Cor Fuhler: Corkestra

Another Ra acolyte is the Dutch composer Cor Fuhler. Fuhler, like Ra, plays piano and cheesy electric keyboards. More important, he’s a gifted composer and bandleader to reckon with. Fuhler leads a medium-sized, Arkestra-like nine-piece band, that lends its name to Corkestra (Data). Fuhler’s tinny electric-organ playing on tunes like the free-time “Zout I” and the flamenco-ish “Rockpool” makes the Ra connection all but explicit. Aside from Fuhler’s compositions, the band’s strongest assets are its two garrulous, free-playing tenor saxophonists-Ab Baars and Tobias Delius-both of whom combine a good-humored, wild-and-crazy sensibility with some serious free jazz chops. Fuhler’s tunes are sophisticated constructs, inventive melodically and formally. These folks are Dutch, so there’s the requisite jokiness you’d expect, but there’s also plenty of substance.

Originally Published April 1, 2005