• Chronique par Mark Medwin dans Cadence (avril-juin 2012)
It is certainly a good sign when the individual players in a trio can’t be identified. It happens a lot throughout these four longish tracks, evoking shades of AMM, SME, TG and, I’m sure, other improvising groups whose names have been stripped down to initials. The album’s opening moments tell the story as Duboc and Lasserre drone, sawing away at the moments with rasping and vaguely pitched exhortations. Lazro’s entrance is simply beautiful, a single tone floated precisely over the thrum and clatter. There are very nice color changes in evidence as well, darker tones lightening and guttural sounds becoming sibilant.
Unfortunately, it all becomes a bit much as the album progresses. Part of it is the unforgiving acoustic; it’s live, but the reverberation is quick, as if the music had been recorded in a moderately large living room. There is also the nearly unflagging intensity, which is a strength but also becomes tiresome after a while.
Eventually, Lazro gets into some post-bop shadings, which alleviates the tension a bit. He’s a wonderful player, as are the others, and some more contrast would demon- strate their abilities more convincingly.
Finally, during the final piece, there is a bit of space left for contemplation, as there was at the outset. A few modal moments flash luminously, and the trio sounds more like a traditional unit, with the dynamic contrast of Lazro screaming and Lasserre tub-thumping. If only the rest of the disc could have boasted this sort of contrast! Overall, despite a few grumbles, this is an excellent effort, and the trio interacts at the highest level. Might I suggest a slightly larger space in which to record the next disc?
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