by Dave Lynch
Maybe Dutch alto and bari saxman Dirk Bruinsma needed more (musical) structure in his life. His longest-running band, Blast, began in 1989 playing rather thoroughly composed music and moved inexorably toward almost complete improvisation by the 21st century. Possibly tormented by an overriding desire to see notes scribbled on a page, in 2002 Bruinsma showed up in a tight four-piece, Brown vs Brown, that largely ditched the improvisational stuff in favor of abrasive rock with herky-jerky rhythms, abrupt compositional shifts, and a noisy and aggressive attack, as heard on the group’s 2010 Cuneiform label debut (and second album overall), Odds and Unevens. The Brown vs Brown sound is not far from where Blast started, although this … » Read more