This fine disc was recorded live at The Loft in Cologne in December of 2007 and it features Dirk Raulf on saxes, Frank Schulte on electronics and Fred Frith on electric guitar. I wasn't familiar with saxist, Dirk Raulf, before this, but it turns out that he co-runs the Poise label. Keyboard wiz, Frank Schulte, we know from his work with David Moss & Thomas Heberer. Guitar great, Fred Frith, certainly need no introduction to anyone who regularly reads this newsletter and I/we always look forward to any disc that Fred is involved with. 'Drift' is an appropriate title as some/much of this does drift. This disc features two long pieces and each one develops in a rich-hued, organic way. The first piece, "Elsewhere", features just the duo of Dirk on sax and Frank on electronics. Dirk sounds like he is playing tenor and slowly, the sax and eerie electronic sounds build and blend so well. Frank creates the occasional skeletal beat, which slowly mutates while strange electronic sounds hover and Dirk's sax floats on top. The second, longer piece is titled "All Aboard" and features the trio. Dirk is playing bari sax here and he takes his time while the odd electronic sounds whirl around him. When the duo soon get into a slightly funky groove, Fred starts to add his own subtle picking. I dig the way the trio work together, blending diverse sounds into a swirling stream that keeps shifting as it flows. Although Raulf most often uses a more restrained jazzi-like tone, Fred and Frank go further out at creating some more cosmic tones. There is an intense section on "All Abroad" where the guitar and sax toss those scary ideas back and forth at a quick rate, while Frank creates eerie sounds in the distance that soon get weirder and even more intense. This a most focused improv date that flows together and works just right. ~ blg, downtownmusicgallery.com
http://www.falschnehmung.de/konzertfotos/sonargemeinschaft/sonargemeinschaft-fred-frith/
