By Paul Acquaro
Berlin’s Ignaz Schick’s work with electronics and turntables seems to get a bit more attention than his saxophone playing. This is understandable, finding a good electronics player is a bit trickier than finding good saxophonist, but fortunately The Cliffhanger Session with Schick exclusively on his first instrument, the alto & baritone saxophones, helps to re-balance this possibly misperceived injustice.
The musicians fleshing out the trio on The Cliffhanger Session are none other than bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Oliver Steidle. Both have working relationships with Schick on electronics, most notably, Steidle and Schick with ILOG, reviewed here, here, here and here. For the Cliffhanger Sessions, as the liner notes explain “it was decided to leave the two power duos intact … ” and become a “…wonderful acoustic trio with a back to the roots approach: Free Jazz and Free Improvisation! Pure, melodic, rhythmic, energetic, surprising and rooted in tradition.”
The trio accomplishes this with verve. From the initial warming up moments of “Cliffhanger #1”, the spirit is apparent. Schick quickly ramps up with a energetic, spiraling melody that is supported confidently by Steidle and Haker-Flaten. It’s a free jazz power trio in the best sense – strong, fluid saxophone work that incorporates moments of over-blowing and extended technique without obscuring the melodic and rhythmic ideas. After seven minutes, Schick and Steidle drop out leaving Håker Flaten to fill the sonic space with his zestful plucking. The intensity is scaled back as the other return after a few minutes and Steidles’ textured percussion makes a splash. He takes a more pronounced solo at around 20 minutes after which the group regains its initial intensity. In the final moments of the first track, Håker Flaten’s strong groove, Steidle’s colorful percussion and Schick’s flowing lines provide the perfect summation to this musical journey. Track two, ‘The Cliffhanger #2’, begins with a plaintive tune from Schick on baritone and the groups takes it time to built to a collective peak, using all the levers – density, intensity and volume – to make the trip exciting.
In other words, Schick, Håker Flaten, Steidle know how to craft a set of music that leaves one wanting more.
(A quick note, Cliffhanger Session has been available for a while and apparently a follow up, Vol.
2 came out in the time it took me to finally get my notes together.)