Martin Speicher, Georg Wolf, Lou Grassi - Shapes and Shadows (20

Martin Speicher/Georg Wolf/Lou Grassi
Shapes and Shadows
2007 - Clean Feed: CF084
http://www.cleanfeed-records.com/disco2.asp?intID=216

* Martin Speicher: alto saxophone, clarinet
* Georg Wolf: double bass
* Lou Grassi: drums, percussion

http://www.martinspeicher.net/
http://www.lougrassi.com/
http://www.martinspeicher.net/Seiten/WSGrassi.html
http://lougrassi.com/SpeicherWolfGrassiBios.html

Reviews
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by Stef

Freejazzers, rejoice! Here is a sublime sax trio. Martin Speicher (sax and
clarinet), Georg Wolf (bass) and Lou Grassi (drums), bring some top level free
improvization. I only knew Grassi from his great Avanti Galoppi album, and the
other two musicians are unknown to me, and that's unfortunate, because what
they bring on this album is really very strong. The three musicians listen well
and carefully to each other, they search for new expressive power, and they
find it, bringing lots of variation, even within the same piece, sometimes
intense and forward moving, then slow, sensitive, melancholic. Speicher has a
warm tone, even in the most hard-blowing moments, Wolf offers nice telepathic
interaction, and Lou Grassi keeps propulsing the band forward with excellent
drum work. The album starts very promising with "Please, Confirm", in a lightly
dancing mode with loose tones, which evolves into a high and sustained
powerplay, just to end with reference to the beginning. "Le Star" brings slow
searching sounds, with Speicher looking for the high notes of his sax, eery,
sad and powerful. "Claire's Net" begins dissonant and abstract, with Speicher
on bass clarinet and Wolf on arco bass, and although it would be too much to
say that something like a melody is created, it is a wonderful experience to
notice how out of this loose cluster of notes a musical unity evolves which is
hard to define, yet which is unmistakably there. And that just characterizes
the whole album. Strong discipline and self-control, together with a common
focus on exploration in the creation of their musical vision permeate all
tracks, and the result is more than worth listening to. The title song brings
an excellent close to the album, with Speicher again on bass clarinet, and it
is without a doubt the highlight of the album, ending in sad howling tones, the
likes of which you will not have heard before. Don't expect fixed melodies or
rhythms, but what you get is a creative, intense and impactful modern jazz.

--

by Marc Medwin
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=28058

di Vincenzo Roggero (it)
http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=2012

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