A mix of jazz and ambient moods work well on these two recent releases from the always creative Rare Noise Records
Denver-based trumpeter forms a trio with Norwegians Jacob Young/g and Stale Liavik Solberg/dr-perc on this collection of songs that range from impressionism to metal. Trinidad’s horn is warm and serene, elegiac as Young supplies electric framework on pieces such as the meditative “Bell (Hymn)” and with the guitarist creating almost ecclesiastical organic sounds from his strings on the misty title track. Gentle acoustic teams with brushes on the delicate and tender “Morning Flight” and lyrical “Poem” while the team gets rocky as the guitar chugs and drums get a soul groove on “Feathers.” Creative and thoughtful.
The band Sonar consists of Stephan Thelen/g, Bernard Wagner/g, Christian Kuntner/b and Manuel Pasquinelli/dr. They bring in David Torn, who supplies his own electric guitar for added solos and thickness along with electronic “Live-looping & Manipulation” (is he a chiropractor?). The plethora of guitars makes for some relentless riffs as on the dramatic “Part 44” and the pulsed shredder-cum-mellow “Lookface!” along with hard hitting drumming and textures on “Red Shift.” Most intriguing are the gentle droplets with nifty stick work on the clever “Waves and Particles” and the tapping of strings akin to a spaced out Morse Code message on the title track. Six stringed musings.