John Butcher - Phil Durrant - Peggy Lee: Intentions
The trio sounds like a chamber unit forsaking its sheet music in favor of treading upon newfound territory during the piece titled, “Timeball.” They excel when engaging in call and response type dialogue via a continuous range of rotational angles and polytonal voicings. At times, Ms. Lee or Durrant unassumingly simulate a creaky passageway or weave in and out of Butcher’s abstract musings. Counterbalancing tonalities mark “Chinese Burn,” whereas, the band seemingly traverses through a haunted house on “Gleaming Silks.”
Given the nature of imaginative collective improvisation, music of this ilk can seldom if ever be repeated or duplicated. However, interpretations of the music are most assuredly open-ended, as the artists’ split tones, extended notes and microtonal schemas represent just a portion of this most intriguing production. Recommended.
Track Listing
1.Handglass 2.Angelskin 3.Timeball 4.Flyleaf 5.Five Intentions 6.Chinese Burn 7.Gleaming Silks 8.Bamboo 9.Opoponax 10.Silver Parcel
Personnel
John Butcher: tenor and soprano saxophones
Album information
Title: Intentions | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Nuscope Recordings