Live at the Jazz Cafe

AMG Review of Live at the Jazz Cafe

James Mason
All Music Guide

In 1997, the six-member King Crimson did not break up, but broke apart and re-formed into four distinct groups, titled Projekct One through Projekct Four, with the aim of generating material to be used and reconfigured when Crimson officially restarted. Each had a different grouping of the six members, and each had its own unique character and sound. Projekct One consisted of Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Levin on bass, Trey Gunn on touch guitar, and Robert Fripp on guitar. Projekct One's existence was limited to a four-night stand at the Jazz Café in London, with all four nights of music being entirely improvised, without the band even rehearsing together. This album represents a band-picked "best-of" those four nights, and while comparable to the power of the King Crimson brand name, it stands as its own unique animal. Some tracks call to mind the 1973-era Crimson ("4 i 1"), others the 1980s version ("3 i 2"). But tracks like the near-industrial "4 ii 2" or "2 ii 4" (decipher the track names if you please) point to the direction that Crimson was about to take with its subsequent album The Construkction of Light. "2 ii 3" is a stand-out track here. It's a gentle Fripp soundscape piece, with a beautiful solo, reminiscent of some of his more ambient work with David Sylvian. As part of the very worthy Projekcts box set, this is the highlight, something that fans of Crimson should seek out. It's also excellent for fans of the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants sound of live improvised music.