Guilherme Rodrigues, Ben Bennett & Ernesto Rodrigues — This Full Mouth (Creative Sources)
The father-son duo of Ernesto and Guilherme Rodrigues may be some of the most prolific improvisers out there, which is saying something. Their seemingly never-ending output provides a real-time document of a living, breathing, ever-changing improvisational practice. With This Full Mouth, the duo is joined by percussionist Ben Bennett, known for his work with luminaries such as Michael Foster and Jack Wright. Bennett’s playing represents extended technique for percussion taken to perhaps its most logical extreme. His drum set is completely deconstructed, with drum heads placed on the floor and a variety of objects utilized to create wild and unexpected sonorities.
On This Full Mouth, one can hear the fruits of the Rodrigues’ decades of experience improvising together. Bennett’s percussion alchemy is an important x-factor in pushing their playing into unknown territory. On “Break/Even,” Bennett plays as if he is shooting sparks out of his drumkit, and the Rodrigues’ strings interplay at a delirious pace until the music slows to a creeping, wavering drone. Bennett’s extended technique takes center stage on “Changed Blood,” and is perhaps as close to Evan Parker’s saxophone playing as percussion can get. The trio chirps away frenetically, conjuring a woodchipper of sound. Bennett’s wobbly percussion technique turns to a death rattle, and Ernesto’s droning cello provides the perfect backdrop for Guilherme’s scratchy viola. Though the energy slows somewhat towards the end, as a whole This Full Mouth represents improvised music at its most animated.
