Intuitive interplay is the password on these three latest releases from UK-based Leo Records.
The team of Carolyn Hume/p, Paul May/dr and Oleg Udanov/perc is led by Alexey Kruglove, who plays alto sax, it’s mouthpiece, prepared sax, various objects and, separately credited, “voice” and “vocals”. Go figure! The prettiest and most accessible tune is the 16 minute “The Lover-
Magician” which features a warm alto eventually building up to a dramatic shrill with Hume, while Kruglov’s mouthpiece is popped and percussed with Ydanoe on the dreamy “Last Train fro MNavskaya”. Tribal drums and voices reminiscent of White Fang and Black Tooth mix with grunts on “Voices of the Luna” and the 22 minute opus “Red Wave Suite” mixes classical piano, tribal drums, classical piano plunkings and things that go bump in the night. Sounds in search of a theme.
Guitarist Brandon Seabrook teams with Simon Nabatov on piano for a dozen intuitive duets. The sounds created by these two make one wonder if there were other instruments, as the rich “Voluptuaries” sounds like an organ is present, while some sort of a whistle is heard on the askance “Spirit of the Staircase”. Seabrook’s strings are either tuned quite creatively or loosely tied as on the folksy “Who Never Dies” and “La Femme Makita”. Some spacey effects are heard on “Fresnel Lenses” and Nabatov delivers eerie and dark tones on “Foam” and “Grosbeak”. Journeys to the land of long shadows.
Sergio Armaroli plays vibes with both mallets and bow, teaming with drummer Fritz Hauser for a 2019 concert in Bologna, Italy on a pair of get togethers. The 35 minute “Structuring The Silence” features lots of bowed vibes, interplay and pairing off, while the 16 minute “Angelica” is a bit more pastoral, conversant and showing rich conversations, adding rich harmonies and effects. Free form kineticisms.