Max Johnson

BROM
A Night and 43 Seconds
Tiger Moon Records TMR 014

Two takes on the classic tenor saxophone/double bass/drums configuration create almost equally prominent interpretations of lock-step improvisations, with the German trio having a slight edge over the American band, only because it consists of more experienced players. Led by veteran bassist Max Johnson, who has worked with everyone from John Zorn to David Grisman, I’ll See You Again includes contributions from two of New York’s up-and-coming players: drummer Eliza Salem, who is part of bands with Caroline Davis and others; and tenor saxophonist Neta Raanan, involved with her own band among else. A Night and 43 Seconds in contrast features seasoned players on the Berlin improv scene: bassist Jan Roder, known for his membership in Die Enttäuschung; drummer Christian Marien, who has recorded with the likes of Andreas Willers; and tenor saxophonist Alexander Beierbach, who often works with this bassist and drummer plus other committed players like Matthias Müller.

Age disparity doesn’t detract from performances of the six Johnson composition on the American session. With moods expressed in themes that bow to Hard Bop, folkloric and  more freeform expressions, the basic groove is maintained by bass and drum. Tellingly it’s often calculated andante thumps and linear walking from the bassist which direct the expositions, as the drummer contributes subtle embellishments in the form of shuffles, cymbal sizzles, rim shot reverberation and the occasional ruff. Elaborating the themes, the saxophonist’s reed yield encompasses logical tongue slides, slurs, smears and ascending and descending reed snarls. Interestingly, Raanan’s most impressive playing reflects contrasting saxophone ingenuity. On “Scribbles” Salem and Johnson’s locked pulse precedes a reed response which couches motion with honking scoops, upward cries and a linear line that pulls the exposition out still further. The balladic “Farewell to Old Friends (I’ll See You Again)” is expressed with pinched emotion from the saxophonist that also includes bagpipe chanter-like bites, while bass string reverberate and the drums rattle and pop sympathetically.

A few thousand miles away, the performances of Beierbach’s six compositions are a bit splashier, with occasional expressions of glossy unaccompanied interludes involving one of the three, but most often the saxophonist. Vibrating on top of Roder’s string plinks and supple guitar-like twangs and Marien’s snare whacks and rim shots, the saxophonist’s frequently and cunningly stretches the exposition with concentrated reed swirls or brief bites.

His call-and-response patterns or integration within the tripart narratives are highlighted during the cemented medleys that make up the longest tracks. On “A Night And 43 Seconds/It’s in the Trees/Let My Shadow Reign and Choose” the saxophonist focus on a variety of extended techniques from slippery upwards trills to dot-dash stings and squeezed split tones. Evolving alongside cymbal clatter, hollow drum slaps and purposeful string stops, reed transitions are nearly seamless with story telling never neglected despite the eventual stop-time theme.

Similar shifts in pitch and tempo characterize the even lengthier “Mysterious West/A Retrograde Supreme/Pendelnd”. However Roder’s stropping and strumming bass interludes help solidify the toughened narrative as do Marien’s steadying ruffs. Eventually melding the saxophone’s thinning trills with sul tasto string whines, further sequences of slithering reed squeaks, repeated note emphasis and finally unbridled multiphonics express Beierbach’s improvisational skill without compromising the piece’s logical evolution.

Likely because of amalgamated experience in the genre, A Night and 43 Seconds has a slight edge over I’ll See You Again. Yet both stand as exemplars of well-integrated trio sessions.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: See: 1. Barbarous Jape 2. Chestnut Squid 3. Tiny Beautiful 4. Scribbles 5. Farewell to Old Friends (I’ll See You Again)

Personnel: See: Neta Raanan (tenor saxophone); Max Johnson (bass) and Eliza Salem (drums)

Track Listing: Night: 1. A Night And 43 Seconds/It’s in the Trees/Let My Shadow Reign and Choose 2. Glimmer 3. Lacy Layers 4. Mysterious West/A Retrograde Supreme/Pendelnd 5. Triadic Trial/Nimbostratus 6.  Sepia

Personnel: Night: Alexander Beierbach (tenor saxophone); Jan Roder (bass) and Christian Marien (drums)