Kühne/Brandão/Cavaleiro

Combining the improvisational talents of Europeans from three tranches of the continent, Stones and Seeds encompasses expositions where vocal malleability is as prominent as multi-instrumentation. Involved in this match – if not made in heaven, at least made in the EU – are German vocalist Almut Kühne, who tensile sounds have intersected with players as different as Joke Lanz and Gonçalo Almeida; Swiss percussionist Marcos Cavaleiro, who has worked with folks like Demian Cabaud and Susana Santos Silva; and Portuguese multi-reedist João Pedro Brandão, whose associations include Hristo Goleminov and AP.

As important to the expression of the CD’s seven tracks is Cavaleiro’s pliable percussion probes. Although there are drum rumbles and accents throughout, his role is that of commentator not time keeper. His pivots to temple bell shakes, singular bass drum resonations, idiophone rattles and frame drum plops keep the ongoing interaction fluid. Brandão too moves through his instrumental arsenal to comment rather than accompany. A track like “Carried by wind” for instance is layered so shrill flute peeps match up with the drummer’s click clack rim shots and later feature tandem expressions alongside Kühne’s bel canto warbling and dialogue murmurs. Elsewhere he creates an undercurrent of organ-like pulses and more prominently widens snorting vibrations or scooped cries from clarion clarinet or alto saxophone vibrato to shore up the blend into tougher narratives. His bellicose and staccato reed honks and yelps are particularly effective on the title track as they almost actualize the near breathless whispers and mumbles from the singer. Here as well it almost seem as if Kühne’s vocalized nonsense syllables would make sense if they ascended to human hearing levels.

Kühne’s collection of vocal and verbal tics also easily makes its presence known, even when facing off aggressive plops, pounding and pressure from Cavaleiro’s idiophones as well as corkscrew peeps or wailing split tones from Brandão. Besides intimations of conversation made up of  double talk, and instances of lyric soprano lullabies, she adds hums, whispers and peeps to her faux articulation, sometime seconded by reed obbligatos. There’s also a point on “Glasklar’ where among constant cymbal clatter and saxophone cries her onomatopoeic outbursts match the instrumental textures.

Contrasts among countries and instruments obviously didn’t prevent Stones and Seeds from being a comprehensive stand-out session of modern improv.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Stones in River 2. Carried by wind 3. Evasti 4. Seeds: life not yet to come 5. Glasklar 6. Os circulos que desenhamos 7. Aiwaves

Personnel: João Pedro Brandão (alto saxophone,  clarinet, flute and organ); Marcos Cavaleiro (percussion) and Almut Kühne (voice)