Stemeseder Lillinger Quartet

Organic and acoustic, UMBRA II is something of a departure for Austrian keyboardist Elias Stemeseder and German drummer Christian Lillinger. Usually found in musical settings where the instruments are voltage imbued and the textures volcanic and abrasive, this could be termed the duo’s Jazz album.

Not only does it lack the electronics store-like collection of keyboards that Stemeseder played on the first UMBRA, but also missing are the string players who added sounds to that 10-part cycle. There are 13 tracks on this disc, including two three-part suites, but the instrumentation is almost conventional – drums, piano, the trumpet and piccolo trumpet of American Peter Evans and the double bass of Jamaica-born Russell Hall. The only oddity is Stemeseder’s use of the lautenwerk or lute-harpsichord in spots. But its gut string timbres are subtle rather than sharp. Meanwhile, the few times Hall is upfront confirm how his positioned thumps propel the rhythmic flow. That is except on “Blendung” when he interrupts his walking for arco strokes that harmonize with the pianist’s dark pressure and Evans’ piccolo trumpet pitches that resemble dog whistles.

More than a high-note specialist, the trumpeter’s triplet squeaks and brassy bounces are usually there to fill any unsightly holes in the broken octave expositions however. Otherwise. such as during the “Neue Form” and “STKH” suites, brass grace notes and portamento connections frequently intersect with piano fantasia-like key dusting or dedicated positioning to maintain color and flow. There may be a collection of half-valve growls, body tube shakes and protruding plunger tones on one sequence of “STKH”, yet Evans appears so committed to Jazz sensibility that among motifs that glide to bent notes and flutters a morsel of “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” is heard during “Neue Form”?

Constantly in motion, Lillinger’s energetic crunches and cymbal pops aren’t exaggerated or show-offy, but join with the bass pulse and Stemeseder’s hard and pressurized comping to regularize the program. At the same time though, Evans mastery of techniques from raspberry blats to bent note slurs confirm that UMBRA II is a 21^st Century improv session not a Bop quartet date from 1954, even if the disc was recorded at the Van Gelder studio in New Jersey.

Proving its chameleon nature when comparing UMBRA II to the first UMBRA, Stemeseder Lillinger make one wonder what other sounds may come with UMBRA III.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Neue Form Pt. I 2. Neue Form Pt. II 3. Neue Form Pt. III 4. Myokard 5. Resolution Points 6. Blendung 7. Baltum 8. Mandelbrot Sagittar 9. STKH Pt. I 10. STKH Pt. II 11. STKH Pt. III 12. Dog 13. Eau-Forte/Strong Water

Personnel: Peter Evans (trumpet, piccolo trumpet); Elias Stemeseder (piano and lautenwerk); Russell Hall (bass) and Christian Lillinger (drums)