact he’s on the Michel Portal unit live in Hamburg posted below 10 days ago.

This isn’t a lost minor masterpiece, intriguing though it is.
One thing is certain; its eclecticism was fairly rare among “free improvisers” at the time.
Not unlike the above mentioned Portal concert it moves in and out of fixed tonalities, and more conventional harmonic terrain as well as pure sound. And sheer exuberant noise.
It all amusingly ends with a beautifully played (un- ironic) calypso.

Unfortunately the record was in far from pristine condition, when I bought it 20 years ago, and the first side features rather a lot of surface noise...all though at times its hard to differentiate from the closely recorded pops made by by spittle as air is forced through saliva clogged tubing (Malfatti’s progeny have capitalised on this releasing entire discs where the textural drama produced by collisions of air and spit have become the central focus of the music )


Humanimal is dedicated to Joe Mcphee.
Jerry Chardonnens-drums and percussion
Leon Francioli-db, pno
Radu Malfatti- trombone ,and devices
Recorded live at willisau’79.. sept 1st 1979