Day & Taxi

One newly formed and one veteran trio of international improvisers use concise communication (Day & Taxi) or extended synergies (Litterjug) for descriptive free music with equally appealing results.

Formed in 1988 and mutating through numerous incarnations, Switzerland’s Day & Taxi has always been directed by Christoph Gallio, who plays alto, soprano and C melody saxophones. For the past several years the trio has included Silvan Jeger on bass, electric bass, shruti box and voice, who also plays with other band sin his native Switzerland; and American drummer/percussionist Gerry Hemingway, now a Swiss resident, who has worked with most major improvisers on both sides of the Atlantic. Newly constituted and Copenhagen-based, Litterjug consists of Lithuanian tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Andrius Dereviancenko, who has worked with Onno Govaert; Polish percussionist Szymon Gasiorek, co-leader of other groups; and Danish bassist Asger Thomsen, who has also played with Jesper Zeuthen among many others. Mixing English and German poems, intoned by Jeger among Gallio’s compositions, Run, the Darkness will Come is divided into 19 tracks running from 11 seconds to six minutes. More overt Energy Music, Litterjug’s eponymously titled disc consists of seven extended tracks.

Putting aide the voice and poetry snippets, the strength of Gallio’s writing and playing is exhibited as early as the first and title track. Over Hemingway’s restrained shuffle beat and a solid double bass groove, the saxophonist concentrates spetrofluctuation, honks and bent notes into a continuous wall of sound, ending by evoking sympathetic cries and clatter from the others. The sophisticated interface is maintained at a high standard all the way to the concluding “Another F… Melody”. With Gallio’s high-pitched split tones facing the challenge of a thickening bass thump, the drummer’s final metal slashing confirms the date’s strength as well as its searching character. Along the way Gallio switches among saxophones for maximum variety, with Hemingway and Jeger also expressing their freedom. “Abstract Love Or Different Tomorrows” for instance, evolves larghissimo with a studied examination of saxophone low notes. Dissected into atom-sized bites, the subterranean wallowing is met by occasional pumps and cymbal clanks as it evolves to andante tempo. Suffused by a shruti box drone, “Too Much Nothing” is pierced by C-melody sax shrillness, as the drummer’s heavy backbeat encourages a turn to warbling Swiss funk. Meanwhile the salute to director Jean Luc, “Godard’s Memory”. sounds more like the Antilles than Alphaville, with repeated reed phrasing and hand drum pitter patter breaking up the theme into irregular rhythmic shakes.

Rugged and ragged, “Ego Killer” is discordant and dissident with squeaking swells from the bassist with loosened strings; ratamacues and drags from the percussionist; and shrill slap tones from the saxophonist. Eventually the three create a resonating melody centered around key percussion, reed snarls and toys rustles, then concentrated into a stretched frenetic narrative.

The ecstatic heights attained by Day & Taxi on that track relate closely to the warp and woof splattered over their session by the members of Litterjug. Thick, hearty and rattling, the exploratory intensity brought to the music doesn’t exclude some moderation and subtlety. But even if, as in the concluding title track, the introduction is stretched over deep basement level tones from saxophone and double bass, the tempo soon quickens. Following some chain rattling and ratcheting slaps from the drummer, the ambulatory theme kicks in projected by Thomsen’s string strumming and rooster-crowing, cries and whines from Dereviancenko. While the exposition does whoosh by, it doesn’t neglect a secondary swing theme propelled in counterpoint by reed embellishments and double bass thumps. Slow moving and almost lyrical, a track such as “Snabelfisk” with its string shakes and repeated clarinet trills also demonstrates that the trio can deliberately evolve timbres in a horizontal manner,

However the band’s overriding strength lies with more accelerated and toughen tunes such as “Usurpator” and “Guitar” (sic). The second features a loping theme, projected by galloping double bass rasps and widely echoing cymbal clicks, ash saxophone stutters and cuckoo clock-like repetitions evolve into honking multiphonics. The initial “Usurpator” sets up numerous variations on reed snarls, bass thumps and drum ruffs. Constantly moving up the scale, Dereviancenko’s sopranissimo screams become more intense and are soon joined by tongue slaps and reed bites. Meanwhile Thomsen’s string strokes are projected with bandsaw-like power and penetration, sprawling together with the reed tones into an even more rugged climax.

Diverse restrain and dedicated release defines each of these releases. Choosing between them is at the listener’s discretion,

—Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Run: 1. Run, The Darkness Will Come! 2. Am Angelhaken 3. Casual Song 4. R.F. 5. Ego Killer 6. Infinite Sadness 7. Sea 8. Too Much Nothing 9. Door 10. Corinne 11. Godard’s Memory 12. Sag Mir Mal 13. Dunkeln 4. Kleine Gedanken 15. Ein Ort Und Alles 16. Abstract Love Or Different Tomorrows 17. Dieses Dedicht Erinnert Sich 18. Abra Palavra 19. Another F… Melody

Personnel: Run: Christoph Gallio (alto, soprano, C-melody saxophones); Silvan Jeger (bass, electric bass, shruti box and voice): Gerry Hemingway (drums and percussion)

Track Listing: Litterjug: 1. Usurpator 2. Bøffel 3. Guitar 4. Snabelfisk 5. Projektil 6. Marv 7. Litterjug

Personnel: Litterjug: Andrius Dereviancenko (tenor saxophone and clarinet); Asger Thomsen (bass, objects) and Szymon Gasiorek (drums and percussion)