All sorts of jazz, free jazz and improv. Never for money, always for love.
Léandre’s trio with Vancouver clarinetist François Houle and Swedish percussionist Raymond Strid on Last Seen Headed represents
a continuation of some longstanding associations. Houle is a master
at highlighting the sonic properties that lie in the cracks between
conventional implementation of a clarinet reed. At any moment his
contributions shift from mellifluous to granulated, suddenly sounding
closer to electronically-synthesized sounds than any known acoustical
phenomenon. Strid’s playing generally directs the group towards more
freewheeling aggression, though he remains an attentive listener and
does just as much to promote the exploration of subtlety, offering
some of the most effective entrances and exits by an improviser on
record. Houle and Léandre generally remain constant while Strid often
opts to lay out, waiting for the perfect moment to come in, either to
signal a new direction or add to the established texture. This is the
trio’s second release and evidently they have plenty of shared
experience upon which to build, as the ensemble deftly and seamlessly
generates a vast palette of color.
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