Martine Altenburger (violoncelle), Frédéric Blondy (piano), Bertrand Gauguet (saxophones alto & soprano)

1. La montagne ne porte pas les nuages
2. Dans les plis du vent
3. Vers l'île paresseuse
4. Hypnotise sur une arête
5. Enclave nocturne et transitoire

enregistré à Paris le 11 janvier 2009
Enregistré, mixé, édité et masterisé par Augustin Muller
Illustration, Marguerite Lantz
Conception graphique, Bernard Gauchet Inc.

The back is a lot better today thank you, though still feeling extremely fragile. Work is a lot of pressure right now, and I cam home tonight with a pounding headache, but I'm glad I have the day off tomorrow. A very nice dinner and a pot of tea later my head has cleared enough to resume listening to music and so here's a review of a CD I have spent quite a bit of time with of late. Before I begin writing about the disc though, can I make it clear that only one of the three French musicians that appear are also members of the group Hubbub.
So this release, named Vers l'île paresseuse (Towards lazy island?) is a brand new edition from the Creative Sources label by the all French trio of Martine Altenburger, (cello) Frédéric Blondy, (piano) and Bertrand Gauguet (alto and soprano sax). Essentially, its a recording of the trio improvising acoustically at a Paris venue in January 2009. The actual recording is very nicely done, very resonant, suggesting to me that it might have been made in a church or similarly sounding place, though the exact site isn't mentioned. The focus across the five tracks is very much the combination of textures and colours as much as it is anything kinetically energetic, but the disc is yet another that floats nicely somewhere in the stylistic middle ground of improvised music, which isn't a criticism at all, rather that its a hard one to pigeonhole in any given direction. Although only the only shared instrumentation is the piano, the nearest comparison I can make is AMM, the fourth track Hypnotisé sur une arete in particular, as Blondy's gamelaneque prepared piano reminds me a lot of Tilbury, with Altenburger's cello vaguely reminiscent of Prevost's bowed metals. The music here does inhabit that kind of area though, a softly spoken sound that can suddenly cut loose without much warning, but with a refined sense of elegant beauty to it.
Blondy indeed is thoroughly impressive throughout this CD, shifting through techniques, mostly on the inside of his instrument at will, often driving the music rather than taking up the accompaniest's role. Altenburger and Gauguet are no slouches here either though, the sax mostly tonal, but far from jazzy, used mostly to apply soft colours over the other two, with only occasional shifts into more breathy extended technique. The cello is understated as well, but all together the group combine into some gloriously rich sounds that compliment each other very well.
My favourite of the five pieces is easily the closing six minute track Enclave nocturne et transitoire, during which the music slows right down to a crawl as it also strips itself back to the barest elements, just softly padded piano notes sat amongst short melancholic framing from the other two musicians. There is a beautiful stillness here, a warm sense of calm to close the album, but with no lack of tension as the gentle sounds emerge from the silence before gradually decay away. The final few minutes sound as of the last gasps of breath are being drawn by the music as it slips away, poignant and really very beautiful indeed.
The playing here is exceptional, and the musicians seem to know each other well, and appear to have set off with the general mood already settled, the palette and brushes in place and just the canvas to fill. I am reminded of the recent Looper album, not just because of shared instrumentation but because of the sense of melancholic, and yet thoroughly beautiful atmosphere. Once again, because it is on the Creative Sources label this is a CD that will possibly go unnoticed, but it would be a travesty if this was allowed to happen. Of the hundred or so discs on CS I have heard this one would make my top two or three. A beautiful hour of music.
Richard Pinnell, The Watchfull Ear, http://networkedblogs.com/h8o3b

Incredible understated improvisation from the trio of cellist Martine Altenburger, pianist Frederic Blondy,and saxophonist Bertrand Gauguet. Using tension, timbre, and unusual tonality, these three create a moody set of improvistory journey, punctuated with raucous passages that resolve into darkness. Five exceptional journeys from these accomplished players, who's dialog describes the excellent communication and technical abilities of each.
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