Label: NoBusiness Records, 2024
Personnel - Rodrigo Amado: tenor saxophone; Gonçalo Almeida: bass; Onno Govaert: drums; Eve Risser: piano.
The free jazz trio The Attic, featuring Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Gonçalo Almeida on bass, and Onno Govaert on drums, invites French pianist Eve Risser into their fold for La Grande Crue. This album is charged with new energy and finds thrilling moments of deep connection, driven by each musician’s unerring intuition.
The first track, “Corps”, unfolds with solemn arco bass abrasions, tasteful piano designs that move across different registers, non-rigid percussive backing, and reflective saxophone lines that reach toward an elusive revelation. The rhythm section bolsters the foundational structure for Amado’s tough-as-concrete flights of fancy, in a gloriously reverberant yet controlled section that culminates in slow pulsation.
“Peau” initially thrives with chromaticism-filled bass patterns, a refractory combination of hi-hat and snare drum, and incisive saxophone expressions that later become motivically rich over an off-kilter swinging movement. Risser responds to Amado’s provocations with masterful spontaneity, unleashing rapid-fire attacks with both hands across opposite ends of the keyboard. Midway, a groove emerges, paving the way for fluid melodic developments and sharply pointed rhythmic hooks.
Pedal points dominate “Phrase”, establishing the groove while angular melodies gather intensity. Risser’s chords can be jarringly clustered and her textures ingeniously pulsating, creating open-ended yet intentional frames that burst with contractions and expansions.
Each musician seems to know their peers’ movements down pat. Together, they create rich sonic canvases that drift softly like diluted watercolors before bursting into saturated tones, taking us from composure to agitation. That’s what happens in “Pierre”, which, beginning with a sequence of droning sounds—a combination of saxophone multiphonics, full-bodied arco bass, and cymbal screeches—conjures a self-aware noir ambiance that shifts and reshapes from varying perspectives. La Grande Crue stands as a testament to these four improvisers’ commitment to keeping their art vibrant, pushing boundaries in a continual search for expressive terrain.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Corps ► 02 - Peau