URS LEIMGRUBER · JACQUES DEMIERRE · BARRE PHILLIPS — ldp - cologne (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded almost three years after Wing Vane, this trio's debut, LDP -- Cologne offers a fine update but doesn't manage to match the rapturous intensity of the previous opus. One could hardly accuse Leimgruber, Demierre, and Phillips of staying in their comfort zone, but this studio session recorded over two consecutive days is somehow more laborious. The trio's music still proceeds from a conscious decision to explore very quiet dynamics, without excluding louder exchanges altogether, as the high-octane "The Rugged Cross" demonstrates. The opening "Dust" delivers the essence of this trio's sound in what could be called a nutshell -- five minutes, which is pretty short by free improv standards. The piece simmers softly, a murmured three-way dialogue. "You Can't Grow Old Again" and "Spare" fail to make a real impression; here, all three musicians seem to be going through the motions, producing disconnected sequences of bowed, tongued, and hammered sounds. "The Rugged Cross" escalates to a full-blown free-form primal scream that shakes off earlier disappointments. And "Applegate Spark" closes the proceedings with a lively, jagged piece offering a nice balance between ferociousness (Demierre's trademark stabbed chords in the first few minutes) and quiet textural playing. LDP -- Cologne is not a bad album per se -- there is in fact a lot to like in here -- but try Wing Vane on for size first. François Couture
Tracklist :
1.    Dust    5:36
2.    You Can't Grow Old Again    17:27
3.    Spare    8:17
4.    The Rugged Cross    12:44
5.    Shadows Hands    3:55
6.    Applegate Spark    12:50
Credits :
Double Bass – Barre Phillips
Piano – Jacques Demierre
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Liner Notes – Urs Leimgruber

URS LEIMGRUBER · JACQUES DEMIERRE · BARRE PHILLIPS — Wing Vane (2001) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Some albums you need to give time, a chance to grow on you. Wing Vane falls into this category. Saxophonist Urs Leimgruber, pianist Jacques Demierre, and bassist Barre Phillips have recorded a free improv session dominated by the quietness of whispers and the violence of restraint. Listened to in a distracted manner, it sounds like a random aggregate of sounds, completely unrelated to each other -- when there is sound at all! You need to turn up the volume, pay close attention to the minute details, and experience the moments of silence for what they are: gut-wrenching artistic decisions. For an improviser, to consciously decide not to play -- to let silence fill the room and abdicate one's power over it -- is a gesture more meaningful than what listeners usually think. Listen to this CD once. A few days later listen again. You'll find it will offer you something slightly different from what you remembered. Repeat the experience: Again, you will discover new details, new feelings too. A record that teaches you how to listen to music is something to treasure. This kind of free improvising, focused on the subtle and understated, has become more widespread early in the first decade after 2000. What sets this trio apart is the fact that the musicians did not make a religion out of it. Occasionally, Leimgruber's sax produces soaring notes or enters a very busy phase. At certain times, Demierre drops rock-heavy clusters on the piano, driving an impressive crescendo in "Organically Yours." Yet, these moments don't aim at startling you; they flow naturally. Hearing Phillips in such a setting, decidedly more abstract than usual, is a pleasure. Recommended as an acquired taste. François Couture
Tracklist :
1.    Wing Vane      18:55
2.    Karypso    9:39
3.    Distance    10:11
4.    Time Was    4:24
5.    Forwaard    7:16
6.    Organically Yours    13:22
Credits :
Artwork – François Bienvenue
Double Bass – Barre Phillips
Music By – Barre Phillips, Jacques Demierre, Urs Leimgruber
Piano – Jacques Demierre
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Urs Leimgruber