During the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic, as a way of staying sane, bassist Bill Noertker began composing strange and repetitious little ditties. As he re-read Samuel Beckett’s Watt—a book whose enigmas had long intrigued him—he saw the similarities between his compositions and Beckett’s absurdist novel. He was compelled to create a sonic universe that paralleled Watt. The result is in flitters, a suite of 49 short and whimsical pieces brought to life by the brilliant members of his long-standing ensemble Noertker’s Moxie.

reviews

by Dave Mihaly

I listened to the recording sequentially from one to forty nine. Compelling. Dry. Witty. Looping. Lurching. Reaching. Pithy. Tight. Enigmatic. Childlike. Euro. Braided. Controlled. Wild. Certainly Beckettesque. Beautiful…..what’s the back story of track 49? Also Noertkeresque. The brain as an aspect of the natural world. Personal. Universal.

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unrequested CD review
by F. MacDonald

title: in flitters - 49 bits from B*ck*ett

artist:
    Noertker's Moxie:
         Annelise Zamula, clarinet, flute
         Brett Carson, piano
         Jordan Glenn, drum set
         Bill Noertker, contrabass, compositions
produced for Edgetone Records by Bill Noertker and Rent Romus

from the liner notes by the composer:
"Samuel Beckett's 1945 novel, Watt, is a dark and humorous tale of a human whose insatiable need to know everything lands them in the asylum. We who worship the great god of the search engine would be wise to take note."

also, words used by the composer in the titles of the pieces:
funambulistic
irrefragable
ravanastron
flitters
xenium
conglutination
floccillating
yellowist
jocose
obnubilated
fricatives
entelechies

reviewer's response: haven't played it yet. Five stars!

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review of CD release show
by DC Spensely

in flitters glitters. A masterpiece collection of 49 contemporary Jazz movements, crisp and inventive. Noertker’s Moxie ensemble delivered in astonishing precision the “head” (Jazz parlayence) for 49 original tunes, dispensing with the usual outbound meanderings expected in the form. Or were the Beckett texts the heads and in flitters the meander? The best thing about the abomination that is Beckett ever heard by mortals. See this live, buy the recording and heap honors on the masters Bill Noertker and Annelise Zamula. Brett Carson on Piano and Eli Knowles on drums and percussion put this performance over the edge into samsara.