AALY Trio

Van Huffel/Kneer/Dimitriadis
Synomilies
Evil Rabbit ERR 37

Standard creative music configuration for many years, the reeds, double bass and drums trio lends itself to many interpretations and considerations. In its purest form it showcases the players performing like acrobats without a safety net which in musical terms would be the addition of one or more chordal instruments. Both Van Huffel/Kneer/Dimitriadis (VKD) and  the AALY Trio operate this way, with the reedists –  Canadian Peter Van Huffel with VKD and Swede Mats Gustafsson with the AALY – adding to their balancing act(s) by switching among various horns while in the equivalent of mid-air.

AALY, which also includes fellow Swedes bassist Peter Janson and drummer Kjell Nordeson as well as Gustafsson playing tenor and baritone saxophones, flute and harmonica has been around since the 1990s and is named for an Art Ensemble of Chicago’s contrafact of Albert Ayler’s name, consistently shows its allegiance to unbridled Free Jazz. An ad hoc collaboration among three musicians busy in Berlin, VKD consists of German bassist Meinrad Kneer and Greek percussionist Yorgos Dimitriadis with Van Huffel playing alto and baritone saxophones. Still the eight track on Synomilies – the ancient term for salons – are no less ferocious than the 11 on Sustain.

Working out intersective variations, Van Huffel’s stentorian snorts, strained  smears and slapping tongue percussion are precisely balanced by thick, sul ponticello bass string rubs and Dimitriadis’ vigorous drags and ruffs. Different tracks are set up to express the baritone saxophone’s bottom-feeding bites and the alto saxophone’s vibrating altissimo squeals. In most cases the tandem response from Kneer involve strident shudder , while the drummer proffers moderated paradiddles and pitter patter.

Operating as closely as synchronized swimmers doesn’t means that individual expression is muted though. On “A Tree Has A Thousand Ears” for instance, Dimitriadis’breaks up the time with whirls, ratchets, clatters and clunks from small instruments, cymbal scours and the noise created by lug loosening. The saxophonist’s response includes tongue slaps and reed elaboration but also straight-ahead output that keeps the exposition linear.

On “Convergence” however it’s Kneer’s slowly stroked string buzzing and sudden twangs which define the piece. Bass drum pumps and reed screeches complete the picture with timbres from opposite pitch elevations. Eventually though it become almost impossible to distinguish reed from string timbres.

Overall with a combination of ratcheting percussion asides, allied woody string strokes and fragmented reed movement  from irregular doits to Aylerian screams, VKD certifies the continued validity of exploratory Free Jazz trio music.

That approach is expressed twofold by the AALY Trio with Gustafsson’s additional arsenal of horns. He’s no shrinking violet when it comes to screaming flattement and multiphonics from thick saxophones expositions. Just the same he brings the same tongue pressure and transverse splatter from flute note bending on “Your Prayer”, where his crying spills meet double bass thwacks and drum/cymbal rattles; as he does with screechy harmonica wails on “Cover Yourself”, as Janson responsively clicks stings from high up the bass strings near the tuning pegs. Raising the excitement level at points and especially on “Egypt Rock” Gustafsson yelps and whoops – often vocalizing through the saxophones’ body tubes – as Nordeson outputs Caribbean-styled drum resonations in between multiphonic reed scoops and spills.

As indicated, as with VKD, this is scarcely a one-man show, with the bassist and drummer amplifying the tunes which include subtlety as well as stress. There are  instances as  Nordeson’s palm slapping introduction to “Rock Out”, as well as march tempo elsewhere. There’s also Janson’s measured walking bass intro to “Why I Don’t Go Back” and his near-flamenco strums on other tracks. All of this is expressed within the raw or reflective outpourings from Gustafsson’s many horns.

Along with banshee wails and thick vibrations the AALY Trio maintains a horizontal flow in its music. Making it too another exemplar of  exploratory Free Jazz trio music at its finest.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Synomilies: 1. E La Nave Va 2. Umstürzende Einbauten 3. Dear Old Werner 4. A Tree Has A Thousand Ears 5. Beasts And Creatures 6. Steel Water 7. Convergence 8. Au Comptoir

Personnel: Synomilies: Peter Van Huffel (alto and baritone saxophones); Meinrad Kneer (bass) and Yorgos Dimitriadis (drums and percussion)

Track Listing: Sustain: 1. Rock Out 2. W2 3. Your Prayer 4. Why I Don’t Go Back 5. Cover Yourself 6. Soul Brother Genius 7. Deepfreeze Pretend 8. Egypt Rock 9. Dustdiver Kneeling 10. Albumblatt. Sustained 11. Rock Out

Personnel: Sustain: Mats Gustafsson (tenor and baritone saxophones, flute and harmonica); Peter Janson (bass) and Kjell Nordeson (drums)