Giuseppe Doronzo/Andy Moor/Frank Rosaly

Malfon/Stoffner/Trilla
A Tiny Bell and its Restless Friends
Multi Kulti MPSMT 028

Emphasizing a slightly unusual configuration, two trios work out improvisational variables balancing saxophones and percussion with an electric guitar. Interestingly enough each approaches the concept from a particular angle and ends with distinctive textures. Catalans drummer Vasco Trilla and alto/baritone saxophonist Don Malfon, who have extensive experience playing with the likes of Agustí Fernández are joined by Swiss guitarist Florian Stoffner on A Tiny Bell and its Restless Friends for nine dense and concentrated performances. Meanwhile Futuro Ancestrale unites American drummer Frank Rosaly and British guitarist Andy Moor with Italian baritone saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo, all of whom are part of the Amsterdam improv scene working with the likes of Yannis Kyriakides, Michael Moor and Marta Warelis. In contrast to the other disc, their four live tracks are airy and uncluttered.

Slow moving, the Malfon/Stoffner/Trilla trio begins with string plinks, reed gurgles and strained cymbal rubs, but soon these combine to corkscrew the textures upwards as bell-ringing and tougher reed bites are heard  by the time the appropriately titled “Fever” arrives. Guitar frails splatter, saxophone tones are overblown, drums clank and cymbals clatter as the three circle around a common exposition. By the time the second half of the disc is reached subsequent narratives toughen even further and close in on one another. As subsequent tracks like “Dulcet Crush” and “Fuge” are further strengthened with baritone saxophone huffs and snarls, shaking guitar twangs and percussion pulses that encompass a solid drone and intermittent scratches the program become almost oppressively claustrophobic.

Still the trio members’ musical flexibility also allows them to balance limited with linear motion. By the final “Liquid Power #2” circular breathed reed shakes, unexpected bell peals and t thin electrified string vibrations from Stoffner set up a parallel motif. Unexplained vibrations shake up the narrative to such an extent that shards of aural sunlight shine though the darkened group narratives.

At junctures Doronzo, Moor and Rosaly propel their improvisations into similar solid textures as on the other disc by combining percussion rumbles, reed squalls and string buzzes. But throughout the three are more likely to opt for ventilated motifs then husky elaboration. The key differences is pinpointed on the brief “Magma” when Doronzo trades his sax for the Iranian bagpipe. Its tremolo trills soon shatter into singular peeps, while the sympathetic accompaniment consists of distended string picking, drum ratamacues and cymbal splashes.

Field recordings of what sounds like Arabic chanting are also added to the final “Digging the Sand”. But that tune and the extended “Hopscotch” also show that the trio members can, if they wish, also propel rugged and loud tones. Guitar chording and a drum backbeat even replicate a jazzy, bluesy sound during the final sequence of “Digging the Sand”, with Doronzo adding combative but connective baritone saxophone lowing as part of the group finale.

This mixture of dark and light is also heard on “Hopscotch”, with the latter sequence animated by a simple, nursery-rhyme like melody. Simultaneously the percussive crunch which dominated the introduction isn’t abandoned, since the piece also emphasizes the guitarist’s droning metallic flanges and the saxophonist’s raunchy snarls, propelled and decorated by the drummer’s rattle and paradiddles.

Making the most of the texture available from their three instruments, each of these trios projects individual and interesting sounds.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Tiny: 1. Liquid Power #1 2. A Tiny Bell And Its Restless Friends 3. Fever 4. Mysterious Figures 5. Dulcet Crush 6. Fuge 7. Embracing A Wake Up Call 8. Liquid Power #2

Personnel: Tiny: Don Malfon (alto and baritone saxophones); Florian Stoffner (guitar) and Vasco Trilla (percussion)
Track Listing: Futuro: 1. Neptune 2. Hopscotch 3. Magma 4. Digging the Sand

Personnel: Futuro: Giuseppe Doronzo (baritone saxophone and Iranian bagpipe); Andy Moor (guitar) and Frank Rosaly (drums and percussion)