Sabir Mateen - Creation (2020) [Hi-Res]

FACTS FIRST: CREATION presents one 47-minute, fully improvised 2012 live performance from Berlin, featuring three Germans and one New Yorker. The Germans are drummer Klaus Kugel, bassist Christian Ramond, and vibraphonist Christopher Dell. Kugel and Ramond have been frequent bandmates since the late ‘80s, currently with clarinetists Michel Pilz and Theo Jörgensmann. A beat is optional in this sort of free jazz, but momentum is a requirement, ands Kugel and Ramond, thinking in tandem, are expert at supplying it. I was unfamiliar with Dell before hearing him on Creation, for which I bear blame as a typically geocentric American, because he provides such color and contrast here, both in his solos and his backgrounds, that he’s now among my very favorite vibists, along with Chicagoian Jason Adasiewicz. The wildcard is the sub-underground shock tenorist Sabir Mateen, who continues to be a mystery man in whatever scene he finds himself. Prepare to be blown away by him—as close as possible to literally.
- Francis Davis, July 2020

Sabir Mateen - Tenor Saxophone, Voice
Christopher Dell - Vibes
Christian Ramond - Double Bass
Klaus Kugel - Drums