Jason Adler/Thanos Chrysakis/Charlotte Keeffe/James O’Sullivan

With a new collection of associates and limiting himself to synthesizer and electronics, Greek composer and sound artist Thanos Chrysakis has created another program of rare and remarkable music. Chrysakis, who over the years has collaborated with everyone from the Hyperion Ensemble to Ernesto Rodrigues, is joined on this five-part work, by three other UK-based musicians. Trumpeter/flugelhornist Charlotte Keeffe leads her own group and has played with Paul Dunmall plus others. Detroit native Jason Alder who plays contrabass clarinet and sopranino saxophone, is in ensembles like Four New Brothers and the Bass Clarinet Quartet. Guitarist James O’Sullivan has recoded with Eddie Prévost among others.

To be honest, although sometimes upfront in the later part of the improvisation, O’Sullivan’s contributions are usually limited to succinct distinct plinks and brief individual frails. Throughout then, the piece’s progress rests on tonal build up from Chrysakis’ electronic instruments which infrequently escalate to surge over the group’s spatial architecture, invariably throbbing and jiggling beneath each sequence, but .sometimes limiting the others’ contributions

That means the contrapuntal balance between reed and brass textures becomes most prominent. Usually playing trumpet, Keeffe builds up from half-valve slurs and inner tube squeals to ascending stutters without losing linear advancement. Meanwhile mostly playing contrabass clarinet, Alder’s basement level split tones reach widening breaths and blustering scoops as a definite foil to the trumpeter’s pointillist strains and mouthpiece suckling.

The horns maintain this intermittent antiphony during the protracted “Part III” and “Part IV” finally combining as the synthesizer’s organ-like washes get louder. Eventually Chrysakis draws back enough so that brass plunger tones, guitar string shakes and sopranino saxophone twitters can be heard. As horn projections speed up with high-pitched brass blasts and low-pitched reed tongue stops and smears become recognizable, buzzsaw voltage oscillations tighten at the same time.

Before fading away, a climax of trumpet puffs, reed flattement and string snaps unite with harsh electronic buzzes to attain a horizontal group drone that confirms the connection and creativity of the program. With this achievement, one wonders what Chrysakis will design next.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Part I 2. Part II 3. Part III 4. Part IV 5. Part V

Personnel: Charlotte Keeffe (trumpet and flugelhorn); Jason Alder (contrabass clarinet and sopranino saxophone); James O’Sullivan (guitar) and Thanos Chrysakis (laptop computer and synthesizers)