Alessandro Bosetti/Michel Doneda/Bhob Rainey: Places dans l'air

You might find it odd that a concert of three free jazz soprano saxophonists entitled ‘placed in the air’ could alternatively be called ‘turn up the quiet.’ But that's exactly where Alessandro Bosetti, Michel Doneda, and Bhob Rainey are coming from.

This hushed, almost modest form of improvisation is at odds with the brash bravado of 1960s free jazz pioneers. Mssrs. Bosetti, Doneda, Rainey maintain a pastoral feel throughout this single 42-minute recording made in Toulouse on May 26, 2002.

All three saxophonists have been pioneering a ‘new’ form of improvisation: Bosetti with Axel Dorner and Andrea Neumann in the band Phosphor, Doneda with saxophonist Jack Wright, and Rainey with Greg Kelley in Nmperign.

While the music is reserved, it is in no way stagnant. The three—and it is very difficult to determine who is who—utilize shy pops, clicks, breath, and trills to create varying levels of tension and release. In doing so, they entice their audience to sit up, move closer to the music, and frankly pay attention. The immediacy of ‘loud jazz’ is replaced with this ingenious, active, meditative music. The three musicians, like Theodore Roosevelt, walk softly but carry big sticks.