Bassist Alexander Frangenheim and saxophonist Stefan Keune belong to the third generation of European Improvised Music (or fourth, depending on how you calculate). I came across Keune and his trio with bassist Hans Schneider and drummer Achim Krämer with No Comment (FMP 2009), Frangenheim was on my radar because he was a member of Cecil Taylor’s Workshop Band (Legba Crossing,FMP 1988) and later on he released several very good recordings on the Creative Sources label. Their musical style - not atypical for European Improv in the 1990s and 2000s - was more abstract than the recordings of the godfathers of this music which - while experimental - were often very concrete. Whereas concrete improvisation works with direct, tangible materials, situations, or predetermined rules - be they small melodies, energetic structures, or even a pure desire for destruction (one need only think of Peter Kowald’s and Peter Brötzmann’s “Kaputtspiel” phase - even if the latter disliked the term), abstract improvisation detaches itself from external circumstances to express feelings or states of mind primarily through sound, structure, and form.
Abstractions are evident in many ways on New Traces, Frangenheim’s and Keune’s debut collaboration as a duo: first, in the pauses - moments of silence that are repeatedly interspersed among the music’s hectic passages, as in “New Traces 1” or “New Traces 7” - and second, in the music’s extreme density and concentration. Both musicians employ extended playing techniques such as harmonics, overtones, and percussive strokes. It’s not about melodies, but about exploring timbres, textures, and dynamic extremes. Ultimately, however, the abstract moments are most evident in the frenzied runs and competing trills, the contrasts in register (especially in “New Traces 4“, where they really reach the limit of what listeners can bear to hear), the impetuous stylistic drive, and the simultaneous clarity of the sound. True, Keune still hisses, coos, hums, and gurgles for all he’s worth, and Frangenheim scrubs away, making his bass weep and crash - yet it’s as if one had stripped Barry Guy & Mats Gustafsson’s Sinners, Rather Than Saints (No Business, 2009) of all its embellishments, oriental flourishes, vibratos, frills and obvious crescendos (don’t get me wrong, I love this album) - to draw a concrete example for comparison. Just listen to “New Traces 8“. Here, the improvisation takes unpredictable turns and surprising sounds are created, yet the structure of the piece remains crystal clear. A prerequisite for this is that both musicians have such an excellent technique that during the more frenzied moments, instrumental timbres coalesce without getting in one’s way.
The album is a treat for fans of abstract music and sonic exploration. Very recommended.
New Traces is available as a download.
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