Label: Habitable Records, 2022
Personnel - Jonathan Reisin: tenor and soprano saxophone; Moshe Elmakias: piano; Nitzan Birnbaum: dums (#1,3,6,7); Brian Richburg Jr.: drums (#2,4,5,8).
Israeli saxophonist and composer Jonathan Reisin spearheads a bass-less trio that makes his improvisational propensity obvious. He reveals instinctive chemistry and peculiar intimacy with the members positioned at the base of the triangle: drummers Nitzan Birnbaum and Brian Richburg Jr., who take turns and play four pieces each, and Israeli pianist Moshe Elmakias.
The album, his first as a leader, is bookended by group improvisations - “One” opens the set stealthily with tenor vibratos and multiphonics skimming over a minimalist accompaniment; and “Juka” closes it, with volcanic tenor magma rising above the blissful, if cryptic, sonic grid weaved by bass and drums. “Glue” is on the same wavelength as the former piece, but its angular theme is cooked under the pressurized steam of the snare drum and irregularly pounding drum kicks. Playing in the same league is “It’s Not the Same” - initially outlined by soft piano caresses and palpable soprano melodies before turning into something more rhythmically and emotionally intense. The record rises in a crescendo, making us want to discover more.
In the title track, “Option B”, the trio goes for a diffuse propagation of sounds based on a tone row. The saxophonist and the pianist explore imperturbably in sync, but soon the threesome communicates closely, working on dynamics. They loosen up in one moment and charge in the next, and the final section almost feels tender after a stormy irruption. Inspired by Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata and equally tense, “Four Boats” is built on four notes, also engulfing us in mystery. Its flow is interrupted by a minimalist piano figure that is reused at the end, following an increase in agitation.
“Roy’s Room” features the tom-tom dances and cymbal frothiness of Brian Richburg Jr., who sets a tonally interesting conversation with himself at the outset. The piece develops via sax/piano unisons and more harmonic allure, before plunging into a quiet atmosphere comprised of sensitive piano work, whispering brushes, and idle saxophone phrases.
Reisin picks out possible sonorities that, creating intentional ambiguity and surprise, complement each other. Option B, which is dedicated to the saxophonist’s late grandfather, is a most welcome debut.
Favorite Tracks:
06 - Four Boats ► 07 - It’s Not the Same ► 08 - Juka