Hery Paz

I Am Three
In Other Words
Leo Records CD LR 939

Stripped down to a spartan core, two identically constituted trios have devised differing but complementary concepts of creative music. One, with Cuban-American tenor saxophonist Hery Paz plus Americans, trumpeter Nate Wooley and drummer Tom Rainey express es itself with six tracks of pure improv. Arguably facing a more difficult task, the members of I Am Three (IAT), Germans, trumpeter Nikolaus Neuser, alto saxophonist Silke Eberhard and drummer Christian Marien on its third CD, move away from interpreting Charles Mingus music to performing their own compositions influenced by his works.

While lacking a chordal instrument to play music inspired by a double bassist may appear risky, I Am Three rise to the challenge. Experienced players on the Berlin Scene, working with players as varied as Günther “Baby” Sommer, Hans Lüdemann and Matthias Müller, the 11 compositions written by each of the three individually encompass the multiple moods and sensibilities common to Mingus and IAT.

There are straight-ahead and speculative themes, Blues-based and parade ground influences, numerous pitches and tempos explored, and probing solo work and close harmonies are featured. “Pleitereiher”  is one defining instance. Built up from singular notes from each, it ascends to a central horizontal flow and then descends. Neuser’ mouthpiece suckling leads to smears and expressive top-f-range puffs while Eberhard counters with mewls and split tone squeaks, climaxing with unison peeps from both horns. Yet all of this is packed into three minutes.

Mariens struts his stuff elsewhere> On the concluding  “Poem for Valentin” his rumbles and power ruffs introduce careful harmonies and trilling affiliations from the horns. Meanwhile “Mau Mau”, where a “Night in Tunisia” contrafact is built from exotic patterning with emphasis on the bass drum and cymbals, it’s the trumpeter’s bent notes and the saxophonist’s double tonguing that emphasize the theme’s airiness.

Other expositions reflect other textural emphasis. There’s an instance that combines circus music and “Boogie Stop Shuffle” with squealing triples and horn slaps from the horns (“Pattersson Blues”); jolly bounces that could be inventive carousel music that encompass smacks, paradiddles and pops from Marien and muted sweetness from the horns (“Blues in Aspik”); and even one track which gives away its evolution in the title (“Fast Slow”). It’s an andante exposition that slides into allegro as flatulent brass blasts, drum pops and reed trills define the narrative.

Elsewhere tracks such as “Wait a Second” confirm technical acumen. Here, the stop-time horn exposition backed by drum ratamacus breaks up into slippery grace notes then bites from Neuser, and trills from Eberhard advance to spetrofluctuation as the two chase each other’s timbres. That means despite lacking a chordal instrument a logical and linear development illuminate these tracks along with smeary honks and triplets from the trumpeter; multiphonic and snarling vibrations from the saxophonist; and pounding crashes or clipping rhythmic deviations from the drummer.

The dissonant and divided tones which are one part of In Other Words are the main focus of River Creatures. Not that these sonic creatures are frightening. Wolley who has recorded with everyone from Harris Eisenstadt to Ivo Perelman; Paz who has played with people as different as Cooper More and Francisco Mela; and Rainey who has played with just about everyone on both sides of the Atlantic are adaptable improvisers.

That means despite also lacking a chordal instrument a logical and linear development illuminate these tracks. Of course, also expressed are smeary honks and triplets from the trumpeter; multiphonic and snarling vibrations from the saxophonist; and pounding crashes or clipping rhythmic deviations from the drummer. Overall there’s no diminishing in aggressive note placement and timbre stretching during the tracks.

For example the concluding title tune explodes from the top with Free Jazz expressions encompassing Wooley’s screaming triplets and open-horn overblowing; Paz’s ecstatic triple tonguing and tonal smears; and Rainey’s battering smacks and ruffs. At the same time when the half-way mark is reached, harmonized horn tones work their way down the scale to a near-melodic intersection as cymbal slaps vibrate behind them. That is until the mood is shattered as the trumpeter’s bugling and the drummer’s rat tat tats create a near-martial interface. Paz’s subsequent bites and doits mate Free Improv to Latin inferences as the three race to a climax of strides and thumps.

Each trio member gets to express his expertise , but not in isolation. For instance Rainey’s most aggressive pounding with duple tempos and  vibrating ruffs is part of “Delaminate”. This is also where Paz’s wide vibrations and bent note screams focus the exposition. However, Wooley’s subsequent grace notes and silences transform the piece into an essay in moderated lower tones.

Whines and spangled pointillist notes characterize Paz’s total expositions as much as overblowing, while Wooley’s variations on grace notes, solid portamento runs and bugling pivots to version of Reveille are as much a part of his playing as snarly asides and strained freak notes. With Rainey’s press rolls and pumps sharing space with cymbal emphasis and unmetered pops he too defines the alternating progressive and precise flow the trio brings to this disc.

While no one will ever confuse these River Creatures with a mainstream combo, the session can be appreciated for the same skill and innovation that I Am Three brings to its program.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: River: 1. Systematic Assumptions 2. Recoil 3. Espejismo 4. Delaminate 5. Friction Fit 6. River Creatures

Personnel: River: Nate Wooley (trumpet); Hery Paz (tenor saxophone) and Tom Rainey (drums)

Track Listing: Words: 1. Übershrungshandlung 2. Cordiale 3. Birthday Song 4. Blues in Aspik 5. 6. Fast Slow 7. Mau  8. Kellerballade 9. Pleitereiher 10. Pattersson Blues 11. Poem for Valentin

Personnel: Words: Nikolaus Neuser (trumpet); Silke Eberhard (alto saxophone) and Christian Marien (drums)