By Paul Acquaro
Drummer Steffen Roth, along with bassist Stephan Deller and saxophonist Bruno Angeloni have been working together in Leipzig since 2022, their first recording Ospedale from 2023 wonderfully captured the group's dynamics and improvisational prowess. For their follow up recording, on a hunch that it would work out, they invited New York trombonist Steve Swell to join them.
War der Clown gar nicht echt? ('Was the clown truly not real?') is the culmination of a tour throughout Germany performing as a quartet - Swell is not really a special guest, rather he quickly became an integral part of the group's sound. So, while the clown question remains unanswered, it can be positively said that the connection between the trombone work and Angeloni's fierce woodwind playing is obviously happening.
The music is, simply, fierce and well-connected, a post-modern explosion of sound captured in the studio. From the opening moments of '7,' the group is already in feisty form. It begins lightly, with the drums and sax creating a sound texture. Then we hear the brass percolating. Strokes of the bass strings intermingled with the other tones as the soup thickens. Pure improvisation and strong listening is happening here as Roth and Deller engage at a particulate level to create a sonic bed for Angeloni and swell's exchanges. Its detail oriented and open to anything.
Assuming from the naming of the tracks, simply numbers from 1 to 8, there is an intentionality to mixing up the sequence. Later in the sequence, on track '4', which comes in at place 3, the drums kick things off again with an impressive roll leading to a melee of sax and bass, the latter which goes off on an inspired tangent. Then we hear the trombone sneaking in between the three.
There are contemplative moments as well as all hell-breaking-loose ones (the middle of '5' is a little musical volcano) but what is most impressive is how well the working trio quickly became a well oiled (but still plenty squeaky) quartet. War der Clown gar nicht echt? is an album that one should take some time with, let it grow and then decide for yourself what is real or not.
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