Quintet Moderne – Wellsprings Suite
Cadence jazz 1176

Wellsprings 1/ Wellsprings 2 / Wellsprings 3 69:06
Harri Sjöström, ss; Philipp Wachsmann, vln, vio, elc; Paul Rutherford, tbn; Teppo hauta-aho, b; Paul Lovens, d, selected cymbyls, singing saw. November 25, 2001 Prague, Czech Republic.

The improvised quintet heard here, quintet moderne, is an infrequently performing collective that has something of merit to say with each appearance. A supergroup of two Finns, two Britts and one german, consisting of founder and soprano-saxophonist Harri Sjöström, strings-player Philipp Wachsmann, trombonist Paul Rutherford, bassist Teppo Hauta-aho and percussionist Paul Lovens, these folks set expectations high and deliver on these thoughts.

As for the recorded works, their discography is extremly scant, with one full length record "Ikkunan Takana" and the infamous "The Strange And The Commonplace", a one-sided LP on Loven's PO TORCH label containing a short 1989 performance. While the three spontaneous pieces, taken from a winter 2001 concert in Prague, do meander at the times (arguably the result of the syllabus they have set for themselves), they deliver a heightended frame of drama, an ambitious and cooperative sense of sound play, and perhaps most exiting, their own sense rhytmic flow.

The two lengthy pieces and one brief excursion that make up the program unfold gradually, as the aim of the musicians is to allow room so that the rhytmic and harmonic ideas flow in a natural progression. That being said, this isn't the kind of improvised program where the concentrated energy rages throughout, but rather, the textural musings dominate, with swelling, calculated surges to change the course and to offer a different perspective. Yes, Wachsmann scapes and glides, Sjöström's piquant bite prickles, Rutherford goes lyrical and elicts his otherwordly sound, Teppo Hauta-aho shuffles and Lovens, well, he is his usual brilliant colorist.

Some highlights include the bright horninterplay of the initial moments of "Wellsprings 1" and it's middle section, with the group charging together, the highlight being a Lovens-Rutherford-duett, and near the end of the piece, a string reverie. As for "Wellsprings 2" wachsmann's eeriestrings, and later electronics standout. The tension-filled barrage at the 21 minutes mark is perhaps the most compelling moment of the concert, with the rush of Loven's cymbals, the bridlike chants of Wachsmann and Sjöström soaring amidst the rumbling from Hauta-aho's bass. Finally "Wellsprings 3", the groups final piece (with actual playing time under four minutes), encapsulates the previous ventures. Commencing with jagged bursts from Sjöström as Lovens matches his spurtsand the rest of the group enters into this spirited dialog, eventually resolving into a Classical-like interplay.

The constantly unfolding group dialog and its inherent exitement is a pleasure, surely one for fans of creative improvised music by these all-stars.

Jay Collins

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