The long-running duo of saxophonist Urs Leimgruber and guitarist Andreas Willers are joined by percussionist Fabrizio Spera (Ossatura) and Alvin Curran (MEV) for a live performance at Casa del Jazz in Rome, merging avant jazz approaches with ea-improv through guitar effects and sampling, finding passion in explorative and unpredictable music of superb skill and intent.
Label: Leo Records Catalog ID: LEO 872 Squidco Product Code: 28608
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2019 Country: UK Packaging: Jewel Case Recorded live at Casa del Jazz in Rome, Italy, on November 22nd, 2018, by Asciano Linzi.
"Recorded in Rome, perfect stage, great acoustics, four master performers with a vast knowledge of idioms as well as a deep understanding of non-idiomatic, abstract means of musical expression and four sets of ears as widely open as the gates of the Colosseum make up the ingredients to this fine live recording. The players flow together effortlessly and are able to create soundscapes of tension and release, harsh noise and delicate whisper, 'engin-ears' of mutual fearlessness doing away with the meaningless separation of genres. Roaming through sounds, carried by trust and wealth of experience they uncoil a steady stream of poised musicality that simply feels right yet defies explanation."-Leo
"These venerable European improvisers tease and taunt the listeners' psyches with free-form minimalist sound-shaping designs and subdued inner-workings with gradual buildups and asynchronous movements, countered by explosive episodes of angst, tinted with creaky sub-motifs. With four lengthy works recorded live in Rome-hence, the album title-American pianist Alvin Curran and Swiss guitarist Andreas Willers incorporate electronics into this otherworldly manifestation of avant-garde frameworks.
The players afford themselves plenty of room for discovery and invention while fusing the group sound into an unclassifiable array of futuristic passages, complete with Willers' scratchy notes and Urs Leimgruber's circular phrasings. Moreover, the guitarist and keyboardist's tasteful integration of background EFX casts bizarre aspects into the already out-of-the-box developments. For example, on "Rome-Ing Part II" the saxophonist's wistful lines amid eerie backdrops transform into wavy currents atop a subtle undertow, intensified by Leimgruber's high pitch squeals, and contrasted by Curran's rolling piano riffs.
"Rome-Ing Part III" is an exhilarating work via scorching blast furnace-like outbreaks, driven home by drummer Fabrizio Spera's bustling asynchronous patterns as the band ventures to parts unknown. However, "Rome-Ing Part IV" offers a diversion due to the saxophonist's bluesy phrasings and Willers' microcosmic parts, offset by oddball sound-sculpting mechanisms. Nonetheless, this mind-altering journey is the antithesis to easy listening fare. Then again, we wouldn't expect anything less from these shrewd instrumentalists."-Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz