Thursday, August 9, 2012

Clarino: Cookbook

Clarino (trio)
Cookbook (Red Tucan Records; 2012)
Thomas Heberer (trumpet)
Joachim Badenhorst (clarinet)
Pascal Niggenkemper (bass)

Thomas Heberer's Clarino trio have quickly released another album of inspiring, improvised yet well balanced material in form of Cookbook.

Cookbook refers to the name Heberer has given to the form in which he has written the material for this trio. Cookbook fuses more structure from thin spaces Heberer, Badenhorst and Niggenkemper produce than their debut album, Klippe. As a result it is a different effort than its predecessor and even more engaging.

"Lockruf" opens with long notes that are stretched through time by Badenhorst and then joined by Heberer and Niggenkemper. Each creates a counterpoint but with lines that meet to tell the story of their journey as close to the end of the piece as you could get. A quiet and peaceful conclusion.

The multi-layered "Nomos" features a few complex lines from Niggenkemper. This is juxtaposed by ascending notes on clarinet and trumpet. Heberer has infused a number of playful notes into a delicate and complicated pattern. Very enlightening. The quiet introspection of "Bogen" with its utilization of various breathing techniques on the horns is closely matched by haunting chords resonating from the bass. This slides swiftly into a powerful recitation of repeating chords in the heavy "Deux." An intense passage of notes by Niggenkemper and rolling lines of Badenhorst make it an astounding number, albeit short.

Heberer uses long stretches of tone and color to close out this session with "Zuname." The pattern is circular and continues to build; the bassline is just audible underneath both horns. As the piece closes you hear the tones still echoing in the back of your mind.

Thomas Heberer has created a trio that seems to be as at ease within the material as it is with expanding on it. Cookbook may be just a clean slate with a few lines of direction but Clarino has made this a very exciting and creative journey to experience. Highly Recommended.

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