A masterful over-outspreading of poly-pronged ingenuity.
One of the most depleted qualities in “contemporary jazz” is the ingredient of “daring”. These largely accepted confinements, & the consequences for non-compliance towards a kind of self-subduing creative conservatism within the ranks, is dutifully shouldered by a majority monoculture of accademized “shrunken heads” musicians fresh off the factory line, further strangled by an industry & culture that rewards & encourages safety & prediction.
It’s a crisis.
In stark defiance of such preponderant stooping & stagnation is the rather marvellous Chris Pitsiokos & his “particularly piqued” CP-Unit extravaganza, who uni-loony the disparate dimensions of improvisation & composition to dramatic new extremes.
This fresh Starmaker Machine double disc album has a lot to answer for, & the reverberations will be irreparable.
Commendation & acclaim aside (it’s absolutely fucking amazing), perhaps the greatest of the myriad of achievements these compositions, crew, & conditions attain is that of “daring” … Hotdang! – this is some balls out multi-orbital daredevil shit. Compositionally & situationally, devising complicated formulae is one thing, & quite brilliant at that, but this is even more sophisticated & multi-structural in it’s constant deliberation of wrong-footedness in some festivity of “people who make delicacy out of difficulty”. these guys are constantly invigorating the challenges of their complexities, environmentally, individually, & interactively. Its almost as if they are trying to continually catch themselves out, wrangle themselves into the most precarious counter balancing, & opt for the most difficult & awkward circumstances & positioning possible, continually pushing beyond the cusp of the safety threshold of their already soaring abilities. This is also where the tremendous interdisciplinary skill comes in, as these immensely challenging if not “self hostile” conditions that Pitsiokos has authored & engineered require exceptional technique & instrumental competence (everybody slays it).
It is a runaway riot of not just complicated chronological structuring, dys-lateral punctuations, off-beat improvisations within already frustrated signatures, profuse contrapunctuality, assiduously involute compositional cohesions, & asymmetrical assignments that seem like they are designed & antagonised to throw off the partnering & unconventionally-syncopating bandmate.
Exceedingly impressive & gleefully dangerous, but it also manages to be holistic & effective musically, as material & conditions this bold & technically demanding are a kind of triumph in & of itself, even if the end result is almost just a testament to ability & artistic ambition. But yes! somehow this exorbitantly convoluted byzantium actually manages to fully blossom to – and as – a musically satisfactory completion, succeeding confidently in both sectors.
That is not -by any elastications of expectations – an easy or minor achievement.
Again, the sheer boldness & brazenness of this music, & the near-manic & polymerous self-&-group-challenging yield a remarkable distinction.
This vital ingredient is “dangerous” to the status-quo, as it can be highly inspirational & infectious, redefine the standards, & can teach a crippled culture how to expand on it’s cultivated limitations, & raise rather than lower the ceiling.
The inventiveness even extends to the compositional construct. The inhospitable & anti-symmetric track durations, three of which exceed the 25-minute margin (the shortest at just 02:37), gamble on an extended tightrope walk & slackless stringent of white-knuckle control. And the second CD, a live set variation & rearrangement configuration on the first disc’s material, brazenly affirms the cell’s rigorous disposition in a live capture (just in case you thought they were multi-tracking in post play edits & couldn’t pull it off live as a group).
It is also worth noting how ornate & variegated the transition phraseology is within the compositions wild careening.
Praise be to all the other brilliant musicians marshalled under the madman to this opus, who all perform at a consistently blinding luster to the formidable & vertiginous tempestuousness scripted by their ballsy maverick upstart … they are all super, & the ardour never pulls-a-punch.
On this CPU configuration, you have clean electric bass from Dan Peter Sundland, trap drums from Luca Marini, & synthesisers from Marta Warelis.
Marta is a maniac, maxing out the synthesisers with moog-like melt-offs that invoke a close kinship with the classic 70s Jan Hammer solar flaring or peak Paul Bley “Scorpio” circuit scrambling … you know, the screaming Star Trek death ray analogue futurism sonics of yore. Some of her other modulated phonics sound like inquisitive robot language from 70’ b-movie or television production sci-fi, & there are some great & highly technical back-and-forth confabulations between Chris’s alto & her intricate &-ant-like alien ramblings. It’s a hugely colourful & playful addition, & on occasion brings a tentative noise dynamic (feedback, software errors, malfunctioning vintage space equipment) during it’s most unmoored mouthfuls. She is also capable of playing with a shredding & flaying rapidity & hysteria, as well as feverishly erratic maelstroms, bringing definitely the wildest “sonic” element in the stack.
Now, Mr. Luca Marini on skins, never heard of the guy, but he summons an astonishing curlique of overly enigmatic adornment. Magnificent chops, control & technique, hyper novelty, ever-shifting idiosyncrasies & intellectually vivid transmutations, a shocking versatility with a spirited capriciousness that borders on a disorder. The variety of radical alternatives of approach, execution & sonic situatianism that he runs through on this album are mental, always, always subject to morphing & seemingly driven to mutate the angle in as many categories as possible. It is technically & creatively superlative. He also wields a brilliant use of displacement & disjointed or “skipping” beats, that function as chronologically accurate but feign errancy or off-sync.
Shit-hot & able bassist – Dan Sundland – performs an extremely integral CPU component. The clean sound of his electric bass brings a beneficial elucidation to the motley & Marta’s burnout & backdraught, as well as episodes of crucial rhythmic anchoring. This outfit deal with an alarming quantity of “simultaneous extremes”, or contradicting or disparate applications per instrument/musician, which requires a particular contrast of sonics to access or illicit further diversifications & spacial accentuation. Dan’s bass is the most reserved & decorous “sound” – or instrument – within the squad, but therefore determines a delicious counter foundation. And, but of course, by no means is his playing sedentary, & he cavorts with a nimbleness, dynamic vitality, & divergence throughout, as well as operating as a perfect stalwart for the collective commotion.
As for Chris Pitsiokos’s bona-fides as an alto saxophonist, I think it is well established by now, this guy is one of the baddest motherfuckers of his generation, if not the genre’s historical entirety as a whole (I am of the later).
The resulting shared-pallet of these contrastingly congruent ingredients & instruments is absolutely ecstatic.
Its also worth emphasising that despite the prevailing velocities, the aptitude that all the musicians demonstrate for disciplined restraint, minutia, subtlety & reserve are substantial & adept.
Again, there is almost an insistence on inhabiting both antithesis, perhaps concurrently (don’t ask! just listen!).
As a notable composer, what about historical precedent & context for the plucky peg-legged pariah Pitsiokos? I would specifically invoke contiguity to Steve Coleman, Henry Threadgil & a much more energetic & tactical adaption of Anthony Braxton. Michael Urbaniak’s glorious Fusion series are another parallel cohabit worth referencing.
The music/compositions & directive of the CPU also fuse the dual-disciplines of improvisation & tightly coordinated composition to somewhat of an apex, in varying shades & scenarios.
Recording & production wise, you have a very clear & clean, extremely neutral finish. There is no polish & there is equally no grime. I myself would have liked a tinge of grit in the production, & yet, “the perfect grey” option that has been elected is highly satisfactory, & probably the best decision given the altitude of virtuosity on rampant display, which deserves maximum clarity.
Simply struck, some of the greatest, most exciting & exuberant music I have ever heard in the genre. & it sets a new seismic standard. Something I find almost equally as thrilling & admirable about it is the statement & implications that it also radiates itself as an accompanying by-product. It’s the sheer boldness, bravery & the brilliance of it all, running headlong into the challenge, hurling into battle with the fervour, tenacity & sprightliness of a fanatic drunk on the “arrogance of youth”. Starmaker Machine is manifestly overspilling with this absurd & abundant amplitude of explosive “youth spirit”, intrepidity without safety proceedings, &, it revels in risk!
It is not just an utter joy itself, but a quality that is profoundly lacking in the culture/industry & something that again distinguishes Chris Pitsiokos so starkly from most of his “peers” & contemporaries (backed up & enabled by the sabre-sharp virtuosity of those carefully ensembled).
There is a very dire paucity of authentic, potent & “dangerous” energy in the main field, & with the rare exception that it is exhibited, such energy will probably be lacking in the technical acumen or artistic dynamism – & the creative sagacity & elan – to deliver anything much more than “punk jazz”.
The genre/industry/culture, which also suffers from enormous & well-organized corruption as well as cowardice, is desperately in need of reinvigoration & re-radicalization.
It is shit kicking, tower toppling, head rolling, king killing, mind altering, game changing, revolutionary grade upsurgency like this that might just turn the tables, & its about fucking time.
Cutting edge cavalier.
2026, Eleatic Records
https://chrispitsiokos.bandcamp.com
Starmaker Machine is Released/available on the 12th of August 2026.