Friday, March 16, 2018

Eave - Eave (ASTRAL SPIRITS 2018)


A mix of New York and Canadian players, "Eave" is the quartet of Anna Webber and Erik Hove on saxophones, Vicky Mettler on guitar and Evan Tighe on drums, a collective abstract improvising band that uses its instruments as much for effect as for conventional playing, with commanding skill in all approaches as they surprise, bemuse and mesmerize the listener.

Evan Tighe (drums). Unique and interesting playing, outstanding and innovative improvising - all these elements are heard in all four musicians musical language. Their compositions have effective and specific sound - musicians for the most of the time are improvising together. Many different playing techniques, contrasting and unique styles and manners are marvelously combined together. Free and fascinating musical experiments are mostly dedicated for sound experiments, special effects, interesting and unusual combinations of timbres, instruments, chords and other musical language elements. The improvisations by these four musicians have effective, specific, original and vibrant sound.

The compositions of this album have soft and dynamic sound. The collective improvisations are full of different playing manners, original and unpredictable stylistic waves, sudden turns of moods, contrasting characters and episodes. The main aim of these improvisations is to create and extract unusual and extraordinary sound. Musicians try to expand the technical abilities of the instruments, using innovative and experimental ways of playing and create rich and expressive musical language. The compositions have solid and vibrant melodic section and dynamic rhythmic. Along with these two elements, colorful, illustrative and effective background is also very important part of musical pattern.

Saxophones and flutes melodies are based on musical experiments - Anna Weber and Eric Hove are individual and original improvisers. Both of them have their own playing style and are using specific methods of playing. Soft, light and colorful flutes solos are effectively illustrated with unusual timbres, glissando, virtuosic passages, trills, arpeggios and many other traditiona; playing techniques. Along with these elements, both musicians masterfully connect hhuge amount of experimental ways of playing and extended playing techniques.

Soft, gentle and joyful flutes are connected with other instruments. Saxophones solos are expressive and dynamic. Loud, fast, full of trills, tremolos, wild fast and furious passages, vibrant and intense blow-outs, expressive and spontaneous solos are softly and organically connected together with abstract, subtle, silent and lyric episodes. With gentle, light and expressive flutes, spontaneous and effective saxophones solos, rich, bright and modern musical language is created. The huge amount of different playing techniques, original and innovative playing manners, inventive decisions, unusual timbres and strange noises create solid, memorable and interesting sound. Viccy Metler guitar melodies are full of different and original playing techniques - musician masterfully uses and connects together traditional and experimental playing techniques, switch between different moods, characters and ways of playing. His improvisations are free, spontaneous, based on contrasting musical patterns and forms - abstract and concrete musical patterns are gently connected together.

The improvisations have expressive and dynamic melodies, innovative improvising manner, interesting harmony, solid bass line and are effectively illustrated by strange noises and special effects. Evan Tighe drums improvisations are contained by especially huge variety of different rhythms and sounds of percussion instruments - improviser masterfully combines together static and dynamic, slow and very fast, memorable or abstract rhythms. Loud drum rolls, trills, tremolos, arepeggios and many different playing techniques create effective, dynamic and solid sound and independent rhythmical section. All improvisations have effective, bright and innovative sound.

1. Meriwether 04:25
2. Liver-Eating 05:54
3. Gold Fever 04:19
4. Axe or Chisel 07:46
5. Denver Bob 04:33
6. The Night of the Burning River 03:02
7. A Well-Worn Path 03:57
8. Owyhee 04:05
9. Yakima 06:01
10. Memorandum 04:07

Anna Webber - saxophone
Erik Hove - saxophone
Vicky Mettler - guitar
Evan Tighe - drums