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HEINZ GEISSER ENSEMBLE 5 - The  Collective Mind Vol 2

Leo Records CD LR 864

Heinz Geisser – percussion; Fridolin Blumer - double bass; Reto Staub – piano; Robert Morgenthaler – trombone
Recorded on March 18, 2018, at Powerplay Studios, Maur, Switzerland

This is an album of highly spirited music which undoubtedly arises from the very diverse musical articulations exploited by the four musicians.  There is a certain jumpiness about the music, but it is the music, not the musicians, that is sounding nervy.  It is the unequivocal ripeness of the players that shows, their sheer ability to hear what’s now and what’s next and the lexis to deal with it all, spontaneously.
There is a clear expansion from the roots of Volume 1 from the same session.  Schemes and suggestions from all musicians are qualified or transmuted by their speedy interactions: they have the language and its grammar to help them.  This, too, gives them their controlled freedom, helps them let the music run impulsively, but never beyond their control.  Thus do they achieve wild flexibility tempered by a vernacular assemblage, achieving a wealth of amalgamations that yields a pulsating, sparkling fricassée, in contrast to its actual concretion.
It's a delight to hear Volume 2 continuing on directly after Volume 1.

Reviewed by Ken Cheatham


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