The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Samuel Leipold / Jurg Bucher / Luca Lo Bianco 
  Ostro
  (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records, Ltd) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2023-03-09
Samuel Leipold / Jurg Bucher / Luca Lo Bianco: Ostro (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records, Ltd)

I first discovered, with pleasure, Swiss guitarist and composer Samuel Leipold in 2020 through his solo CD Viscosity which, according to the album's creator, featured inspirations from Toru Takemitsu to ambient. Instead, in Ostro, Leipold — along with clarinetist Jürg Bucher and double bassist Luca Lo Bianco — inserts reinterpretations of Jimmy Giuffre and, no less, Igor Stravinsky among entirely original (composed and improvised) material. Let me begin by saying that the fresh work has unequivocally validated my initial positive response.

Because of the way the instruments are combined, there is plenty of leeway for the listener to develop a variety of viewpoints, each based on a distinct angle of sound projection depending on the "guide timbre" one selects. It appears that Leipold, intentionally or not, shaped the sessions such that the musicians, relying more on instinct than anything else, could alternate playing the role of catalyst within a counterpoint that remains translucent throughout, and often teetering on a perceptible melancholy (despite a pronounced penchant for angular geometries).

Notwithstanding a mostly clean guitar tone and the bass's familiar pulse (and drone, in Lo Bianco's own "Thanatos"), this reviewer most enjoys the complete lack of support for any jazz cliché. The melodic cues, mainly handled by the clarinet, are intelligible yet not always easy to commit to memory. They span from a thematic straightforwardness frequently associated with film music to prominent register jumps, fortunately eschewing the scalar jargon that gives rise to innumerable platitudes.

Citing preferences is typically silly, but the outstanding "Ondulation" is perhaps the best place to start if you want to know what to anticipate from the trio's clear-headed poetry. Even when reiterating the program in shuffle mode, the constancy in mood, style, and interpretation of the inner signal — translated into expressions at the same time succinct and profound — can be heard clearly. However, don't overlook the subtleties of timbral juxtaposition that distinguish a few moderately experimental passages. While some spurious resonances pose a mild threat to the record's atmospheric stability as a whole, you'll soon understand that their placement is tactically ideal, if probably involuntary.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (13704)