Mateusz Rybicki / Joëlle Léandre / Zbigniew Kozera / Rafal Mazur / Zlatko Kaucic

Upholding her mature sonic sophistication and her openness to unpredictable musical situations is French bassist Joëlle Léandre on this three-CD set which does just the opposite of what the title posits. Rather than resisting beauty she and her associates embrace it while expressing individual interpretation of improvisation. Beauty Resistance is unusual in other ways too. While one CD is given over to Léandre’s duo with veteran Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kaučič, the others feature blossoming Polish musicians. More pointedly the bassist collaborates with other low-pitched instrumentalists in each case. On CD1, she and Kaučič are joined by bassist Zbigniew Kozera, who is involved with many groups, some of which include clarinetist Mateusz Rybicki, who besides playing with likes of Tristan Honsinger, is involved with theatre and dance. CD3 is a duet of Léandre and acoustic bass guitarist Rafał Mazur who has partnered stylists like Agustí Fernández.

Familiar with one another’s moves the lengthy duet and short coda with the drummer confirm both players’ connective expression. Moving through time sequences from moderato to presto, the bassist’s col legno string bumps and repeated buzzing ostinato are often more aggressive and percussive than the drum strategy that encompass lug-loosing squeaks, rim patters and the rattles plus the vibrating of stationary and unattached cymbals. Eventually the meld of wood, metal and steel works into a defining rugged statement of tolling drum beats and staccato string rubbing.

Adding Kozera and Rybicki for four-part improvisations, despite the instrumentation no divide is maintained between so-called foreground and background players. Here again it’s Léandre on the offensive. But with a second bassist along she’s able to either reinforce the string exposition or divide the biting evolution so that one bassist, probably Kozera, plays pizzicato for woody resonation, while she plays arco, using sul tasto sweeps and stentorian pops to slide the narrative forward. Meanwhile Kaučič accents the proceedings with drum top rubs and bass drum pressure as Rybicki’s swallowed split tones and squealing glissandi present their own variations. Gentler reed puffs outline the clarinetist’s progress against the cymbal crackles and pressurized thumps, stings and pumps from the bassists. Finally Léandre’s characteristic verbal mumble and warbles introduce a concluding section of layered accelerating reed squeaks, string throbs and distanced cymbal clatters which fade away as clarinet tones become fainter to mark the finale.

Léandre is well-versed on dual bass duets having done so with William Parker, Peter Kowald and others. Yet the four with Mazur are notable since his hybrid instrument posses both double bass – including bow work – qualities and other ones, which are dependent on finger-style plucks close to guitar elaborations. Thumping, stopping, plucking, hammering and slicing, the two mold the eight strings to create unique and exceptional patterns. With vibrations frequently ringing at prestissimo speeds, there’s still room for both to strop sub tasto tones, pound col legno on wood and strings or create frenetic banjo or mandolin-like twangs. Both shrewdly build up to conflated drones on “III 8:40” with widening double and triple stops alternated with Mazur’s finger-style picking and Léandre’s collection of witch-like growls and yodels. Separation for identification is also maintained during the climatic, penultimate track, as Léandre’s bow sweeps are for a time almost formal as in so-called classical music as Mazur doubles the lines with folk-like pizzicato buzzes.

Beauty Resistance offers more reasons to sample the Léandre legacy – this time with newer associates.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: CD1: 1. I 33:56*^% 2. II 7:43*^% CD2: 1. I 17:21^% 2. II 7:02% CD3: 1. I 6:54# 2. II 6:01# 3. III 8:40# 4. IV 12:04# 5. V 4:01

Personnel: Mateusz Rybicki (clarinets)*; Joëlle Léandre, Zbigniew Kozera^ (bass); Rafał Mazur (acoustic bass guitar)# and Zlatko Kaučič (drums, percussion)%