Michaël Attias/Simon Nabatov

Matthieu Mazué Trio + Michaël Attias
Monoliths and Screens for Quartet
No Label No #

Peripatetic saxophonist Michaël Attias regularly travels far from his New Yerk base for gigs and recordings, which have seen him play with everyone from Angelica Sanchez to Jean-Brice Godet. These discs highlight some of his European contacts. Monoliths and Screens for Quartet is a first-time collaboration with French pianist Matthieu Mazué, while  Dream Walks is another outing with Russian-American pianist Simon Nabatov, who Attias has often played with in the past.

Monoliths and Screens for Quartet consist of eight compositions by Mazué, who has played with the likes of Gerry Hemingway and Camila Nebbia. He lives in Switzerland, as do bassist Xaver Rüegg and drummer Michael Cina, Attias’ singular voice is added to the pianist’s established trio sound. In  contrast, the date with Nabatov, who has collaborated with musicians as different as Nils Wogram and Alexey Kruglov consists of 10 instant compositions.

Despite the newness ,of the collaboration Attias walks into Monoliths and Screens without fissure. In fact, his emphasized clarion slurs, bites and honks give a harder edge to the trio interpretations which list towards indicative swing served up within FreeBop parameters. While Attias’ playing may be jubilant and upbeat at times, Rüegg’s string slides, Cina’s patterning smacks and Mazué’s comping respond best when his output instead projects screaming altissimo bites as on “Screen: My Ghosts are Underground”. Passion is also at a premium as the squalling reed noises up the pitch accompanied by stop-time pianism and pronounced drum thumps until two-handed keyboard dynamics recap the initial theme.

Dramatic pacing characterizing by careful piano comping, the bassist’s variable pops and cymbal cracks, can be further roughened by the saxophonist’s inner horn shakes and heated reed bites, but the accompaniment also includes pivots to less animated advances. Key pummeling often give way to navigated swing and heraldic pacing from Mazué cemented with Rüegg’s double bass walking. Attias’ contributions include slurry boudoir suggesting breaths that contrast with the throat gargles and vibrating peeps he uses elsewhere. But staying true to his evolved style, there are passages as on “Screen: Screams” where his repeated reed timbres seem half R&B and half Cool Jazz.

There’s no such hesitation on Dream Walks however. That because, unlike the other disc where he’s adding landscaping and tuck-pointing to someone else’s architecture, he and Nabatov are the only workers here, free to design projects to their own dual expectations. For instance even during “Meshes of Limbo”, the first track, those snuffles and drones which Attias used to add romance to some Monoliths and Screens tracks respond to Nabatov’s keyboard prodding and swiftly convert to altissimo flattement and disconnected shrills that latterly join soundboard rumbles.

Antiphony is also used more frequently, within the two-person strategy of parry and thrust. Fragmenting as well as intertwining reed-keyboard textures are a large parts of the program whether the two are galloping or moving at a moderated pace. Yet at the same time both players ensure that the tracks include a proper horizontal exposition. Subtlety and stress share space, with the narratives often expressing both at various junctures. On the concluding “Stays in Vegas” for instance, controlled dynamics allow the saxophonist to crest with spetrofluctuation only to descend to breathy squeaks and shakes. Simultaneously the pianist’s turn from Slavic romanticism to widening glissandi mirrors these actions in reverse.

Romanticism, ruggedness and reflections are heard throughout these Dream Walks. But there’s no unwarranted recklessness since whether Attias is emphasizing thin shrills, toneless breaths, corkscrewing reed bites up the scale or other extended techniques. Nabatov has the perfect response. Whether it’s occasional inner piano strings strum, emphasis on all parts of the keyboard or nimble chording it fits the reed pattern of time.

Once again Attias has put his skills to good use during notable sideman or duo partner exhibitions.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Monoliths: 1. Monolith: Twelve Stones (To Gather) 2. Mrmnnmnts 3. Monolith: À propos de la matière 4. Screen: My Ghosts are Underground 5. Screen: Switching Lights 6. Screen: Screams 7. Le regard dans le vide 8. Monolith: Stoned

Personnel: Monoliths: Michaël Attias (alto saxophone); Matthieu Mazué (piano): Xaver Rüegg (bass) and Michael Cina (drums)

Track Listing: Dream: 1. Meshes of Limbo 2. Dragon-flute Song 3. Snooze Alarm 4. Somnambula 5. Our Hisstory 6. Heartbreak Crown 7. The Soft Push 8. Bioluminescence 9. Sleep Stepping 10. Stays in Vegas

Personnel: Dream: Michaël Attias (alto saxophone) and Simon Nabatov (piano)