Spring is in the air, and Leo is roaring like a lion…
Bassist Sebastian Roztler and drummer Emanuel Kunzi form a free forming trio with the flexible voice of Franziska Baumann. There are no real “lyrics” as opposed to panting and scatting to the bowing bass of “Heisenberg Accident” a collection of clickety clacking ‘languag” on “Chain Of 
Fools” or a series of something akin to Tibetan throat chants for “Hunting Quarks” while “Whisperings” sounds like moving furniture on a wood floor while someone is doing an exam for a tonsillectomy”. The strongest uvula in town!
Other-worldly sounds are provided by Mattias Schubert/ts, Shannon Barnett/tb, Melvyn Poore/tuba, Dieter Manderscheid/b, Hans W. Koch/synth and Simon Nabatov/p with Frank Gratkowski on alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet and flute depending on the need. Pretty tones with flute and piano are provided on “Reader” while hints of the JAWS theme are created on the harrowing “Right Off” and Martian landings taking place between dots and dashes during “Waves”. The horns trudge through “Repeated” while piano and bass scramble and scurry during what sounds like someone left the microphone on for a tuneup rehearsal on “Metamorph”. Mood music without the latter.
Gratkowski stays on alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet and flute in a trio setting with pianist Simon Nabatov and drummer (for half the tracks) Dominik Mahnig on these eight lurking originals. Without drums, you get some delicate tones and spacious interplay on “Hopeful Glances” and puffy patches over a scrambling piano on “Slinky”. Mahnig’s drums add a pulse while the life is being sucked out of the reed on “Pocket Found” and “Cautious Invitiation” while the team is most boppy on the askancely harmonized “It’s All In The Hips”. Sharp angles and mouthpiece mayhem.
Eerie moods are produced by drummer Piotr Talalay, pianist Gregory Sandomirsky, tenor saxist Fred Costa and bassist Vladimir Kudryavtsev on nine harrowing originals. What sounds like a series of versions of Tom Waits’ “The Piano Has Been Drinking” are presented on a prismatic saloon “Farewell Coctail” and the peculiar “Hotel Room Disasters”. Costa floats over the trudging drums on “Rush Hour Beauty” while a sonic wall of mirrors is presented like a musical version Orson Welles’ Lady From Shanghai on the prismatic “Dead Partners”. You might bump into something on this one.
Pianist Alvin Schwaar, bassist Banz Oester and drummer Noe Frankle’ take on a series of jazz and hard bop classics that would stump just about everyone on “Name That Tune”. Schwaar gives tinkling and twinkling starlight to “Someone To Watch Over Me” and is softer than a morning sunrise to Frankle’s strums during “I Have A Dream”. Bass and drum play peek a book on “All The Things You Are” with the brushes getting dreamlike on “Prelude To A Kiss”. Schwaar taps into his inner Bill Evans for a bopping take of “Big Nick” and some nice hand percussion takes place for “Very Early”. No worry about copywrite infringement here.