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Michael Bisio: Inimitable
ByOn a program just shy of an hour, Bisio tackles seven of his own pieces and two covers, a similar mix to last time out. However there is a difference in that on this occasion most of the cuts adopt the go-where-you-will trajectory of an improvisation with any thematic material in heavy disguise. That follows a trend in Bisio's group work too, as he explains in an interview published in February 2022: "In recent years, I would call my compositional style conceptual." Without fixed rhythmic or melodic structures, Bisio trusts his imagination, melding contrasts in density, tonality and pacing into flowing excursions into the unknown.
Canny sequencing also maintains interest. So the purposeful pizzicato of "Quintessence," in which he spans the fingerboard, bending pitches, following fast runs with ringing slurs, moving between cascades of knotty motifs and pensive phrases, precedes the slow arco of "New One," where the frayed edges of the deep notes convey an emotional fragility. John Coltrane's solemn "Wise One," with its abstract melodicism and yearning upper register patterns, is succeeded by the grating harshness of "Hear Now," confirming that it is with bow in hand that Bisio explores timbre and texture most thoroughly. But he ends the program with a standard, "I Fall In Love Too Easily," given an aching feel, an introspective close to a heartfelt set.
Track Listing
Quintessence; New One; Henry's Theme; Small Things Interrupted; Renew One; Wise One; Hear Now; Before Dawn Rising; I Fall in Love Too Easily.
Personnel
Michael Bisio
bass, acousticAlbum information
Title: Inimitable | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Mung Records
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