Abdul Moimême / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Carlos Santos

Michael Bisio/Kirk Knuffke/Fred Lonberg-Holm

The Art Spirit

ESP 5053

Arguably one of the most peripatetic improvisers in Free Music, American cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm was (pre-Covid sat least) as likely to be involved in a collaboration in Europe as North America. This is proven during these fine trio sets recorded four months apart in upstate New York and Lisbon.

With different associates, each set creates distinct exploratory sounds. Close to a chamber session, the all-American Art Spirit links the cellist with two associates of stylists like Matthew Shipp, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Michael Bisio. As febrile as the other disc is flexible, Transition Zone is a trio with two Portuguese musicians who have recorded with Ernesto Rodrigues, Carlos Santos, who plays computer and synthesizer and Abdul Moimême who plays two electric guitars simultaneously.

Besides the intertwined staccato string pushes and splintered brass puffs expressed by the American trio, most of their tracks evolve in wordly fashion. With space left for radical excursions up and down the bass strings and wooden body, Bisio grounds the eight tracks with arco continuum. There’s even a point on “Like Your Work as Much As” where the sequence turns into unselfconscious swing due to his unperturbed double bass thrusts. Even the cellist’s spiccato squeaks and the cornetist’s tone flutters take on playful motifs. Otherwise the program is what you’d expect from accomplished and sophisticated improvisers like these. “Orange Moon Yellow Field” confirms Lonberg-Holm’s col legno dexterity which resonates in double counterpoint with Bisio’s swells as Knuffke’s dog-whistle pitches provide the counterpoint. Yet if other tracks suggest that the string players can rip apart both the wood and string set with deftly placed stops and slaps, “r. henri” comes across as a near ballad. Warm brass sighs brush up against expressive tones from mid-range double bass as viola-range cello extensions add unfussy accompaniment. Strings throbs on the extended “Both Keys Belong to You” with interpretations mid-point between cadence and coarseness. As Knuffke’s tongue flutters move in a linear fashion, Bisio’s barbed slides and Lonberg-Holm’s sul tasto thrusts roughen the interface so that the climax mixes strident brass triplets and cello string squeaks until Bisio’s aligned strokes calm the ending

Making full use of electronic impulses from each trio member the transitions on Transition Zone are as strained and buzzing as would be expected. Note the ruggedly formidable adjective used as the track titles. Not only do watery thwaps and plunger echoes predominate with whistles and sweeps, but throughout the five tracks a concentrated underlying drone is sustained either from Santos’ synthesizer, Lonberg-Holm’s cello-activated electronics or the action of Moimême’s strummed guitar strings buzzing in tandem. At the same time voltage yelps, wood-rending squeaks and even bagpipe-like tremolo interrupt the improvisations as they move forward.

In contrast some sequins as on “Blister” strain from woody nerve beats to reverberating string slaps and echoes from the guitars until synthesizer projected aviary shrills and machine-like pumps elevate the sound articulation until a crescendo is breached with swift cello glissandi and guitar strums. The final section is subsequently deconstructed into metallic whistles and slides. The most decisive depiction of the closed-knot interaction is on “Hushed”. Anything but what the title suggests, the piece vibrates with viola-pitched sul ponticello cello rubs, pinched guitar frails and gradually intensifying synthesizer programmed whooshes. Still as frequently as the squealing strings and computer burbles audibly deconstruct the exposition, pressure from dual guitar flanges keeps the narrative decisively linear. During the track’s penultimate sequence the adagio cello line pushes the theme faster and faster until it’s joined by guitar twangs. The climax is harder and more rugged even as it reflects the introduction.

Trans-Atlantic and multi-cooperative, with the right partners who share his skills and invention Lonberg-Holm is a major participant in notable sessions no matter the geographical location.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Spirit: 1. Not a Souvenir of Yesterday 2. r. henri 3. Both Keys Belong to You 4. Use Them 5. Orange Moon Yellow Field 6. Things Hum; 7. Like Your Work as Much As 8. A Dog Likes to Gnaw a Bone

Personnel: Spirit: Kirk Knuffke (cornet and soprano cornet); Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics) and Michael Bisio (bass)

Track Listing: Zone: 1. Whirr 2. Hushed 3, Tumultuous 4. Ring 5. Blister

Personnel: Zone: Abdul Moimême (2 electric guitars played simultaneously and objects); Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics) and Carlos Santos (computer and synthesizer)