Presencia
Nebbia / Banner / Andrzejewski
ears&eyes records EE 25-245 (camilanebbia.bandcamp.com/album/presencia)
A truly integrated trio, Presencia’s nine group-composed tracks highlight the interactive skills of Berlin-based young veteran improvisers: Argentinean tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia, UK bassist James Banner and German drummer Max Andrzejewski. They combine without artifice in perfectly timed sequences that move from dissonant to delicate. Although Nebbia’s reed textures are most upfront with tropes ranging from honking wallows to thinning whistles and note bending smears, Andrzejewski’s paradiddles, ruffs and cymbal splashes constantly expand the tracks’ rhythmic centre, while Banner’s resounding strums and occasional arco thrusts solidify low-pitched evolution while sketching out clenched string stains that colour the trio’s interactions.
String thumps and clunking drum smacks frame shaking acrid reed whistles that define the widening interface on Plateau/Her Name Causes Shudders for instance, while on Arid a wallowing exposition is defined by the saxophonist’s stentorian buzzes and whistles, with bass string pumps underlying the few brief pivots to straight-ahead open-horn sound elaborations.
Lyrical or treble toned sequences are secondary to note-bending and percussive narratives from the trio members. As well, unexpected taut string bowing, slippery elevated reed tones and slick percussion accents throughout confirm the individuality and versatility of the group. Plus the three’s determined and unambiguous presence provides an introduction to, or another instance of, talent confirming from musicians who will definitely have more to communicate from now on.
