Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Queen Mab Trio: Thin Air

317

Queen Mab Trio: Thin Air

Queen Mab Trio: Thin Air
Queen Mab "gallops night by night, through lovers' brains and then they dream of love, at least the Fairy Queen Mab of Romeo and Juliet does and if that's a bit sweet, even a bit specious an image to cast upon an all-woman trio, it does make an impression (and after all, they chose what to name their band).

The music of the two-parts-Canadian-one-part-Dutch group is light yet evocative and has a way—something like a fairy in a hazelnut-shell chariot dashing through your head—of setting the mind adrift. Without percussion and often staying in midrange, clarinetist Lori Freedman, violist Ig Henneman and pianist Marilyn Lerner play a music that is light yet complex, with a feeling of spontaneity while clearly, at times, composed.

For their fourth record, they've looked their literary namesake dead on. They've taken Hector Berlioz' "Queen Mab Suite, from his Romeo and Juliet symphony for orchestra and voice, but familiarity with that work isn't requisite for falling into the Queen Mab Trio's dreamland. They use their instruments to great variety without ever forcing them beyond their voices and find various means of creating textures, even on Freedman's "Nab Mab, with syncopated whispering. Ultimately, they find their own, compelling ways of mixing the so-called "classical language of 19th century Europe with contemporary modes of improvisation. None of that is requisite, either, however. Better just to let them gallop lightly through your brain.

Track Listing

Thin Air; Vehement; Drums and Trumpets; Hersenpinsels; Nab Mab; Fluette et Legere; Skirmishes and Sudden Thrusts; Tumulte; Spiders Fingers.

Personnel

Lori Freedman: bass clarinet, clarinet; Ig Henneman: viola; Marilyn Lerner: piano.

Album information

Title: Thin Air | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Wig

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.