For readers who have never gone to the Konfrontationen Festival in Nickelsdorf, a charming little burg of less than 2,000 inhabitants in Austria right on the Hungarian border, you may have missed your chance to attend one of the finest small-scale showcases for international jazz and free improvisation. Founder Hans Falb passed away in December 2025 and while a tribute program took place in July 2026 the future of the festival absent his guiding force is uncertain.

Seminal German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach was on the bill for Konfrontationen's first edition in 1980 and then several more, including the last one curated by Falb in 2025. With him are younger compatriot drummer Willi Kellers and a trio of Portuguese: alto saxophonist Nuno Torres and the father-and-son string pairing of Ernesto (viola, crackle box) and Guilherme Rodrigues (cello). The same group previously made a 2022 studio session also released on the elder Rodrigues' Creative Sources imprint.

The set here is a single improvisation with a mysteriously oblique entry, soon starting to bubble up. The presence of viola and cello lightens the proceedings where a bassist would darken it. Things move in peak-and-valley methodology common to lots of similar encounters, with the most compelling moments coming at the extremes of volume and texture; the quietest sections, where the unusual instrumental combinations are most audible are the most successful interactions. This is most evident towards the end: a pastoral excursion, with viola sounding like a flute, leading into a marvelous clatter.

Schlippenbach knows better than most how to interact with different instruments at different volumes and he and Kellers have an especially nice jumpy hookup throughout. Another fascinating aspect is that when the strings play in the highest registers and with hard bowing, they add an almost-electronic element. Actual electronics come via the aptly-named Michel Waisvisz-invented crackle box.

As the improvisation reduces to silence, Kellers introduces a rolling theme during the subsequent applause and rest of the band tumbles in quickly thereafter, snare played with hands and the others in a restrained mode, a surprising type of encore when usually there is bombast. The juxtaposition of brooding piano, cello and saxophone against hyperactive drums and viola feels very organic and becomes the best nine minutes of the show.