Pulses
Ears And Eyes, 2023
8/10
The flutist and composer Elsa Nilsson is in the company of Santiago Leibson, Marty Kenny and Rodrigo Recabarren for these 8 avant-garde pieces that is nothing short of inventive.
The title track opens the listen and presents soft flute with twinkling keys from Leibson in the very intimate climate, and “The River, Rock, Tree” follows with Dr. Maya Angelou’s text matching the colorful musicianship that meshes the flute with Recabarren’s well timed drums.
Entering the middle, “Bruising Darkness” is an extension from the previous track, and quivers with playful keys and unpredictable drumming, while “Praying For A Dream” is initially bare, before building into a fuller landscape of dreamy flute surrounded by dense keys and crisp drums.
Rounding out the listen are “Faced With Courage” and “Up And Out”, where the former uses Kenney’s pretty bass playing with much emotion, and the latter is a more tumultuous affair that meshes the keys, drums, bass and atmosphere into an experimental and iconoclastic finish.
A listen that’s constructed around the voice of Dr. Maya Angelou, though jazz is certainly at the center of their formula, there’s a whole lot else going on here, and it all unfolds with a sonic and poetic demeanor that’s rhythmic is it own inimitable way.
Travels well with: Mathis Picard- Live At The Museum; Anthony Fung- Fo(u)rth