HurdAudio Rotation: One Duo, Two Trios

Nels Cline/Elliott Sharp: Duo Milano. 2007. Long Song Records: LSRCD103/2007.

Nels Cline: guitars
Elliott Sharp: guitars

It's a pleasure to hear such compatible performers blend their common instrument together like this. The shared sense of terrain that each brings makes it impossible (and unnecessary) to separate who is doing what in any given sounding texture. Divided into two halves - an all acoustic set and an all electric set. It's remarkable to hear how similar the musical language and aesthetic identity is as these master improvisers traverse between these distinct timbral divides. The addition of sustained tones, amplification and processing is a subtle addition to the consistency of ideas that flows through the life blood of this organic sound.

Matthew Shipp Trio: Circular Temple. 1994. Infinite Zero: 14506-2.

Matthew Shipp: piano
William Parker: bass
Whit Dickey: drums

Music like this makes me love my speakers. The clarity of sound between these three separate forces is a remarkably well-recorded and produced aural image of independence and unity. These three players work with the raw material of free improvisation - big confident slabs of free jazz sounds that cover the canvas with controlled splashes and dribbles. Erupting from time to time with a vicious ferocity that stands out all the more because of the moments of contrasting quiet that pool around the edges. This is a solidly percussive side of Shipp's piano playing and it rolls easily against Parker's bowed utterances as Dickey meets volume with volume in this set. All played with an unwavering alertness of the poetic angles of each given moment.

Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley: Crackleknob. 2009. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 662.

Mary Halvorson: guitar
Reuben Radding: double bass
Nate Wooley: trumpet

The individuals found on this collaboration inspire an enthusiasm for this music long before the first sounds of Crackleknob strike the ear. Individually, each is a fresh voice on their respective instruments and part of a dynamic improvisation scene in Brooklyn. Listening to this music exceeded my already high expectations. Musical ideas are tossed effortlessly between players in a manner that is beyond conversant or even reactive. Many of these ideas extend beyond the immediate rhythms or phrases of the moment as the intuitive sense of form and structure within these "free" environments is striking. This is collective dialogue with sound materials that dances between players in a remarkably even, trio-centric manner. With no sense of urgency (or ego) to fill each moment with more (or less) than what is called for. Recommended.

Probing Resonances - Marilyn Crispell/Mark Helias/Andrew Cyrille Trio at the Rose

Marilyn Crispell/Mark Helias/Andrew Cyrille Trio
Paul Lytton/Nate Wooley Duo
@ Rose Recital Hall, 4th Floor of Fisher-Bennet Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Marilyn Crispell: piano
Mark Helias: bass
Andrew Cyrille: drums

Paul Lytton: drums
Nate Wooley: trumpet, electronics

This was exactly the Marilyn Crispell set I've been craving after all the years of obsessing over her recordings in trio formats such as this one. A well-rehearsed set featuring compositions from all three members of this super-trio (and other composers) complete with a performance of Crispell's signature interpretation of John Coltrane's "Dear Lord" and the phenomenal chemistry between long-time collaborators.

Andrew Cyrille is clearly one of the great drummers of all time. His recordings with Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane and Albert Ayler makes for some incredible recorded documentation. Hearing him play live only solidifies my already high esteem with his expansive dynamic range and creative acumen. At one point he put a real jolt into the start of his solo with a forceful thud on the tom as he stood up and explored a stand-up improvisation at the kit that allowed him to strike the drums at odd angles and draw out the percussive timbres of the seat he had just vacated.

Mark Helias was a particular joy with his rich, arco solos and lock-step creative dialogue with Crispell. The set concluded with a performance of his composition "Subway," a piece filled with twisting rhythmic lines and satisfyingly busy details as a tribute to the New York subway system.

The Rose Recital Hall is little more than a classroom with a Steinway and great acoustics. There is no raised stage and little separation between performers and audience. I was sitting directly behind Crispell - close enough to read the sheet music she was playing from. Close enough to study her technique at the keyboard. It's hard to believe that such proximity is possible to one's heroes performing with such a great trio. Crispell's percussive approach to the extreme registers of the piano was a perfect compliment to Cyrille's drumming - with clusters answering his elbow-on-toms sound. The textured improvisations leading into the composed materials, and the many liberties taken within those materials, is something I'll be absorbing for some time.

The opening set of Paul Lytton and Nate Wooley was a short, free improvised exploration of extended techniques for each instrument. This duo mined a tight, restrained dynamic range with nice sense of drawn out tension. Wooley's use of electronics focused on bringing out the micro-sounds of air passing through the trumpet that allowed for some exquisite mouthpiece-free playing. With the mouthpiece on he deftly navigated some multi-phonic textures, circular breathing, mutes and some low register sounds that were incredible. Lytton's drumming was a great match with his cluttered drum surfaces and taut, energetic restraint.