John Butcher + 13

As accomplished as it is aleatory, the texture created by 14 European improvisers on Fluid Fixations is also logical and ordered. That’s because the eight-part work put together by UK saxophonist John Butcher draws its dexterity from the musicians’ instant responses to the imagery and instrumental blends suggested by the score. With the group completed by two brass players, a clarinetist/vocalist, two percussionists, five string player, a pianist and two voltage manipulators, the pieces are often paced by the careful comping or expressive key tolling of French pianist Sophie Agnel.

Mostly acoustic, the tracks also capture how inventively the vocalized cackles and whimpers of French clarinetist Isabelle Duthoit or the whining textures of UK violist’s Aleksander Kolkowski’s musical saw (!) play off against Butcher’s pre-recorded solos manipulated on vinyl by Austrian turntablist dieb13.

Still the session’s key isn’t electro-acoustics but how players negate the gap between score and improv and interconnect sonic variables. “Florid” for instance combines trombonist Matthias Müller’s plunger smears, aviary reed twitters and Duthoit’s rooster-like whoops. Butcher’s protracted multiphonic stains and stops are framed by massed arcadian strokes on the extended “Oyashio” following ambulatory rumbles and pops from percussionists Ståle Liavik Solberg from Norway and the UK’s Mark Sanders until the saxophonist’s subsequent wails are underlined by Pat Thomas’ electronic oscillations and matched by thick thumps from bassists Pascal Niggenkemper of France and John Edwards from the UK.

A sparking group effort in execution, the sophisticated fluidity of Butcher’s fixed score was also necessary for the players to reach this pinnacle of blended timbres.

— Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Slipstream 2. Ice Needles 3. Florid 4. Oyashio 5. Cracked Mercury 6. At Risk of Enchantment 7. Metastable Bloom 8. Ersa

Personnel: Liz Allbee (trumpet); Matthias Müller (trombone); Isabelle Duthoit (voice, clarinet); John Butcher (tenor and soprano saxophones); Sophie Agnel (piano); Angharad Davies (violin); Aleksander Kolkowski (stroh viola, musical saw); Hannah Marshall (cello); Pascal Niggenkemper, John Edwards (bass); Ståle Liavik Solberg (drums); Mark Sanders (percussion); Pat Thomas (electronics); dieb13 (turntables)