Chloë Sobek, Tim Berne: Burning Up

Australian explorative composer and sound artist Chloë Sobek is a prodigious talent. For her second release Burning Up Sobek takes two bold chances both of which pay off well. She joins master improviser, saxophonist Tim Berne for an entirely spontaneous set. Sobek performs on the violone, the renaissance era ancestor to the contrabass. She not only keeps up with the more experienced Berne, she also commands her unusual instrument with skill.

Sobek starts off "Scorpius" with furious refrains. Berne mirrors her with sharp and acerbic interjections that bounce off of his percussed strings. The tune transforms naturally to a languid, poetic musing with both Sobek and Berne interweaving undulating phrases. The melancholy tinged conversation goes from forlorn to passionate without even a single superfluous note. There is a certain eastern lyricism to these exchanges, a wistfulness mixed with serenity, simultaneously meditative and angsty.

The poetically titled "Icarus and the Phoenix," meanwhile, opens with the two musicians overlapping their contemplative solos to a dramatic effect. Berne then plays a fiery tune while Sobek responds with deftly crafted melodic shards, alternating between plucking and bowing. This angular repartee is akin to an abstract painting with overlapping bold and subtle brush strokes.

Elsewhere "Disquiet Souls" has a mystical aura. Berne's expressive saxophone and Sobek's emotive violone built together a haunting melody. The two stream-of-consciousness musings are at times divergent while at others echo one another. In both cases Sobek and Berne demonstrate sublime camaraderie as they extemporize off each other's ideas with intelligence and finesse. The result is a haunting and soulful piece that mesmerizes.

Equally tense is "Signe" with its expectant ambience. Sobek's deep reverberations bounce off Berne's melancholic phrases with elegiac poetry. The mood here is definitely somber yet in a captivating sort of way.

The sublime "Burnishing" is an apt conclusion to this provocative album. Sobek's arco lines and Berne's pillowy alto start off the track with a cinematic atmosphere. A pensive and dynamic dialogue that ensues is definitely modern in its spontaneity yet, at times, in its melodicism and repeating motifs exhibits elements of the baroque. The result is one extremely haunting and memorable improvisation.

Burning Up is a work that is experimental without being self indulgent. It demands attention, yet it rewards close listening. It is good for the mind and the soul.