Alex Riva

Should someone ask for an example of an outlier session even in the canon of Free Music, then Solos and More appears poised to answer the query. Created as a showcase for his solo work on recorders by Zürich-based Alex Riva, the eight selections not only demonstrate his interpretive skill on a woodwind usually associated with primary school recitals, but he also adds additional sonic elements to this program.

Riva, who plays with other creative musicians like Silvan Schmid and Lukas Müller, has another associate, , Mikael Szafirowski mix and remix the textures on some tracks and devotes “Carnatic Music Class With a Martian”, the longest track, to a duet between his free improvising and the singing of South Indian classical vocalist Bindhumalini. While he’s able to create a Carnatic-style drone and splattering fipple flute-like squeals to complement the yodeling and pseudo-davening of the singer, the performance is a one-off. More notable are the watery rumbles and flutters on the remixes, especially on “Sun Ra Becomes Rasam”. It’s where what sounds like a European ambulance siren is gradually replaced with two tones from the fipple flute, one shrill and continuous, the other guttural and rugged. Fused, they become so opaque the sound field is almost engulfed.

As spectacular is the timbral alchemy Riva extracts from the duct flutes. Some tracks are defined by unbelievable altissimo leaps that become more strident as they advance. Others make it appear as if he’s eviscerating deeply buried irregular vibrations that come as much from his renal passages as the horn’s innards. Aviary suggestions from chickadee peeps to rooster crowing are heard, as well as what results from squeezing a child’s plush toy. “The Reincarnation Of a Toe” likely answers the outlier definition best though. Two distinct tones are heard through circular breathing, with the horizontal ear-splitting one contrasted with the other’s secondary lyricism.

Riva has made a case for the reorder in improvised music. But what will he do for an encore?

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Solos: 1. The Self-Immolation Of a Toe 2. On Glasses-But-No-Cheese Street 3. Sun Ra Becomes Rasam 4. Beedi Power 5. The Reincarnation Of a Toe 6. Mika’s Minutes 7. Narasimha’s Toothbrush 8. Carnatic Music Class With a Martian

Personnel: Solos: Alex Riva (recorders); Mikael Szafirowski (mix and remix) and Bindhumalini (voice)