No musical clutter here, as only one or two instruments create music, sounds and moods.
Ralph Samuelson plays traditional Japanese music, using his vertical bamboo flute, the shakuhachi, along with a handful of guests. In solo performance, pieces like “The Universal Flute” an d”Hi Kaeshi Hachi Mi Fu” are filled with long and moody tones creating meditative atmospheres. A second (Indian) bamboo flute by Steve Gorn makes the “Reprise: The Universal Flute full of rich textures and wide vibratos, while the stringed koto on”Shikyouko Ichiban” serves as a frame for the breathy notes. Relaxed themes with the addition of the zither, kugo harp and voice make you feel like you’re taking a relaxed walk in a misty garden.
Nick Zoulek performs alto, tenor and bass saxophone without any accompaniment on his dozen compositions. While there is no admission of overdubbing, Zoulek carefully places microphones to record and capture the reed instruments to make it sound like there is more than meets the eye, or ear.
There’s an almost electronic sound to his bass on “These Roots Grown Deep” and Held Within Untamed Space” while he takes slap tonguing the tenor reed to an extreme on “As It Hung Around Her neck.” He growls through the mouthpiece on “From All Of Our Love This Was Lost” and gets visceral on “Silhouette Of A Storm-Bent Tree.” Manic moments abound on “Clench /Numbing” and “Amplituhedron” but he shows his soft side with the alto on “Arriving Ever Arriving.” A real workout-what would he sound like with a rhythm team?
Innova Records