Unusual instrumentation and programming, Directions + Destinations is part of a series of late career projects by Argentinian clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio, 84. An early practitioner of Fluxus and free jazz, over 60 years Gregorio's trajectory has led from Buenos Aires to Vienna and Chicago and finally New York. He's been involved in numerous acoustic and electronic projects with everyone from Franz Koglmann to Mat Maneri.
GPS, named by the players' initials, is another unexpected pivot since the other trio members are several decades younger than Gregorio. Additionally sounds on these 14 tracks match his clarinet tones with textures from Jeff Pearring's hard edged alto saxophone and the steady pulse of bassist Charley Sabatino.
Most of the briefer tracks are variations on interactive themes clocking in at less than two to slightly more than five minutes. But the designated group exhibit is "The Crooked Mile", which at 18 plus minutes is easily lengthier than many of the other tracks combined. Besides length, "The Crooked Mile" is also the only one that references Gregorio's Fluxus roots with reeds and strings improvisations, periodically interrupted by the sonority from maracas-like shakes, triangle pings, cow bell ringing, sandpaper-like scrapes and paper crumbling. Besides that, the exposition frequently moves from wobbly broken octave group processions to contrapuntal tongue stops, doits and squalls from the reeds as the bassist's ostinato marches in a linear fashion. Eventually as tandem reed textures become emaciated with hisses and toneless breaths, arco bass pressure extends and completes the narrative.
Other tracks create introductions and refinements to the showpiece with techniques encompassing reed mewls and whines, tremolo lockstep expositions, double tonguing and mouthpiece buzzes from Gregorio and Pearring, as Sabatino adroitly caps every movement with thick woody thumps and pinpointed spiccato strokes. The brief "Bee" ends the disc with lighthearted reed judders over a walking bass line.
The Directions + Destinations exhibited here proves that for some creativity is still paramount in their ninth decade. Still longer tracks would have enhanced this adage.