Space, time and patience seem to be three words that come to mind when thinking of Australian experimental jazz trio The Necks ( Tony Buck on drums, Lloyd Swanton on bass and Chris Abrahams on piano) and their spectacular concert at The Corner.

This is a trio of mature aged men who have now been hard at work improvising epic and visceral musical pieces now for over 23 years, and it shows. The first thing I noticed was the intense silence (after an intense welcome applause) as they sat at their instruments in a meditative state waiting for the inspiration to take hold. It’s a full room at The Corner, everyone seated and fans of all walks of life are attentive. The first strike comes from Lloyd Swanton as he plays a simple pizzicato of two notes, allowing an almost uncomfortable space between each pass, which only fuels the tension. These two notes build slowly as Tony Buck applies just enough pressure to shape the form, yet the silence between the notes is broken by the sound of a car horn in the distance, and it is so in tune with the bass that a small group of people erupt into nervous laughter.

I close my eyes and realise what I am about to experience is not an endurance test but a ride, a journey with a group who have mastered the art of slow burn, and this ride requires patience on the listeners behalf and most of all, respect for the space in between the music. It may often take up to 10 minutes before anything really happens at a Necks show, but if you pay close attention you will see it’s all happening right then and there; each moment is an evolution of sound as the creation unfolds and develops.

Soon enough Buck is winding up a pulsating beat with mallets on toms and minimal cymbal work as Chris Abrahams slowly creeps into the piece with single notes playing in octaves. This follows a slow trajectory, reminding the audience of the elegantly attuned ears these men have. You will never see Abrahams look around once during a set. His fingers resonate with the same energy as the others and it somehow becomes a hypnotic unison, or more so, an exercise of complete trust.

Tony Buck’s rhythm picks up and his mallets become a swirling mass of organic texture, wavering in and out as if the mixer is pulling the faders up and down, but he’s not. This creates environmental imagery, as I imagine the beating of an insect’s wings in the first bursts of Spring as the flora gives birth to color. Abrahams now shifts into random patterns with a recurring theme of extreme octaves that play off each other as the improvisation evolves dramatically.

There is a lot of imagery that is conjured when listening to The Necks music, and often it is hard to describe the music in any other way, given that the natural evolution and texture within these pieces paints such exotic landscapes that one can not, not imagine something vast, beautiful or menacing. In this particular first set, the Trio take us through these motions of flight, color and eventually into the depths of something monstrous and frightening, that possibly exists in our own psyche, or possibly in theirs.

This is familiar territory if you’ve heard their soundtrack to the film The Boys. They are not afraid to go to foreboding places, just as they are not afraid to break the mould and become something almost unclassifiable. However, we fly right out of the darkness upwards towards the light, and the metamorphosis becomes ethereal and utterly stunning as Swanton’s bass somehow emulates the sound of an organ while the piano dances between the music in a stunning chord sequence. The piece winds down as Buck creates a deep droning sound that can only be described as the sound of a man softly snoring. Finally the first set comes to a halt, and it’s beautiful and completely mesmerizing.

At times there is an almost electronica edge to The Neck’s music, in its precision and ‘other worldly’ soundscapes, which makes them even more incredible considering there is never a moment where any backing tracks, loops or electronic instruments are used. It is all simply sounds of skilled craftsmen at work, utilising their instruments for complete effect.

In the second set (each song is a 45 minute to an hour stretch) Abrahams begins with arpeggios that blend formation and fold into gorgeous arabesques as a motionless Buck cleverly plays chimes with one hand dangling beside him, hidden from the audience. Swanton enters with long straight bows of single notes that bend into place perfectly.

This piece is a much slower build and verges on almost monotonous, but around the 13 minute mark Swanton introduces a new direction with a slight look at Buck, and the acknowledgement takes place in an instant as Abrahams follows suit, in his way. You see, there are no instant adaptations as each member lets the music evolve, even if one has instigated a change in mood or tempo. It feels at times as though they are pioneers balancing on the edge of the blade between musical chaos and pure inspiration, as this is music that defies gravity of structure and dimension.

This is noted especially near the middle of the second movement as Abrahams strikes keys on the lower register in a way that makes them sound like distorted harmonics, Buck pulls out an egg beater and begins creating metallic swirls of percussion over cymbals and Swanton steadily holds the anchor under flurries of discordant piano motifs that weave in and out. At times there are sounds that come from the stage that don’t even make sense. Each of the Necks are geniuses in their own right yet never do any of them ever overshadow the other. It is always a respectful gesture towards…something, and something often unpredictable. I catch a smile crawl across Swanton’s face as the Trio build into a crescendo around the half hour mark. Swanton bows several notes with such swift control that it sounds like a string quartet at times and Buck explodes into momentum utilising his full kit, and the ‘Jazz Trio’ mutate into what sounds like an experimental post-rock outfit and almost a different band.

It would be easy to imagine this kind of improvised music drawing a particular crowd and isolating others, but after an experience at a Necks concert you quickly realise, there are no boundaries and no limits to one’s imagination as you are taken on a unique and exploratory ride that is more of an experience than something that can simply be put into words.

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