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Two Sounds Ensemble: Inversions I - VI
BySweden's TSETwo Sounds Ensemblereigns in its free jazz vision with laudable restraint, with a lovely wandering progression in its instantly composed music that stays appealingly within earshot of the lyrical and melodic musical path, stretching structure without breaking it.
Stephan Wistrand blows soprano and tenor saxophones; Joakim Simonsson plays piano. The Swedish duoboth players have backgrounds in jazz, free improvisation and rockstay mostly mid-tempo on a set of introspective and ruminative tunes; and like all good improvising units, they listen to and respond to each other's statements.
Simonssen brings Satoko Fujii's piano work to mind at times, shifting from passages that are poetic and melodic and lyrical into riffs that sweetly sting; while Wistrand's sax work stays straightforward, robust on the tenor, with a mainstream feel in spite of the meandering atmosphere.
The tunes, I - VI, range in length from a minute and a half to fourteen minutes plus, and I find the two longer pieces the most rewarding, with the duo exploring all the permutations of the improvisational scene they set.
One of the most accessible and enjoyable free jazz sets this year.
Track Listing
Inversions I Through VI
Personnel
Stephan Wistrand--tenor and soprono saxophones; Joakim Simonssen--piano
Album information
Title: Inversions I - VI | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Einnicken Records
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Two Sounds Ensemble
CD/LP/Track Review
Dan McClenaghan
Einnicken Records
United States
Inversions I - VI