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.


  The Acrylic Rib (Albert Cirera / Olie Brice / Nicolas Field) 
  As Far as November
  (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!)) 


  
   review by Ken Waxman
  2023-08-14
The Acrylic Rib (Albert Cirera / Olie Brice / Nicolas Field): As Far as November (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Although recorded in Geneva, the foreign nationals gathered here weren't taking advantage of Switzerland's famous secretive banking system. Instead Spanish tenor/soprano saxophonist Albert Cirera and the UK's bassist Olie Brice and percussionist Nicolas Field with their Acrylic Rib trio aimed to communicate with many people as possible at this club gig. Cirera, who has worked with Agust� Fern�ndez, Brice with Paul Dunmall and Fields, who is also a visual artist, show on two tracks that evolve on either side of 30 minutes, that they've nurtured a tight musical connection unaffected by nationality, written music or monetary policies.

Never really soloing, Fields instead nudges ahead the improvisations with a collection of clanks, ruffs and rebounds, extending broken-octave connections with rim shots and accenting passages with bass drum wallops. Brice's skill allows him to sound two tones from a single string with the resulting strums and plinks periodically creating separate refrains as well as adding to theme projection, often in tandem with Cirera. Broad bowed strokes introduce the second selection, but arco or pizzicato is Brice's preference for low-pitched, slow-moving continuum rather than the occasional sul pontcelo pressure or super speedy strums.

With such synergy from the others, the saxophonist has the perfect backdrop on which to explore every nuance of the narratives. His asides range from fierce elephant-like trumpeting to sopranissimo peeps and renal growls. Throughout he repeatedly creates interludes of basso scoops, intense multiphonics, wallowing stutters, R&B-like repeated honks or hyper-vibrated tongue stops and squeaks. Such is the trio member's coordination that any time he � or occasionally the others � threatens to upset the horizontal unity, timbral partnerships, especially resulting from Bruce's powerful plucks and stops, reconfirming the sonic pathway.

International organizations headquartered in Switzerland specialize in tripartite and larger agreements. Members of The Acrylic Rib reflect the former in their group make up and the later in the multiplicity of timbres they bring to their improvisations.







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:


Oliver Lake/
Fred Hopkins/
Phillip Wilson/
Baikida Carroll/
Michael Gregory Jackson:
Rivbea Live! Series,
Volume 4
(NoBusiness)



Ziv Taubenfeld/
Helena Espvall/
Joao Sousa:
You,
Full Of Sources
And Night
(NoBusiness)



John Zorn (
Adams/
Raskin/
Ackley/
Ochs/
Glenn/
Lopez/
Siler/
Winant):
John Zorn's Olympiad
-
VOL. 4
-
Curling
(Tzadik)



Last Dream
Of the Morning (
John Butcher/
John Edwards/
Marc Sanders):
Sharp Illusion
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Agusti Fernandez/
Artur Majewski/
Albert Cirera/
Ramon Prats:
Som-hi!
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Remedy + Aki Takase (
w/ Thomas Heberer/
Joe Fonda/
Joe Hertenstein):
Remedy
+
Aki Takase
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



John Zorn (
Davis/
Halvorson/
Gress/
Wollsen):
The Bagatelles
Vol. 5
-
Kris Davis Quartet
(Tzadik)



Flojter (
Mats Gustafsson/
Delphine Joussein):
Paris Blow
(Utech Records)



Tyshawn Sorey:
Monochromatic Light (
Afterlife)
(DaCamera Editions)



Arkady Gotesman (
w/ Nate Wooley/
Charles Gayle/
Mark Sanders/
Liudas Mockunas/
Martin Kuchen/
Ned Rothenberg):
Music For An Imaginary Ballet
(NoBusiness)



Tomeka Reid Quartet (
w/ Roebke/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara):
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Tomeka Reid Quartet (
w/ Roebke/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara):
Dance! Skip! Hop!
[VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Steve Beresford/
Pierpaolo Martino/
Mark Sanders:
Be S-Mart
(Confront)



Luke Stewart/
Aymeric Avice/
Chad Taylor:
Deep In The Earth(RogueArt)



Jane in Ether (
Klein Mayas/
Voutchkova):
Oneiric
(Confront)



Joe McPhee/
Steve Swell/
Mark Tokar/
Klaus Kuge:
Spontaneous Convergence
(Not Two)



Unsub (
Fetusk/
Davis):
Xodiak
(Love Earth Music)



Remergency (
Hirsh/
Hollenberg/
Sewelson):
Wave Benders
(Squid Note Records)



Marty Ehrlich/
Julius Hemphill:
Circle the Heart
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher:
Away, I Was
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)







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. (20344)