Trespass Trio Feat. Susana Santos Silva

Expressive portamento extensions and rippling flutters from Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva do more than add Iberian heat to the Scandinavian cool of the Trespass Trio. Rather than suggesting a contemporary variant of Gerry Mulligan’s piano-less quartet, her contributions expand the spatial parameters of sounds otherwise expressed by the deepened textures of Norwegian bassist Per Zanussi and Swedes, drummer Raymond Strid and alto/baritone saxophonist Martin Küchen.

What that means is that while Silva’s half-valve squeaks and plunger groans can add to the gravitas expressed by these experienced improvisers, whose affiliations range from combos like Gush to the mammoth Fire! Orchestra, her perfectly rounded tones on a tune like “A Desert on Fire, a Forest” bring needed lightness to an otherwise darkened exposition.

Elsewhere Silva’s turn to high-pitched triplets and squeezed grace notes on “A Different Koko” gently mock the strum und drang which is the saxophonist’s stock in trade. Here and elsewhere his thickened baritone blasts with multiphonics and boar-like snarfles expose pitch variations that often need the brass/reed call-and-response to make full statements.

Strid moderates the expositions with unforced rumbles and pops, while Zanussi frequently uses sul ponticello string swipes in sync with Küchen’s honks and slurs so that Silva’s soaring ripples and positioned stutters can cunningly add extra sonic colors to the group’s program.

As individual sounds dovetail into one another to create full aural pictures throughout, the logic of Silva becoming the trio’s newest guest also become as crystal clear as the tone she often projects.

— Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. A Desert on Fire, a Forest 2. The Spirit of Pitesti 3. A Different Koko 4. Sounds & Ruins 5. In Tears

Personnel: Susana Santos Silva (trumpet); Martin Küchen (baritone and sopranino saxophones); Per Zanussi (bass) and Raymond Strid (drums)