Vinny Golia: Music For like Instruments: The Eb Saxophones

One of his many ongoing projects is his Music For Like Instruments, which mates woodwinds of the same key, with similar characteristics, or those that produce sounds in a certain way. Like this Eb saxophone ensemble, he is also working with a group of flutes.

This quartet of Eb saxophones is not exactly a saxophone quartet. It is more an alto saxophone trio's interaction with one multi-instrumentalist. Vinny Golia, a man who never plays one horn for too long, trades off between the contrabass, baritone, sopranino saxophone and stritch throughout this date. His divided attentions are to the listeners benefit here. Things don't get tedious.

The disc opens with Golia's stritch calling to order. Remember Rahsaan Roland Kirk's stritch playing? The slightly off kilter sound separates Golia from his trio cast. But they make the most of harmonizing with it. And so goes the rest of this session. Golia mostly plays baritone and the even deeper contrabass saxophone (on three tracks). His distinct choice of instruments plays off the almost polite alto trio he has assembled.

When he switches to the upper end of the sopranino, the altos rise to his flight upward. All this seems to spark with jazz improvisation, while trying always to push open the chamber ensemble doors.