By Guido Montegrandi
– **signal_Blur** >> arhythmic compositions for saxophone and
double bass, messed with and put back together again. written by roth,
co-arranged by dresser & roth –
This is what the bandcamp page says about this record made by Mark Dresser
(double bass) and Paul Nicholas Roth (alto sax), not much but it gets directly to the point – it is a collection of terse compositions in which
the two of them test many different possibilities offered by the duo
environment deconstructing melodies and harmonies, offering fascinating
small abstract pictures.
Melody (even if fragmented) is a key feature – in a long interview in which Paul N. Roth speaks among other things about this record, he
stresses the importance of melody as an element of connection with the
listener even in an experimental and free context like this one.
The first track ‘ready play’ is a game of unisons, imitations and
clashes on the edge of the sounds both instruments can produce. This game,
played on the various registers and with different dynamics, will be a
marking feature of the whole album. The following piece ‘Dance’ is
more relaxed, Dresser stays on the low register and the initial unison
dissolves in a free counterpoint-like development. Broken pieces of
melodies are scattered around then a moment of silence introduces to the
conclusive unison.
Silence is another distinctive element,
It is as if music is trying to make its way around silence. Often the
pieces offer moments of complete silence thus creating a sort of catalyst
for the music to develop. While almost all of the pieces have a
theme–improvisation–theme structure, this classical form is striped to its
bare bones to expose such stuff music is made of.
Echoing the words of Paul N. Roth in the fore mentioned interview, his
music develops following the inspiration of Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman,
trying to return melody its primacy but also to develop a complex and rich
environment.
It is a subtle record and repeated listening offers new nuances and a
clearer vision of the weaving of the voices. Dresser has a whole career of
experimenting and trying new solutions (if you insert his name in our blog
search engine you will find plenty of examples) and this record represent a
new interesting chapter written with an equally interesting fellow
musician.
You can buy the vinyl or download the album on Bandcamp