 |
Michael Moore - alto saxophone, clarinet
Harmen Fraanje - piano
Clemens van der Feen - bass
Michael Vatcher - drums, saw, percussion
The third recording of this quartet; the pieces are being treated as found objects, and a great deal of interaction. "Michael Moore composed all but one of the songs here, with one cover of the standard "It Might as Well be Spring". "Cool, Simmering" opens and it has an apt title since Mr. Moore's cascading alto sax sounds like Lee Konitz or Paul Desmond at their coolest. His tone is stunning, the tune is lovely, calm and exquisitely sublime. The tempo and intensity slowly build throughout this piece until it drifts into the clouds and simmers. Overall most of these songs have mellow, spacious sound. Quietly adventurous without breaking a sweat. Pianist Harmen Fraanje plays in a haunting, warm and mostly melodic way, each of his solos are superb with never a wasted note. The tempo and temperature increases somewhat on "Evguth" which is adventurous in its own odd way. One of the more distinctive traits about Michael's music is that he has a sly way of using less notes or spaciousness while keeping the essence of the song intact. Playing a fragment of the entire melody or line and letting the listener fill in the rest. His music seems to breathe and leaves us in magical state of mostly subdued grace." Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery |
