Schoenberg on the Beach
Jeff Lederer with Mary LaRose
Little i Music LIM CD 111 (littleimusic.com)

Balls of Simplicity – Jeff Lederer Notated Works 1979-2021
Morningside Tone Collective
Little i Music LIM CD 112 (littleimusic.com)

In 1909 the intrepid Arnold Schoenberg brought the hammer down on the Wagnerian concept of tonality, in favour of musical expression that abandoned tonal centres, key signatures and traditional application of harmony. He did so through a system in which all the notes of the chromatic scale were assigned equal importance. The result was music that sounded so radical to the ear that one critic went as far as describing the sound of Schoenberg’s music as if “someone had smeared the score of Tristan whilst the ink was still wet”. 

In his closest approximation (in deferential homage really) of what might be Schoenbergian music – or rather how the composer might have responded to the more salubrious climate of his music today – Jeff Lederer gives us – what else? – Schoenberg on the Beach. Joined by his wife, the fearless, boundary-blurring vocalist Mary LaRose, Lederer combines the burnished sound of his clarinet and high-wire act on the flute, with LaRose’s often-dissonant vocal glissandi. Together Lederer and LaRose, and other instrumentalists, have deeply interiorized these works and offer wonderfully idiomatic performances, bringing to life Lieder by Schoenberg, Webern and others. With lyrics from Goethe, Rilke, Nietzsche, et al, highlighting the musically radical Second Viennese School, all of which feed Lederer’s and LaRose’s equally radical artistry. While Lederer’s arrangements and LaRose’s interpretations respectively, are likely to have as many naysayers and refusniks as Schoenberg’s Three Pieces for Piano Op. 11 had in its day, songs such as Blummengruss and Summer Evening do thrill. 

Moreover, this repertoire is redolent with outstanding performances by vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, cellist Hank Roberts, bassist Michael Formanek, drummer Matt Wilsson and the redoubtable Marty Erlich on The Pale Flowers of Moonlight. All of this makes this disc unmissable.

Lederer has not been well represented – or so it may seem – solely for his compositions. Balls of Simplicity – Jeff Lederer Notated Works (1979-2021) will certainly remedy that lapse. These five (extended) works for reeds, winds, strings and piano clearly trace the dominant pattern of Lederer’s career, from chromatic Romanticism through atonality to serialism. Persistence of Memory (2015) and the seductive Piano Piece (1979) lay the groundwork for Bodies of Water for flute, cello and piano (2020). The darkest work, Song for the Kallyuga for piano, clarinet, violin and cello (1984) which marks the chemical disaster at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing almost 4,000 and maiming half a million others, is quite the artistic apogee of this album.

À Pas de Loup – Quiet sounds for a loud world
Marianne Trudel
Marianne Trudel Productions TRUD 2023-2 (mariannetrudel.com)

Dédé Java Espiritu
Marianne Trudel; John Hollenbeck
Marianne Trudel Productions TRUD 2023-1 (mariannetrudel.com)

Time Poem – La joie de l’éphémère
Marianne Trudel; Remi-Jean Leblanc; John Hollenbeck
Marianne Trudel Productions TRUD 2021-1 (mariannetrudel.com)

Marianne Trudel ascended the pinnacle of music 20 years ago, with formidable technique and breathtaking, innovative expression. Today, still atop that do-not-touch-me pinnacle, there’s an erudite quality to her pianistic approach, the lived-in character of her improvisations and phrase-making that is engaging, the fire and brimstone of youth now complemented by the well-honed values of experience. So, it is only natural to celebrate – yet again – with a set of three recordings: solo, a duo with drummer John Hollenbeck and a trio with Hollenbeck and contrabassist Remi-Jean Leblanc.

Some discerning listeners may be tempted to hint at the fact that Trudel’s later music with small ensembles may be more adventurous given the interaction between musicians that affords improvised conversations and the possibilities of considerable development of ideas. The very act of playing solo on À pas de loup – Quiet sounds for a loud world is a pensive act of musicianship best enjoyed in similar quietude. That way, what is composed and improvised, often on keyboard instruments – including the gently wheezing harmonium – and percussion (instruments, individually played and/or overdubbed) offers a taste of Trudel’s sense of adventure to the solitary recesses of her brave creativity. It is in the very act of being in quiet conversation with herself, inside her own head, buzzing with ideas so to speak, that we find considerably venturesome music. Melodic beauty quickly ascends vertically with masterful harmonic development and passionate embellishments. When Trudel adds percussion – as on Chrysalide, for instance – her supple facility for ideation and articulacy reaches its much-vaunted apogee.

Music embellished by the wondrous percussion colouration of John Hollenbeck is experienced truly memorably on Dédé Java Espiritu. Trudel has said that when she first played with Hollenbeck, she knew from “the first few notes” that they played together that there would be a musical reprise. Now comes this album featuring not simply breathtaking and daring adventure, but all of it featured in beautifully crafted arrangements of beguiling variety and sensuousness. Trudel’s love for – and mastery of – her instrument shines brightly. She and Hollenbeck seductively manipulate melody, harmony and rhythm in phrases that fly off the page on Coquillages. Meanwhile Trudel appears to bend notes while she and Hollenbeck masterfully sculpt the long inventions of Tension and Happiness. Clearly in the spacious arrangements and improvisations there’s not a semiquaver that has not been fastidiously considered.

To complete the trilogy of recordings released to mark two decades in music, Trudel returns to the studio (and the soundstage} with Hollenbeck. This time it’s a trio on Time Poem - Le joie de l’éphémère and the duo is complemented by the elegant rumble of the contrabass played by the masterful Québécois veteran Leblanc. There is unlikely to be a more reliable guarantee of high-quality contemporary trio music than when these names appear on the cover. Trudel’s musicians are fully attuned to the vision and artistry of their fearless leader, whose pianism bristles with meaningful virtuosity. Hollenbeck delivers his melodious rolling thunder of drums and hiss of cymbals while Leblanc beguiles with the spacious growl of his bass. Check out everything here.

You cannot have one of these three recordings without the other two, so, my best advice would be to indulge freely for untold moments of musical pleasure.

Uncountable Spheres
Margaret Maria; Bill Gilliam
Independent (marbyllia-bg.bandcamp.com/album/uncountable-spheres)

Goddess of Edges
Margaret Maria
Independent (margaretmariamusic.com)

New collaborators, cellist Margaret Maria and pianist Bill Gilliam have formed their duo Marbyllia and released the album Uncountable Spheres, a sonic free-exploration between friends. These two well-travelled artists have collided from different worlds: Gilliam, a London-born, multi-award-winning Toronto composer, pianist and poet, is well known for his prepared piano and sonically stretched compositions and collaborations. Cellist Margaret Maria, a U of T graduate who went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, is becoming known as an improvisor, composer and producer after shedding her previous life as a classical cellist with the Vancouver Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestras, though she has been improvising, teaching and collaborating for many years. Their new experimental piano and cello duo album is described as “a journey from our earth’s core gravitational forces and our troposphere where we live impacted by climate change, and further up into our distressed stratosphere.” The resulting landscape is often spacey, explosive, dark and stormy, but each track reaches through the different levels of the atmosphere and eventually breaches the surface. The two improvisors push the limits of each other: Gilliam’s extensive range of sounds from his piano and Maria’s extended cello technique and unusual sound makers. The track Stratosphere in Distress is a solid representation of this dynamic team.

Listen to 'Uncountable Spheres' Now in the Listening Room

As a double-release feature, Margaret Maria’s solo album Goddess of Edges is her 15th studio album and highlights her editing craft and production skills, as well as reminding us of her decades of experience as an orchestral cellist. Here Maria shows off her extensive cello chops, as well as her love of rich string compositions with layers of rhythm, harmony and texture. Each track is layer upon layer of cello of every range, resulting in a full symphony of sounds of every description; from the full and rich C-string to the highest false harmonics, powerfully rhythmic chords and squeals and screams. A solid, strong disc chock-full of exciting and layered works, the compositions are driving and emotional pieces; many could be contemporary dance soundtracks. With themes of death, angels and shame, this album is edgier and more expressive than her previous offerings. Driving fragility far away; this is an exposé of Maria’s conflicting representations of who we are on the inside while our exterior belies our vulnerability.

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If you missed the double-release featuring both performers at Annette Studios on December 2, you can find the recorded stream on YouTube. It’s well worth the visit, to hear of Margaret Maria’s compositional process, her release from classical orchestral playing and readings of inspirational poetry.

Hopeful Monster
Eve Egoyan; Mauricio Pauly
No Hay Discos NHD 004 (nohaydiscos.bandcamp.com)

Some five years in the making, the ten tracks which constitute Hopeful Monster reflect the experimental musical partnership of adventurous Toronto pianist Eve Egoyan and Vancouver-based composer/improvising musician, Mauricio Pauly.

Egoyan performs on acoustic and augmented (in many ways) piano, voice and other acoustic instruments such as the judiciously used kanun and Armenian duduk. The latter adds acoustic and cultural specificity to this often geographically though not aesthetically unmooring album. In most respects, this music lies in the experimental mainstream in the lineage of Tenney, Cage, Varese, et al.

Pauly, also a maker of hybrid electronic instruments, contributed a roomful of electronic gear such as computers, live samplers, live processing, dekeyed Chromaharp, and “drum bundle,” but also the inscrutably named instruments: O-Coast follower, FAWslicer and MtkAsmC25. Don’t let the profusion of odd gear throw you however. Being created through exploratory improvisation based on fearless artistic attitude and close listening by both musicians, this music attains a kind of biological fluidity.

“There’s a dark edge to [Pauly’s] sound-world that’s kind of like stone,” observed Egoyan in an interview, “… a real earthiness to his electronics, something very organic about his sounds. I [too] have a connection to an organic instrument and … to organic samples, but then I can go digital with them and make it very supernatural.”

Hopeful Monster explores a boundaried acoustic ecology through ranks of electronically mediated filters. The resulting collaboration reveals an audacious, supranatural sonic world stranger and at times more wonderous than the one outside this album.

Businessless
Sick Boss
Drip Audio DA12188 (sickboss.bandcamp.com)

I’ve made no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Vancouver improv scene, and this album from Sick Boss will become one of my favourites for this year. With leadership and compositions from guitarist Cole Schmidt, this album leaps beyond the band’s first album released in 2017, the self-titled Sick Boss.

Right out of the gate in Businessless, their subsequent release, we are blasted into outer space with a more aggressive direction and further explorations of explosive guitar and effects. What’s not to love here! The second track When the Buzzards Leave the Bone sounds exactly as titled; it’s a fantastical craziness featuring a long exposé of improvisation between the brilliant cellist Peggy Lee and the equally brilliant Jesse Zubot on violin, expressing just how well these two players know each other. The relentlessness of Useless Genius sits heavy on the solid rhythmic creativity of another phenomenal artist, drummer Dan Gaucher, who drives much of the edge of the album, along with Schmidt’s gorgeous wildness on the guitar. Both of the longer tracks on the album, Doctor Dawn and the melodic CJ Blues, express the most cohesive display of how tightly this band channels their collective creative energy. All this craziness is glued together by bass and synth player James Meger and blown apart by the stratospheric melodies of JP Carter’s trumpet. 

A condensed album at under 40 minutes, every track of Businessless is outstanding, but Useless Genius, featuring the holy hell of violin that is Jesse Zubot, is killer. 

Bells… Then and Now
Don Thompson; Rob Piltch
Modica Music (modicamusic.bandcamp.com/album/bells-now-and-then)

Having grown up in Toronto and being interested in jazz music from a young age, the opportunities to hear Don Thompson on bass, piano and, less frequently, vibraphone were plentiful indeed. In fact, he was such a near-constant presence on this city’s live music scene that for me, the playing, compositions, and more generally, the sound of Thompson’s various projects and performances were the very essence of Toronto jazz from that time. As such, when I listened to Bells… Now and Then, a re-release of Thompson and guitarist Rob Piltch’s great 1982 recording Bells, bookended here with two terrific and newly recorded additional tracks, I was instantly transported to a familiar and welcome place of musical memory.

Originally released on Umbrella Records, Bells, paired Thompson with then-24-year-old guitarist, Rob Piltch. The result is an intimate duo performance that demonstrates the ways in which Thompson was so good when working with guitarists, while situating Piltch in a long line of accomplished guitar players who worked as creative foils for Thompson (Sonny Greenwich, Ed Bickert, Lenny Breau, John Abercrombie, Jim Hall, Emily Remler, Reg Schwager). Whether it is the Sonny Rollins-esque vibe of Mike Malone’s Caribe, or the immediately recognizable vibe that the initial chord change inculcates at the beginning of Thompson’s truly beautiful composition September, listeners who are old enough to remember Toronto’s aforementioned jazz history will be served a happy auditory reminder of days gone by, while new listeners now have the exciting prospect of wonderful music to explore. Thanks to Roberto Occhipinti and Modica Music for both re-releasing this fine recording, and for adding two new tracks of Thompson and Piltch’s important contributions to the Canadian jazz discography and canon.

Mike Herriott – Tales of Tricksters and Vagabonds
Mike Herriott; H&H Studio Big Band
H&H Records (mikeherriott.com)

Get ready to be transported into a mystical world of fairytales and mysterious characters, where the border between reality and fable begins to fade. Renowned Canadian trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Mike Herriott’s latest release takes the listener on a captivating foray into the magical realm of fantasy through lyrical melodies and riveting riffs. The album showcases Herriott’s compositional talents as well as his instrumental skills, as he plays most of the instruments, with the exception of cello and drums, heard in the recording. This makes for a truly enchanting musical journey and should be an addition to the collection of any jazz-lover that’s looking for something unique and truly engaging.

What makes this album stand out is the concept behind it, “[a] big band… album of six original compositions that depict a collection of some of the «sketchier” characters from great works of fiction,” as Herriott describes it. A modern six-part jazz suite if you will. Each tune is chock full of personality, truly reflecting what the idiosyncrasies of each “villain’s” persona. Take Puss, in Boots for example; a classic, snazzy big band sound with a driving beat and sultry horns immediately call to forth images of the “puss” in question, slinking around in the shadows, possibly up to no good. Herriott has done a fantastic job of merging the domains of fantasia and reality within his compositions, merging and blending genres; creating an imaginative, detailed world in the mind’s eye.

Carnaval
Carl Mayotte
Independent (carlmayotte.com)

Multi-faceted, bustling, exuberant and emotive, Quebecois bassist/composer/leader Carl Mayotte’s new album makes for quite the engaging listen. Mayotte consistently showcases the entire range of his instrument, using the upper register to add colour and warmth to interludes in tracks like Cascade. His use of natural harmonics and arpeggiations encompassing the fingerboard in the intro of Coeur d’enfant unlocks the electric bass as a sole creator of soundscape, which allows for a tranquil meditation before the blazing inferno that follows. Each composition in this sense feels like a living organism, never content with occupying a single space for too long, with woodwind quintet Choros often providing near breath-like reprieve from all of the endless celebratory rhythms. In terms of the instrumentation and arrangements, Mayotte draws from a consistently exhilarating palate of electronics, heavy percussion sections and acoustics, creating a synthesis of influences that are never tedious. 

The tracks that make up the Carnaval suite flow seamlessly into each other but contain enough twists within them that the overarching statement itself feels more holistic than the form normally allows. This album is a very ambitious undertaking, but it never allows this vision to obscure its sense of adventure, tunefulness or grace. Central to this point is L’éveil, one of the more discreet moments to be found on the tracklist, albeit maybe its most rewarding on repeat listens. As we listen closer and closer, Mayotte leaves us with more and more wonders to discover.

Recent History
Mike Murley; Mark Eisenman; Neil Swainson; Terry Clarke
Cornerstone Records CRST CD 166 (cornerstonerecordsinc.com)

Craving the perfect musical accompaniment to those cozy winter nights spent at the fireside, a warm drink in hand? Stellar duo Mike Murley and Mark Eisenman’s newest release is just the soundtrack you’re looking for. Mellow sax melodies and catchy piano riffs make for a warm, inviting record that conjures images of a snug living room and music floating softly in the background, watching the snow fall softly. Featuring all-stars Neil Swainson on bass and Terry Clarke on drums, Murley/Eisenman’s compositions soar to new heights via these fabulous backing musicians. 

The album harkens back to the classic jazz sound, featuring standards by greats such as Monk, Schwartz and Strayhorn. Yet just the right amount of modernity is brought into the mix, with Murley and crew adding a pleasing contemporary twist to the pieces to swiftly bring them into a current musical setting, as is heard in the time-honoured Monk’s Dream. Murley/Eisenman mention that the album “[reflects their] shared interest in writing new melodies on standard chord progressions,” otherwise known as contrafacts. What also adds a unique spark to the record is the several pieces that showcase Murley/Eisenman’s shared, intertwining solos that soar lyrically overtop of Clarke’s constant, energy-laden beat and Swainson’s rhythmic bass riffs. For those jazz aficionados looking for a foray into the past while also remaining present in the current day, this is a great album to add to the collection.

Gradient
Jesse Dietschi Trio
Independent JDM-2023-01 (jessedietschi.com)

With so much so-called 21st-century music to listen to it is refreshing when a disc turns up that harks back to the elements that made jazzy, improvisational music so attractive in the first place: melody and swing. In this case it is the album Gradient by the contrabassist Jesse Dietschi and his trio. This ensemble is fortified by pianist Ewen Farncombe, a wunderkind who combines technical prowess with intelligence and good taste, and the swinging timekeeper with a gift for melodicism, itinerant journeyman and drummer Ethan Ardelli, now well on his way to becoming something of a proverbial elder statesman. 

The trio operates as a partnership of equals, not as bassist and accompaniment. Each participant is given ample room to stretch; to pick up threads, develop ideas and to embellish Dietschi’s compositions with a range of ear-worm riffs, dancing melodies, insistent rhythms and harmonies with the added elements of colour and texture. 

A relative newcomer, Dietschi emerges as an eloquent musical contrabassist producing some tasty arco work (cue Loose Plug and Canmore), and agile pizzicato everywhere else. As a composer he is clearly more gifted than he would get credit for being. This is likely because he splits his time between chamber orchestras and contemporary ensembles. The music of Gradient, however, suggests a questing mind with a borderless, erudite aesthetic. This is quite a rare combination under any circumstance.

Listen to 'Gradient' Now in the Listening Room

Sonic Bouquet
Jocelyn Gould
Independent JGCD0523 (jocelyngould.com)

The aptly titled Sonic Bouquet is the third album as leader from guitarist-composer Jocelyn Gould, and is a snapshot of an artist who has refined their craft immensely. The melodies are lean, memorable and feature just the right amount of subversive turns. Across nine tracks, there is nary a single minute of excess, with only pinpoint solo sequencing and an enduring sense of restrained dynamism to be found. It is no coincidence that every track is directly in that five-to-six-minute sweet spot, the whole affair is an absolute breeze by design. 

The tracks distinguish themselves from each other through their beautiful subtleties and small details. Spring Regardless’ head is a clever one, making use of syncopated shots almost exclusively to relay its information, but these hits are metronomic enough to feel purposeful rather than a barrage of material. Coming out of the melody, Rodney Whitaker’s deep-pocket bass solo contrasts nicely with the driving nature of previous proceedings, reining in the band with the logic-defyingly easygoing time feel of his lines. 

Alongside other standard selections on this album, My Foolish Heart takes a ubiquitous ballad and turns it into a stirringly yearnful dialogue between two guitars in the midst of mourning. Gould and former teacher Randy Napoleon’s creative synergy forms the nucleus of what makes this album feel like a documentation of profound musical connection. In the first minute of My Foolish Heart, this effect finds its pinnacle.

We’ve Got Nothing
Peripheral Vision
Independent step3-009 (peripheralvisionmusic.com)

Innovative Toronto-based jazz quartet Peripheral Vision has released their long-awaited second live album, their sixth full-length release. From the first track, the listener is pulled into a musical realm where genre-defining boundaries don’t exist and the imagination can be let loose. The group was formed years ago by long-time collaborators guitarist Don Scott and bassist Michael Herring, with saxophonist Trevor Hogg and drummer Nick Fraser brought along for the 15-year (and counting) ride. The album was conceived during pandemic times and was a much-needed creative outlet for these musicians, as it was for many. 

The record stands out for its ability to make the contemporary and experimental accessible and captivating to listeners. This is achieved through two main components: a non-stop groove that gets the body moving and grooving, and through meandering between and constantly mixing genres to create an intriguing set of tunes. Each piece has its clear personality and moods that the listener is transported through. One of the influences for the record that Scott/Herring mention is “influential bassist Dave Holland’s thoughts on achieving balance in life,” which highlights the perfect word to describe this set of pieces: balance. Balance is reflected through the way each musician has a definite role to play within each song, how there is an equilibrium in regards to movement and mellowness and how we are left with a sense of symmetry and stability as the last notes fade.

Migrations
Allison Au; Migrations Ensemble
Independent AA-23 (allisonau.com)

Allison Au’s Migrations is a vibrant sonic landscape with ebbs and flows inspired by transitions through physical landscape. Described in the liner notes as a long-due creative articulation of personal history and identity, this undertaking succeeds in a profound, inspiring, thought-provoking way. Central to this triumph is the depth, versatility and range of the ensemble itself. 

Au’s own jazz combo is accompanied by string quartet, Michael Davidson on vibraphone and the expressive vocals of Laila Biali. This instrumentation unlocks a spectrum of prismatic mood and texture, with the brightness of the strings crackling over an undercurrent of spellbinding harmonies. Biali not only faithfully conveys the weight of her words during the expertly paced spoken word sections, but she shines as a primary melodic instrument in tandem with Au’s saxophone, particularly on pieces like Them. 

As a suite, Migrations’ sense of interconnectedness does not feel contrived. Rather than flowing into each other directly with manufactured studio transitions, there are brief pauses between movements. This allows each scene ample time to remark on the previous, while organically creating forward momentum that complements the album’s central text and themes. Racing Across the Land feels like a direct continuation of where Aves Raras ended up in terms of its pace, but from the utterance of “long after you are gone…” the throughline grows beyond what is outwardly stated, allowing for a retrospective plunge into the metanarrative properties of sound.

Quinsin Nachoff – Stars and Constellations
Quinsin Nachoff; Mark Helias; Dan Weiss; Bergamot Quartet; The Rhythm Method
Adyhaopa Records AR00040 (quinsin.com)

Noted saxophonist/composer Quinsin Nachoff has just released a new offering, pinioned on the synthesis of a free, non-chordal jazz trio and string quartets. The result is a challenging and bold three-part jazz suite. Nachoff is the composer of all of the material here, and the project itself features Nachoff on tenor as well as the superb players, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Dan Weiss – both frequent collaborators of Nachoff’s. The trio is joined by NYC’s string ensembles, the Bergamot Quartet and The Rhythm Method. The synthesis of these ensembles is breathtaking, as is the compositional and improvisational freedom lying therein.

Mankind has always looked upward to receive insight and inspiration from the sky – and in acknowledgement of those ancient engrams, the three movements of the suite are entitled Scorpio, Pendulum and Sagittarius. Scorpio explores the white luminosity of individual stars – mere points of light – morphing into constellations. Pizzicato strings instigate the chaos, as they form and are greeted by lengthening string lines, while blazing percussion indicates the heartbeat of the galaxy. The strings both support and antagonize the subtle spots of light, while the bass and cello lines support the very firmament itself. Nachoff’s potent tenor jumps into the fray with a deeply soulful recitative followed by a searing cry against oblivion, and hence into the very eye of creation itself. Fine percussive work from Weiss, as well a gymnastic and soul-searing bass solo from Helias summon the Paleolithic magic.

The 14-minute Pendulum is a study in extremes – invoking frenetic conversation between the string quartets, and Sagittarius celebrates the almost Vedic universal law common throughout the known and unknown universe – the eternal law of destruction and re-creation. This is a major work of luminosity and brilliance, which will inform the higher consciousness of each listener.

Play!
Lucas Niggli Sound of Serendipity Tentet
Intakt CD 406 (intaktrec.ch)

More than a game piece that creates musical situations suggested by the shuffling of playing cards into three-fold suits, Swiss percussionist Lucas Niggli’s refined this eight-track program so that tentet members negate any breach between composition and improvisation. Although different conductors, soloists and backing players are listed for each piece, foreground and background roles aren’t static.

Niggli, whose experience encompasses solo sets, a punk-jazz trio and African percussion experiments, only lightly sprinkles rhythmic strokes and slaps among the tunes from his kit and drummer Peter Conradin Zumthor’s. Instead the tracks’ contours are decided by soloist juxtaposition, as extended technique alters expected sounds. Movement 2 for instance evolves from Marina Tantanozi’s electronically doubled flute puffs and shrills to near opaque vibrating textures from organist Dominik Blum and accordionist Tizia Zimmermann, then reinstates flute peeps mated with squeeze box jerks. The most natural transition between dissonance and delicacy occurs with Movement 4 and Movement 5. Joana Maria Aderi’s voltage-altered vocals paired with percussion clangs cushioned by Marc Unternährer’s tuba ostinato subsequently turns into a brief pastoral flute feature.

While space is also made for aggressive altissimo asides by tenor saxophonist Silke Strah and stentorian slaps from bassist Christian Webber, as well as widely separated rock-like or marching-band-like interludes, the suite’s basic structure remains constant and linear.

Not only does the group Play exceptionally, but it also demonstrates how to play using varied sound elements while preserving a coherent musical perception.