The Thing



The Thing are the trio of Mats Gustafsson on saxophones and electronics, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and were established in February 2000 during a series of concerts and a recording in Stockholm. Their music represents a uniquely Scandanavian take on "free jazz" - a synthesis of the German, British and American traditions of free music whereby this Swedish-Norwegian trio maintain the energy of their compositions at its peak throughout.

As far as I am aware, all of these are out of print but you should check out Smalltown Superjazzz and it's equally excellent parent label Smalltown Supersound for other inspirational goodies.

The Thing - Now And Forever [smalltown superjazzz]



This four disc boxset was released in 2008 combining old and new material. Discs 1 and 2 contain the first two out of print releases "The Thing" and "She Knows" which sees The Thing collaborate with the legendary Joe McPhee. Disc 3 is The Thing with Thurston Moore recorded live at the Oya Festival in 2007 (this is only the dvda...if anyone has ripped the dvd...etc). Disc 4 is unique to this release and features recordings from 2005.

1 - The Thing - The Thing
2 - The Thing with Joe McPhee - She Knows
3 - The Thing with Thurston Moore - Live at Oya
4 - The Thing - Gluttony

The Thing with Otomo Yoshihide - Shinjuku Crawl [smalltown superjazzz]



Released in 2009 and recorded live at Pit Inn, Tokyo, on the 2nd of October 2007.

The Thing with Otomo Yoshihide - Shinjuku Crawl [smalltown superjazzz]

The Thing with Jim O'Rourke - Shinjuku Growl [smalltown superjazzz]




Released last year and recorded live at Pit Inn, Tokyo, on the 4th of February 2008.

The Thing with Jim O'Rourke - Shinjuku Growl [smalltown superjazzz]





5 comments:

Anonymous,  14 February 2011 at 18:19  

Caligari:
didn't like that stuff too much.
they seem to me clones
of albert ayler (3/4)
and anthony braxton (1/4).

Anonymous,  23 March 2011 at 00:05  

Hi
The Thing are not clones of albert ayler nor Braxton but extentions of a tradition the is being forged into the future and are brilliant in their own right. Listen to the renditions of Don Cherry tunes or doing free improv on these discs. Mats Gustaffson would be one of the most versatile saxophonists on the planet in this regard along with Paal Nielsen-Love and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten.
thank you for posting this as it is a now out of print and hard to come by recording suite
cheers
Razzle

badgerstump 23 March 2011 at 20:40  

Hi Razzle...totally agree...they are unique! Referencing without being reverential. Posted these because they are out of print...glad this post found a home!

Plague 16 April 2011 at 18:29  

Isn't there another THING release called BAG IT?
Or is that a different band with the same name?

Anonymous,  7 December 2011 at 10:25  

a big thanks, especially for the box i was looking for longer. the thing are one of the best with their wide range of different genres while collaborating with extraordinary musicians.