Above & Beyond Protocol

by Henry Kaiser / Andrea Centazzo

Above & Beyond Protocol features Andrea Centazzo on percussion, malletkat & sampler and Henry Kaiser on electric & acoustic guitars. In November of 1978, Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo came to New York and recorded with early members of the (soon-to-be-reckoned with) Downtown Scene: John Zorn, Eugene Chadbourne, Tom Cora, Polly Bradfield. Mr. Centazzo soon rented a van and drove across the US, working with a number up & coming musicians: Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith, Jack Wright, John Carter, Vinny Golia, members of Rova Sax Qt and guitarist Henry Kaiser. This fabulous 2 CD set features unreleased recordings from that initial trip in 1978, as well as two more recent sessions from 2017 and 2019. Both musicians have come a long way, their playing has evolved quite a bit over the 40+ years. Originally, Mr. Centazzo played mostly a drum kit (working with many other Italian avant-jazz greats, but for more than a decade, Centazzo plays a large collection of gongs, timbales, assorted cymbals, electronic vibes (malletkat) and sampled percussion/sounds. Mr. Kaiser also has worked his way through a variety of devices for his electric guitar, eventually ending up with a rack of effects to choose from. Then first disc comes from two session in 2107 & 2019. The second disc also features some 23 minutes of improvised duets from 1978, some 40 plus years ago and early in the music careers of both musicians.