Sjöström/Hirt/Wachsmann/Lytton

Gianni Mimmo/Harri Sjöström
Wells
Amirani Records AMRN 074

One of the Finnish musician who has maintained an affiliation with free jazz and free music over the years is Harri Sjöström. Turning 72 this month and a Berlin resident, the soprano and sopranino saxophonist is more likely to be working with other European improvisers than those from his homeland. Wells and Especially For You are especially fine examples of this synergy.

On the first he’s paired with Italian soprano saxophonist Gianni Mimmo who has a similar knack for finding sympathetic playing partners both within Italy and elsewhere, including Sjöström with whom he has been collaborating for more than a dozen years.

Purely acoustic during Wells’ 10 tracks, Mimmo’s and Sjöström’s timbres are most easily identifiable when the later sticks to the skyscraper-pitch sopranino. Often its peeping tones are used to decorate and color themes Mimmo advances with a soaring, linear tone. Sometimes the two break up the call-and-response or contrapuntal challenges by pivoting to sudden reed blats or stretching and curving expositions even further.  When this happens as on “Signaling” double counterpoint is broken with one saxophonist creating a continuum with percussive tongue slaps while the other squeaks and squeals. Although creating pointed tones is the duo’s preferred strategy that doesn’t preclude infusion of warmer tones into the program. The concluding “Encyclopedia at Glance” for example melds reed intersection into smooth timbral slides that continue in tandem.

The narrative’s final affiliation is enlivened with tough bites from one and shrill flutters from the other. Overall, even on the extended “Pas de Deux” consistency is emphasized during the sonic dance. Twittering squeezed notes may be tossed from one to the other with maximum stops as they move up the scale. But the conclusion is both harmonized and horizontal. Intriguingly the duo sound is so entrenched that when each gets a solo spot, variations produced by reed techniques suggest that another soprano sax is producing additional pointillist sound squibs rather than singular multiphonics.

There’s no question as from whom reed textures are projected on Especially For You since Sjöström is the only horn player in this ad hoc quartet of veteran international improvisers. But considering that British violinist Philipp Wachsmann, amplifies his strokes with electronics; German guitarist Erhard Hirt projects his timbres with computer treatments; and British drummer Paul Lytton adds to the free music gestalt with novel textures from cymbals and objects; reconstituted sounds are common.

Each player has some history with the others so mutual synergy is almost immediately established. Most clearly established are acoustic intonations from the saxophonist and the violinist. Still that also means Wachsmann often alternates his near melodic patterns with distant arco stops and stretches and clinking pizzicato strokes, while Sjöström’s harsh bites and split tones are as prominent as any linear connections. Lytton’s irregular smacks and rattles or sweeping cymbal pealing are used as infrequent accents to intensify thematical emphasis, especially on the two-part title track. Other than that there are more silent interludes than percussion breaks.

While the disc ends with a brief almost balladic conclusion, varieties of pivots and detours before that are prominent during the improvisations. Hirt may occasionally sound a single string clip or sweeping strum, but most of his output is the form of computer programming. Coupled with the violinist’s electronically-mutated pulses, the synthesized voltage judders up and down, adds unexpected squeaks or snorts and generally enhances the group’s playing to attain greater dynamics or disrupts with flanges or wave form crackles those times interface seems too be turning conventional.

Sjöström, whose affiliations includes extensive work with Cecil Taylor’s groups in the 1990s, efficiently demonstrates how his supple, limpid tone fits acoustic or electronically-oriented situations. More crucially both CDs contain enough linear evolution so that the distinctive sound evolution from all, concerned have a context in which to be appreciated.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Wells: 1. Announcement 2. Remoteness 3. Posture/Gesture 4. Pas de Deux 5. Tear and Darn 6. Signaling 7. Recommendation 8. Spark Strategy 9. Ondina 10. Encyclopedia at Glance

Personnel: Wells: Gianni Mimmo (soprano saxophone) and Harri Sjöström (soprano and sopranino saxophones)

Track Listing: Especially: 1. For You Part One 2. For You Part Two 3. For You Encore 4. For You Lullaby

Personnel: Especially: Harri Sjöström (soprano and sopranino saxophones); Philipp Wachsmann (violin and electronics); Erhard Hirt (guitar and computer treatment) and Paul Lytton (drums, cymbals and objects)