Giancarlo Schiaffini/Daniel Studer

Monchoché/Studer
Duo
Impakt 037

Demonstrating new ways to play the equivalent of a two-person chess game that’s free improvisation, Swiss bassist Daniel Studer sets up two widely different matches. Duo has Studer, known for his trio with Harald Kimmig and Alfred Zimmerlin, in dialog with another long-time associate, fellow Swiss Sylvain Monchocé, who also plays with Kimmig. The album matches the bass’ four strings with the multiple ones of Monchocé’s gayageum, or Korean plucked zither. Meanwhile, reaching back to the roots of EuroImprov, Breeze finds the younger bassist interacting with Italian trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini, who has been in the forefront of experimental music since the mid-1960s, playing with everyone from Alvin Curran to Mario Schiano.

Resolutely Western-leaning, despite his instrument’s Asian origin Monchoché, who is also an academic, widens the gayageum’s reverb to involve many of his strings in supple group motions, ringing banjo-like twangs and single strokes ranging from prestissimo to intermittent. For his part Studer often adds a percussive continuum with col legno slaps, spiccato drones or thick wood thumps. Synergy isn’t reserved for basement tones however. On “Fifth Dialog” for instance, the bassist’s arco pitches vibrate at such an elevated degree that it sounds as if they’re electrified. After a pause, Monchoché responds with energetic low timbres that match Studer’s initial stridency with slide whistle-like screams.

The most dawn-out instance of this contest is “Fourth Dialog”. Responsive scrubs, swabs and strain lobby back and forth as the bassist begins to pick out a melodic tune. In contrast the gayageum’s multi-strings soon project the sort of shriek you’d hear scouring a scab eventually working up to bell-tolling intimations as the bassist’s echoing stops steadies the exposition.

While the Monchoché-Studer engagement matches two string sets, the Schiaffini-Studer exposes more textures and more difficult interactions as if one side of the table holds ping-pong balls and the other mahjong tiles. From “Auster”, the first track, the bassist advances with hard string slaps and wood-rending ruptures that lead to sul ponticello strops as the trombonist’s breaths and echoes ascend to plunger tones with vocalized extensions. Throughout the remaining eight tracks the two work out rapport that highlights Schiaffini’s distinctive extended brass techniques alongside similar skills from Studer.

One standout is “Solanus” which mates string-slapping rhythms and buttressing brass improvisation. Creating an exposition the trombonist lines up single tone into an evolving theme ultimately expressed in tandem multiphonics, with basso scoops apparent at the same time as bugling smears. “Otis” on the other hand contrasts phlegmatic trombone growls with squeaky string strops until Schiaffini moves up the scale with triplets borne on lip pressure.

Varying portamento definitions, the trombonist’s outbursts encompass plunger growls, toneless breaths, brass shakes and single note puffs. There’s even a point on “Carbas” where he interrupts stop-time tongue flutters to create a secondary line vocalized by mumbling through the horn’s body tube. Studer maintains his aural ground during all this, pivoting rhythmic thumps, isolated string plinks and strained string buzzing to match up, accompany,  amplify or halt Schiaffini’s note bending.

The most extended variants on the dual integration of diverse game strategies occurs on “Boreas”. Extracting rhythmic swing from spiccato slaps and arco scrapes near the tuning pegs, Studer’s bass reverberations line up alongside brass smears, nasal pressure and gutbucket moans, finally expanding the confluence so that brass and string colors blend into iridescent musical pigmentation.

Capable of holding his own in any size ensembles, Suder confirms his proficiency one-on-one during these two wildly distinctive duos.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Duo: 1. First Dialog 2. Second Dialog 3. Third Dialog 4. Fourth Dialog 5. Fifth Dialog 6. Sixth Dialog 7. Seventh Dialog

Personnel: Duo: Sylvain Monchocé (gayageum) and Daniel Studer (bass)

Track Listing: Breeze: 1. Auster 2. Altanus 3. Otis 4. Caurus 5. Boreas 6. Carbas 7. Solanus 8. Ornithias 9. Eurus

Personnel: Breeze: Giancarlo Schiaffini (trombone) and Daniel Studer (bass)