this is a fine album that showcases two musicians who have managed to capture the essence of interaction, spontaneity and melody in equal measures.
Klaeng Records KLAENG087CD
Johannes Ludwig (alto & soprano saxophone); Jürgen Friedrich (piano)
No recording dates given
To my great shame and embarrassment, this delightful duet album has somehow slipped through the net, and long overdue for review. Having said that, I have now lived with the music longer and I’m still finding little nuances and phrases that pop and surprise the ear.
The Cologne based duo bring something rather special to this collection of freely improvised pieces that were all recorded in one single uninterrupted session, and all are single take improvisations. Both musicians are familiar with each other’s playing having collaborated over the years in many varied projects, and this is apparent from the very first notes that are heard.
The impression in the notes within the album and on Jürgen Friedrich’s Bandcamp page that the music may be presented in the order that it was recorded, and if indeed that this is the case it provides a logical narrative from the first improvisation to the last.
Over the course of twelve relatively short pieces (only one exceeds five minutes in duration) the music ebbs and flows at an orderly pace with much emphasis being place on melodic development. The time and space allowed between music ideas makes for some fine music making, not least on the exquisite and excellent ‘Copy Nature’ which is the longest piece at just over seven minutes, in which the dialogue between Ludwig’s gentle alto sound and Friedrich’s piano is exemplary.
Both explore the full registers of their respective instruments but any extremes of pitch are carefully weighted and do not use excessive sound to drown out the underlying mood and development of an improvisation, but as on the opening ‘Spring Lines’ the quietly explosive playing is simply a means to an end; while ‘Derived From Good Sources’ is just that in a lyrical improvisation with Ludwig choosing his phrases carefully working against the gentle and spacious piano of Friedrich.
If I have a minor quibble about the music, it is that some of the pieces are maybe too short, and the ideas should have perhaps been allowed to develop. It is of course also possible that the duo felt that the improvisation itself had followed its own natural path, and had reached its destination. This does not detract from the fact that some of the most compelling music can be heard on the longer pieces that are heard in the latter half of the album. This is especially true of the aforementioned ‘Copy Nature’ and the three improvisation that follow straight after in ‘Mind Positivity’, ‘Being Sus’ and ‘We Go As We Please’.
Never the less, this is a fine album that showcases two musicians who have managed to capture the essence of interaction, spontaneity and melody in equal measures. The duo also display a certain mischievousness on the Bandcamp page in offering for sale the lead sheets for all twelve pieces for a mere €1, for which the purchaser will of course receive twelve pages of blank manuscript paper.
