Niklas Fite & Günter Christmann

More than 50 years separate the ages of German cellist Günter Christmann, now 82, and Swedish guitarist Niklas Fite, 29. But the eight detailed and intense improvisations on Insisting are so carefully blended and closely related that you would think some familial ties unite the two friends. That isn’t so. In fact the cellist’s free music history as cellist, bassist and trombonist goes back to 1972 with other Teutonic innovators like Rüdiger Carl. Meanwhile Fite. who studied with the UK’s lower case fret pioneer John Russell, didn’t start his music career until well into the 21^st Century.

This cross-generational duo isn’t collaborating on a set of standards or blues à la Jim Hall and Red Michell either. Instead the duo’s timbral variations involve exposing some of the spikiest and percussive creative sounds. Throughout, Fite spends almost as much time extracting jagged picks from high up on the guitar neck or hand smacking the strings and instrument’s wood than projecting echoing twangs and thickened frails. And even those involve slurred fingering or multi-string strums. Meanwhile Christmann’s frequently spiccato motions includes pizzicato clanks on taut strings and, more commonly, arco slices and rubs that emphasize col legno pressure in the bass’ lowest pitches or stops and thumps so elevated that they resemble dog yelps.

Overall the polyphonic connection between all 10 strings is so profound on all tracks that conscious control is always maintained. Exploration of the furthest reaches of string textures is done in the spirit of sound investigation not novelty or braggadocio. Furthermore, so attuned to each other’s ideas are the two that on a track such as “felt” for instance they effortlessly switch roles, with the guitarist’s hard strums producing cadenced low pitches and the cellist’s bow-squeaking stabs sourcing expressive thin whistles.

Despite their abilities and the disc title, the two players aren’t insisting that all listeners follow their elevated interactions. But those who do so will experience insistent and intelligent multi-string improvising. For more info visit corbettvsdempsey.com

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. exhalation 2. inhalation 3. Holding 4. suspense 5. relief 6. breath 7. game 8. felt

Personnel: Niklas Fite (guitar) and Günter Christmann (cello)