Lotte Anker: Plodi

Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker and Slovenian drummer Zlatko Kaucic possess extensive resumes so to speak. With a long list of affiliations, including disparate undertakings as leaders and collaborators, the respective artists are prominent exponents of the European progressive jazz / improvisation realm. The program begins with Anker performing solo on three tracks at St. Martin's church in Smartno, Slovenia, highlighting her improvisational expertise and multi-purposed strategy.

On "Odmevi 1—Odmevi 3" Anker works through a gamut of emotive outpourings by generating a notion of being isolated in the universe, or when using tremolo techniques and popping sounds to spark a sense of urgency. Moreover, the sonic characteristics of the church reinforce the fact that Anker is performing on sacred ground, and acts as additive via her reverberating sound designs and experimental articulations. And per the album notes, this album is culled from the BRDA Contemporary Music Festival Improvizirane Glasbe in 2016

Kaucic joins Anker at different venue on "Plod 1—Plod 4," featuring more adventurous inner-workings. Armed with drums and a host of unidentified percussion instruments. Kaucic uses a stringed instrument (a Zither perhaps?) for gliding and scraping modalities amid his other multitasking duties while uncannily striking a tonal balance with Anker at various points in time. Here, the duo operates through subdued angst, while using space as a vehicle for the listener to intake small doses, other than passages when the duo is zooming matters into scorching frameworks.

Trumpeter Artur Majewski and bassist Rafal Mazur appear on the final track "Trobljač," providing more options and alternate views for a piece that spans minimalism and rambunctious exchanges, where all hell breaks loose. Overall, the album offers a kaleidoscopic portraiture of the artists' insightful approach to jazz-tinted improv and many of the unbounded capabilities that lie within.