Paul Dunmall/James Owson/Tymoteusz Jozwiak

A change from his more recent CDs which have featured another horn and/or a guitar, veteran UK saxist Paul Dunmall downsizes to a standard bass and drums trio featuring newer, little recorded associates. Polish drummer Tymoteusz Jozwiak, who has played with Olie Brice and bassist James Owson involved with cross-media projects.

The stripped-down configuration gives Dunmall, whose career goes back four decades and whose best known association was the Mujician quartet, a chance to express explosive improvisations on tenor, alto, c melody saxophones and alto flute, as the others’ musical commentaries lock into place. Airy flute ripostes only appear at the end as contrast to Owson’s thick pumps, but the saxophones are pushed to their limits. Extended flutter tonguing, repeated multiphonics and tongue-stopped asides are on show during the selections, with double bass strums often expressed in tandem, while the drummer maintain an unforced pace with woody rim shots and clanking paradiddles. Dunmall’s saxophone command stretches timbres to the utmost with skyscraper squeals and split tone affiliations. But he’s connected enough to the jazz tradition to adroitly work in split-second quotes from standards as his improvisation shift from one phase to another. This is especially obvious on extended pieces like “Hearing The Message” and “Let’s Go You Know”.

Meanwhile, no matter how many irregular vibrations, fragmented smears and sheets of sound the saxophonist brings to the tracks, inventive tom-tom accents or bass drum ruffs on Jozwiak’s part and resonating stops or multi-string vibrations on Owson’s side provide as many timbres as they get from the saxophonist.

There are multiple definitions of beauty when it comes to music . Dunmall’s may be unconventional, but spending time in this beautiful space will confirm the accuracy of his interpretation.

— Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. This Time In Beautiful Space 2. Hearing The Message 3. Let’s Go You Know 4. See Through 5. Renate

Personnel: Paul Dunmall (tenor, alto and c melody saxophones, alto flute); James Owson (bass) and Tymoteusz Jozwiak (drums)