Norbert Stein Pata Trio

Pentadox
As it were tomorrow
Challenge Records CR 73581

Maintaining a rare group configuration, two European trios explore the limits of piano/saxophone and drums intersection with equally illuminating results. While both sessions are in the 40-minute range, and encompass textures from melodious to free, there’s a slight age gap. Pentadox consists of three younger Belgians: pianist Bram De Looze, drummer Samuel Ber and tenor saxophonist Sylvain Debaisieux. Singly and together they have recorded with other improvisers such as Jozef Doumoulin, Teun Verbruggen and Audrey Lauro. Meanwhile the German Pata Trio joins veterans tenor saxophonist Norbert Stein, who leads Pata bands of many sizes; pianist Uwe Oberg has recorded with the likes of Evan Parker and Joe Fonda; and drummer Jörg Fischer who has played with among others Georg Wolf and Matthias Schubert.

Although there’s no lack of notable sound explorations from the Belgium trio including slithery scoops and higher-pitched reed variables from Debaisieux, consistent keyboard movements from the precise to the progressive from De Looze, and positioned bumps, splashes and rumbles from Ber, some of the performances seem unfinished. Perhaps it’s because the session was recorded 3½ years ago, but to adumbrate collaborations in the future, cohesion and complexity evolve on this CD as the tunes get more intense,

Especially notable is “Dduddu” which takes off from backwards saxophone slurs, percussion shuffles and keyboard strums. The exposition reaches an apex as it opens up with swift piano turnarounds doubled with swift upwards drum pressure. There are also other places where Ber’s unforced brush shuffles create syncopated lyrical asides coupled with emphasized reed breaths. However his interaction with stentorian piano riffs and staccato reed smears on “Objectoires” confirm his percussion strength.

Condensing six tracks in a time frame even shorter than As it were tomorrow, Planetentochter still gives the trio members scope for emotional and exploratory strategies. Early on during “The Raven Speaks” the tune’s constant forward motion is designated by Stein’s thinning altissimo squeaks and smeared split tones that connects with the pressure from drum  clip clops and sliding keyboard smack that eventually expose the swing in this stirring exposition.

In clear contrast “Into the open” emphasizes reed scoops and bites plus thick piano slaps and cymbal clangs before exploding into squealing multiphonics and tongue stops paced and doubled with hard drum smacks and a note-crammed continuum from the pianist. Without neglecting lyrical forays and mid-range story-telling, Stein also projects unfettered honks, reflux and eventually paint-stripping styled screeches as he works up the scale on “Life in the fireplace” with the appropriate interaction to link his timbres to slippery keyboard glissandi and drum press rolls. Expanding the scope of his improvisations, Stein isn’t apprehensive about adding harsh projections or thinning peeps to advance the program.

This freedom to move an exposition into dissonance and then to return it to harmony without fissure is a skill that comes with experience. On the evidence here each member of the Pata Trio has reached that point. Meanwhile the three players who make up Pentadox still seem  unsure of how far to stretch their improvisations. They’ve made a fine start here, but it will probably take until tomorrow comes with their next disc to determine how much more creative and assured they will be.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: tomorrow: 1. Clov 2. As If It Were Tomorrow 3. Rifftual 4. Submarines 5. Dduddu 6. Objectoires 7. F# 8. Melting Flow

Personnel: tomorrow: Sylvain Debaisieux (tenor saxophone); Bram De Looze (piano) and Samuel Ber (drums)

Track Listing: Planetentochter: 1. Planetentochter 2. The Raven Speaks 3. Into the open 4. Recall  5. Life in the fireplace 6. The Speech

Personnel: Planetentochter: Norbert Stein (tenor saxophone); Uwe Oberg (piano) and Jörg Fischer (drums)