The hammer of the gods falls on the keyboards. That would be Alexander von Schleppenbach, her mighty touch sleeps heavily as his fingers come down deeply on the keyboard proud on their splendid new set of piano-driven provocative improvisations.
The team of alto saxophonist Frode Gjerstad, Mr Schleppenbach and the renowned drummer Dag Magnus. The lasting impression they make, however, is the deeply integrated performance that flows naturally as if the music were being created on the spot. Which is what they actually are.
All of the performers speak from where they are – raw and gutsy, They can be engagingly rustic and emotionally sweet as well as in the last movement of the pieces. The performers speak from within.
They breathe fiery from the dialogue into clichéd heavyweights such as 8:058-00 along conventionally lithe lines; their handling of the same material’s andante schzeoso middle movement is delectable and the concluding Allegro molto most thrilling.
Without sacrificing power or speed, they mine the material’s vein throughout and have a way with a turn and a trill, based on thoughtful study and practical experience, which they use as expressive devices to liberate the music’s ebb and flow. By each of the performers The opening bar of the final piece is a miracle of such knowledge and poetry.
This is an effortless audiophile version of the pieces and catches the luminous colours played by piany, saxophone and the rattle of the monumental drums. An album for the ages.
Deo Gratis…
Music – 1 – 00:28-28:947; 2: 06:58:081; 3: 058:058-00:28:947;4: 8:058-00:28:7215: 5; 8:058-00:28:7215; 6: 8:058-00:28:7215; 7 – 00:28-28:947 – 00:03:0964
Musicians- Frode Gjerstad: producer, alto saxophone; Alexander von Schlipenbach: piano; Dag Magnus Narvesan – electronic keyboards, thumb pianos, slit drums, gongs, bells, glockenspiel; hindehoo, birds, percussion.
Released: 2024
Label: Relative Pitch RecordsRPR1232
[RPR-Seven Tracks]
Runtime: 49:53