Always looking for new worlds to conquer, UK based Leo Records delivers four recent productions to excite and invite.
Buring Flame includes the voices of Steve Day and Julie Tippetts along with Keith Tippett/p, Aaron Standon/as, Peter Evans/vi, Julian Dale/b-cel, Anton Henley/dr and guest Bill Bartlett/fl. The vocals show a deep debt to Mark Murphy as both singers are highly flexible in their deliveries as on the hip grooved “Of The Coast 
of Fukushima” and the free “Child and Adult.” Evans’ 5 string violin creates some rich yet eerie moods as on “Bed of Straw” while Standon’s alto sax shrieks with Tippett’s piano on “Portrait of Dora Maar.” The see sawing violin of “The Ripple Effect” and clucking reed on “Jay/5.00: Day” keep you on your toes as well. Lots of ideas bouncing off the walls, many of them sticking to surfaces.
Pindio is comprised of Juan Saiz/fl, Marco Mezquida/p, Alex Reviriego/b and Genis Bages/dr on this collection of 8 pastoral originals. Saiz’s flute is warm, and works well as he gets breathy on the tropical “Pindio#1” and flutters on the solo “La Cuena Les Cabres.” Mezquida’s piano is thoughtful and pensive on “La Badia Mes Maca Del Mon” and yarns with the brooding Reviriego on “Nena.” The team shows it works well together as they slowly undulate to a dramatic cataclysm on “Female’s Mind” and intricately flow on the complex “XXL.” Form and freedom on display here.
The trio of Slava Ganela/p-elec, Alexey Kruglov/reeds-brass and Oleg Yudanov/dr team up for three songs here, two short and one over a half hour. Of the latter, “That’s Us” Features Genelin’s pungent alto sax as he arm wrestles with Yudanov after a hard hitting drum solo and Ganelin lets his left hand do the talking for a good time before switching to the piano strings. The pain gets a bit more stately o “Encore 1” before Kruglov screeches with his soprano while Yudanov bops with the drums. Some ambience with electronics mixes with tenor sax on the “Encore 2” showing that sometimes more is less.
The two bass team of Peter K Frey and Deniel Studer celebrate 15 years together on a 2 disc set with various guests from the past few years. Most of the pieces include one or two extra musicians. Harald Kimmig’s violin and Giancarlo’s trombone join in for some spacious conversations and discoveries as Hagda Mayas’ piano meditates with the two bases for almost ten minutes.” Gerry Hemingway’s drums creates some free pulses as he gives and takes with the strings, while John Butcher tongue’s his tenor between rabbit trails for almost a half hour. Lots of anticipations, symbiosis and ESP delivered here, showing that music is not just for listening from the audience but for the musicians as well.
Leo Records
www.leorecords.com