George Romaine

Guitarist Christopher Riggs was one of the earliest non-Calgarian facets of Bug Incision Records, and quickly became one of the more frequently-appearing names in the catalog over the years. About a decade ago, Riggs was based in Detroit, running the amazing Holy Cheever Church Records and churning out a seemingly endless spiral of excellent, head-scratching collaborations with the likes of Mike Khoury, Joe Morris, Ben Hall and Hans Buetow (in the excellent Traum(a) trio/duo), Tuba with Tony Gordon (aka Freebass), Andrew T. Royal, and more. After some communication between mutually-affiliated combos was established, he appeared in the first wave of non-Calgary artists released on the label, and went on to issue some choice duo & solo albums over the next few years. These albums documented Riggs’ rapidly-developing approach to a highly extended style of guitar improvising, as well as his fascination with creating challenging and unique ways in which to present them. (Please visit his Bandcamp page for a thorough overview of recent solo work.) After a move to Chicago and half-decade or so later, Riggs was back in touch with a crispy new trio recording, an installment of a series of pieces called “extinction bursts”. Abetted with drums (Emily Davis) and piano (George Romaine), Riggs runs down a strangely static - structurally speaking - yet thoroughly kinetic slab of what he calls a “maximalist harsh free jazz wall”, a description that does not disappoint. The activity between the players here has less to do with conversation and more to do with simultaneity; imagine if three of the pieces from Remko Scha’s classic Machine Guitars were transposed to this trio format and layered. A typically strange and welcome return from Riggs and his new cohorts. (Benoit Hughes)

Tracklist

1.	Extinction Burst	60:44

Credits

released October 2, 2020

Emily Davis: drums
Christopher Riggs: electric guitar
George Romaine: piano

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