Bedmakers

Rodrigues/Bechegas/Maderia/Trinité
Free to Open
Creative Sources CS 820 CD

Mating a horn, strings and percussion isn’t a particularly unusual affiliation. But with diverse ideas of how to balance quartet timbres two European ensembles come up with equally logical programs both of which have slightly altered instrumentation. One is the French-Irish Bedmakers quartet, the other an adhoc Portuguese configuration.

Continuing to advance their mixture of folkloric, chamber and improvised music  – but with increased emphasis on the last – the Bedmakers create a 10 track opus that’s anything but somnolent. A working group in spite of the members other commitments which include work with the likes of Aki Takase, John Russell and Vincent Courtois, The Bedmakers consist of drummer Fabien Duscombs, violinist Mathieu Werchowski and tenor saxophonist/clarinettist Robin Fincker, all of whom are French, despite their surnames, plus Irish bassist Dave Kane. Slightly less musically promiscuous is the band on Free to Open, made up of bassist João Madeira, flutist Carlos Bechegas, percussionist Monsieur Trinité and Ernesto Rodrigues playing viola and crackle box, all, of whom are Portuguese. Consistent with the CD’s title, the disc’s three tracks are dedicated to the freest of transformative creative music.

Not that the Bedmakers are asleep at the mike. Although certain tracks like “Wheel Reels” are more tradition oriented and feature a shaking fiddle lead, clarinet flutters, drum paradiddles and a walking bass line, others are more abstract. Still the sequences usually include melodic and rhythmic adherence with an emphasis on time-honored dance-like melodies, plus unison clarinet and violin harmonies.

These blends of portamento string swells and horizontal reed flutters pulsating alongside solid pizzicato thumps and measured cymbal pops are most prominent on the shorter tracks. However tame gives way to torque and amiable to abstract when everyone has room to stretch. As clenched fiddles lines squeak upwards and tenor saxophone output includes smears and double tonguing,  tracks toughen and become louder with elevated sounds reflecting the heightened pressure.

Two instances of this are the introductory “John Axon and the Repeal” and the penultimate “Tune for Titi, not for Nat.” The former is rife with shaking reed drones, spetrofluctuation and slap tones, while the violin expression mates spiccato with squeaks as double bass throbs and drum smacks move the exposition forward. Slurred reed vibrations and jagged fiddle stops characterize the second tune, with the note-bending straight-ahead melody preserved only by Fincker’s breaths and Werchowski’s sly strings decorations as Duscombs’ beat turns to march time and Kane’s bass direction walks.

The infrequent becomes commonplace on Free to Open as the Portuguese crew members expand their instruments’ limit as they improvise. Bechegas’ switch among flute, alto flute and piccolo adds transverse variety as does the ratcheting and brittle timbres from Rodrigues’ crackle box. Since Monsieur Trinité’s percussion scrapes, metallic echoes and abrasive clanks are even less beat-oriented than Duscombs’ pulse with The Bedmakers, and the purrs and ratcheting emanating from the crackle box are even less prominent, it’s the string players frequent sul ponticello slices and the flutist’s dissonant twitters that define the group’s architecture.

Taking an opposite tack from Kane, Madeira’s bass strategy is most often arco and potently linked to angled spiccato or below-the-bridge scoured squawks. This leaves the linear movement to Bechegas, who is most attuned to lighter-than-air flutters and melodious purrs. He also contributes to the program’s oscillations, angles and sonic pivots when lining up his triple-tongued upward squeaks or aviary piccolo peeps with Rodrigues’ descending string stops, strops and rustling slides. Intertwined hollow flute puffs and buzzing woody abrasions marks the climax, as textures become quieter and more distant.

Abstract or allegorical the sessions created by these quartets are diverse in their sound elaborations as well as distinguished in their conclusions.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Passe: 1. John Axon and the Repeal 2. A-tone  3. Charivari 4. Clean Slate 5. Bonsoir Moreau 6. Folks 7. Wheel Reels 8. Le Jardin des Amours 9. Tune for Titi, not for Nat 10. Ring Nebula

Personnel: Passe: Robin Fincker (tenor saxophone and clarinet); Mathieu Werchowski (violin); Dave Kane (bass ) and Fabien Duscombs (drums)

Track Listing: Free: 1 Free to Open I 2. Free to Open II 3. Free to Open III

Personnel: Free: Carlos Bechegas (piccolo, flute and alto flute); Ernesto Rodrigues (viola and crackle box); João Madeira (bass) and Monsieur Trinité (percussion)