This CD/DVD pack presents different if intimately related aspects of the work by this orchestra. The interaction between languages –concrete, noise, electronics, music samples- presents, in the level of sound, an approach dominated by a collage aesthetic of clearly differentiated materials, which blends with the realm of image through the referential character of ideas heavily relying on pop, introducing elements of metacompositional ascendancy that encompass both mediums. The flow, punctuated by Debords’ words – heard through pop lyrics/seen as interstitial silent movie titles —, like a conceptual Karaoke (DVD), hints at the premises supporting the whole project.

When it comes to free improvisation in the province of Quebec, we all think first of Montréal, then perhaps Québec (and Victoriaville, but there is no local scene there, only the FIMAV festival). Who would have thought that an experimental music community could emerge from Rimouski, a small city way up on the St. Lawrence River? And yet, that is what happened in the mid-2000’s with the recurring Rencontres de musiques spontanées event and the inception in 2006 of the Tour de Bras label. Dix situations précaires, that label’s second release (following local group P.O.W.E.R.’s Tomahawk Territory), documents a September 2005 concert featuring local musicians and well-known improvisers from Montréal. The instrumentation of this quartet is not a particularly frequent one: clarinet and bass clarinet Lori Freedman), cello (James Darling), sampler (Diane Labrosse) and percussion (Gabriel Dionne). Edited and mastered by Labrosse, the album proposes ten excerpts from the performance, ranging from two to 11 minutes in duration. Freedman and Darling connect marvelously well at a lyrical, quasi-melodic level, their interactions feeding much emotion into these free improvisations. Darling’s yearning flights are behind many highlights — one wishes he was more active in free improv. Labrosse’s dynamically-manipulated samples add an element of alienation and disturbance that often signals changes in the development of the music. Dionne laces his percussion work through it all, tying things together, especially when he turns to the vibraphone, a timbre that meshes in surprisingly well with the bass clarinet. Dix situations précaires is a rather subdued album of free improvisation, without getting to the extreme sparseness of the quiet improv approach.

Clarinettiste canadienne accumulant les partenaires (Steve Lacy, Joe McPhee, Ab Baars, Barry Guy, Misha Mengelberg…) comme d’autres collectionnent les médailles, Lori Freedman présente ici des extraits choisis de 3 récents et affables trios.

Aux côtés de René Lussier (guitare électrique) et de Martin Tétreault (turntables), Freedman combine les élans de sa clarinette basse et les perles bruitistes de Tétreault (Skroawng, Seven) ou rivalise avec les postures amusées de Lussier — blues défait sur Spaghetti brûlé, rock nerveux sur The Tribe of Triclops.

Plus atmosphériques, les pièces concoctées en compagnie de Jean Derome (saxophone et objets) et Rainer Wiens (guitare préparée et percussions) dessinent une irrégulière rose des vents (The Light of Night), disposent selon des patrons parallèles des drones de tout essences (Six Degrees), ou cèdent à la nécessité d’un assaut final emporté par la fougue du saxophone et de la clarinette (Tigresse).

Plus conventionnelles, les improvisations menées par Freedman, le contrebassiste Nicolas Caloia et la percussionniste Danielle Palardy Roger, rappellent les enregistrements du Spontaneous Music Ensemble – avec (Chrysalis, Lipsync) ou sans (Babalou, Poussière de lune) véritable conviction. Sorte de retour aux sources improvisées comme moyen de diversifier le propos singulier de Lori Freedman.

Le guitariste Antoine Berthiaume passe de la musique actuelle au jazz sur cet album. Il s’est entouré du contrebassiste Michel Donato et du percussionniste Pierre Tanguay. Pour son quatrième opus, le jeune guitariste polymorphe nous dévoile ses talents de compositeur. À chaque titre, on se balade dans un monde mélodique et joyeux avec un brin de sensualité. La guitare est nue, sans effets, mais jouée avec aplomb et virtuosité. Avec Ellen’s Bar, nous sommes plutôt loin des impros free, mais plutôt dans la grande tradition jazz.

Clarinettist Lori Freedman is playing some of the bravest music on the local creative music scene. She never takes the easy way out with her improvisations, stepping out on limbs and never show-boating, yet she always manages to bring them back from the point of breakdown to a satisfying resolution. Her latest album, 3, has her in three trios (with, respectively, René Lussier/Martin Tétreault; Nicolas Caloia/Danielle Palardy Roger; Jean Derome/Rainer Wiens) in performances recorded at the Va-et-Vient and remixed in the studio. The music throughout is full of detail and nuance, with interesting interplays of texture and line. (3,5/5)

This is Bull/Heïkalo’s third release of solo guitar improvs, give or take some electronically altered sounds here and there. It is the interplay between acoustic and electric guitar that, with the addition of a “prepared drum kit”, create six diverse, virtuoso pieces that are moody, groovy and occasionally fiery.

Building off the delta blues and fusion guitar structures, La solution de l’énigme, Cobra Skin Necktie, and others ring with tones pulled from history and aim beyond it. Moment intense de répit coloré, like Afterthought for Ornette burn with purpose, in homage as well as with an ear for deconstruction of trad rhythms. Lonnie Johnson and Decoction bluesee are the highlights, in which both Bull and Heïkalo—the latter adding percussion—find their peak in rocking yet centered power.

Noted guitar players who hook up tend to disappoint their core fans; the results are usually more tentative and lame than other work. This is the third collaboration between Bull and Heïkalo, and they have moved well beyond any start-trip temptations to form a solid duo. They hear each other, and respond well to ideas from each other’s encyclopedic mental understanding of guitar history. (8/10)