Adasiewicz - Erb - Roebke: Yuria's Dream

Experimental saxophonist Christoph Erb recorded this lone 43-minute track in Chicago with prominent improvisers and composers, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and bassist Jason Roebke amid a tour of the US. Here, the trio articulates an immense plane of perceptions, and if charted, may appear as a histogram that contains various deviations from the mean, when considering dips and spikes. The musicians embrace an in-depth improvisational forum, while occasionally abutting the fringes of minimalism. But they also delve into microtonal vistas with gritty exchanges and a polytonal muse, spanning aggressive tactics and intricately engineered subversions.

On tenor sax, Erb exudes grainy and muscular lines across the asymmetrical flows. His buzz-saw like forays also project angst, offsetting the more intimate moments as Adasiewicz shades, peppers, and executes delicate fabrics of sound within a host of rangy contrasts. Moreover, Roebke's knotty bass lines and effective use of counterpoint spawns the common bond.

The trio expands, contracts, and covers about every conceivable angle afforded to an improvising trio. Although it's not a cantankerous blowing session by any stretch, as the musicians' listen and react to each other's subplots and shifting tides. They frequently temper the flows down to a near whisper, while Erb's reverberating choruses 30-minutes into the piece alludes to a spooky sense of isolation, where Adasiewicz' twirling and understated notes insert a budding framework for the saxophonist's angular and creaky lines. Most importantly, the artists sustain interest by hovering around an imaginary midpoint of sorts and establishing a cohesive set of building blocks to be used as launching pads for their intriguing thematic developments and poignant dialogues.