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Abdelnour, Christine / Chris Corsano: Quand Fond La Neige, OU Va Le Blanc ? (Relative Pitch)

Through extended approaches to their instruments, Lebanese saxophonist Christine Abdelnour and NY drummer and slide clarinetist Chris Corsano create anomalous and unorthodox sound environments, Abdelnour making acoustics sound electronic through growls, smears and odd harmonics, while Corsano abuses an impressive palette of sound from every inch of his drums.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Christine Abdelnour-alto saxophone

Chris Corsano-drums, slide clarinet


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UPC: 5902249001433

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPR1088
Squidco Product Code: 27421

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at AudioCue, in Berlin, Germany, on August 5th, 2017, by robin Robben.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Two new very inspired works released by Relative Pitch Records. Both are in memory of co-founder of the label Mike Panico, who tragically died last year. Hopefully, his mate Kevin Reilly will succeed in finding a new companion for continuing this label that has an excellent taste for improvised music. These two new releases may serve as further proof of this.

[...]

With Quand fond la neige, où va le blanc? we are in the company of two other improvisers that are new to me: Christine Abdelnour and Chris Corsano. Abdelnour is of Lebanese origin, living and working in France. Since 1997 she is mainly active as an improviser involved in sound experimentation using sax more or less only. From what I could trace she mainly works solo and developed that way her very own musical language and procedures. Chris Corsano is a drummer from New England who works in the contexts of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and noise music. He worked a lot with saxophonist Paul Flaherty, Thurston Moore, Nate Woolley and many others.

From their duo effort, I learn that Abdelnour is an extraordinary player, who creates a unique sound world by just playing her saxophone without electronic gadgets, although it sounds sometimes as if she using some. Listen for example to the opening section of 'The Mended Lid'. She developed her very own handwriting, using extended techniques, in order to create fascinating sound textures that are very subtle and nuanced. "She employs subtle tonguing techniques, unpitched breaths, spittle-flecked growls, biting, slicing notes and breathy echoing sounds from the bell of her horn." Because she is more into sound than into structure the improvisations were sometimes a bit monotonous for me. But they are also very nice passages to be enjoyed where both players are equally engaged in a musical dialogue, like in 'Sixth Hinge' or the jazzy improvisation 'Every Extra Thing'."-Dolf Mulder, Vital Weekly



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
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Get additional information at Vital Weekly

Artist Biographies

"Born in 1978, Christine lives in France but is of Lebanese origin. After discovering improvised music in 1997 she began a process of self-taught study and sound experimentation using the alto saxophone.

She has developed a unique personal language, producing sounds that are close to those of electroacoustic music but on a purely acoustic instrument.

She approaches sound as a malleable material, rich in concrete textures which combine breath, silence and countless acoustic distortions. She has developed extended techniques and complex patterns of sound production, exploring the microtonal aspects of the saxophone and its high-pitched tones. She employs subtle tonguing techniques, unpitched breaths, spittle-flecked growls, biting, slicing notes and breathy echoing sounds from the bell of her horn. Far from any narrative effects, her music addresses the relation between listening and concepts of perception, time and space.

Solo Artist and involved in international tours with Andy Moor, Magda Mayas, Pascal Battus, Andrea Neumann, Bonnie Jones, Raymond Strid, Sven- Ake Johansson, Chris Corsano, Mazen Kerbaj and many more. She has released more than ten cds and has collaborated with visual art, dance, literature, poetry, as well as projects with noise, electronics, rock or free jazz."

-Christine Abdelnour Website (https://christineabdelnoursehnaoui.jimdo.com/)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"First spellbound by freely improvised music in the mid-1990s after witnessing performances by TEST, William Parker, Cecil Taylor, and others, Chris Corsano began a long-standing, high-energy partnership with Paul Flaherty in 1998. A move from western Massachusetts to the UK in 2005 led Corsano to develop an expanded solo music of his own, incorporating sax reeds, violin strings and bows, pot lids, and other everyday household items into his drum kit. In February 2006 he released his first solo recording, The Young Cricketer, and toured extensively throughout Europe, USA, and Japan. He spent 2007 and '08 as the drummer on Björk's Volta world tour, all the while weaving in shows and recordings on his days off with the likes of Evan Parker, Virginia Genta, and C. Spencer Yeh. Moving back to the U.S. in 2009, Corsano returned focus to his own projects, most notably a duo with Michael Flower, Rangda (with Sir Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny) and solo work, now revamped to include synthesizers and contact microphones in addition to his drum set and home-made acoustic instruments.

In addition to the those mentioned above, he's also worked with, among others: John Edwards (released by: Clean Feed/Dancing Wayang), Jim O'Rourke & Akira Sakata (Drag City/Family Vineyard), Paul Dunmall (ESP-Disk), Nels Cline (Strange Attractors), Jessica Rylan (Load Records), Jandek (Corwood), Sunburned Hand Of Man (Manhand), MV&EE (Eclipse/Time-Lag), Vampire Belt (Open Mouth), Joe McPhee (Roaratorio), and Wally Shoup (Leo/Columbia Japan)."

-Chris Corsano Website (http://www.cor-sano.com/bio.html)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Opening Umbrellas Indoors 6:46

2. Sparrow's Tea 5:20

3. Sitting Still While The House Next Door Burns 9:15

4. Below The Hull 5:05

5. The Mended Lid 8:05

6. Sixth Hinge 4:37

7. Old Tales 3:15

8. Every Extra Thing 6:24

9. Omit The Ninth Row 7:09

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Duo Recordings
Saxophone & Drummer / Percussionist Duos
Top Sellers for 2019 by Customer Sales
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Relative Pitch.


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