As more of a rhetorical, sarcastic ribbing than an actual query, Michel F Côté and Isaiah Ceccarelli write, “What can we do when we’re just two drummers?” Indeed how does a percussion duo entertain an audience for forty-six minutes without a visual aid, balancing all the elements of music into a satisfying listener experience? Côté and Ceccarelli capably do so with a contingent of boundless creativity, astonishing sounds, impeccable performances (both men are accomplished composers and performers who have been around many a Montréal block) and knowing when enough is just enough (the average track length is under four minutes).

Armed with kits, assorted junk drums, piano, pocket trumpet, “electronics”, feedback and lap steel guitar, Côté and Ceccarelli busily cycle though the history (and future) of percussion techniques. Beginning with “tape” hum and drum head stretches on Surmenage brun, they quietly and anxiously tap on rims, pull adhesives off heads, drag brushes on snares, flick on/off brief mechanical belches and strike every possible angle of their gear. After a brief pause, the duo reworks the first half, replacing some of the acoustics with subtle electronic shadows and closing with a pondering, lugubrious sub-harmonic echo. Moving to a more metal aesthetic, Grâce maussade is a polyrhythmic melee of various Gamelan bells, scraped metals and all manner of prepared keyboard tinkering (string strums, wood knocks, mallet thumps etc.) versus a spacious, lethargic piano melody. Nous, les troglodytes is what would happen if Steve Reid and Kieran Hebden followed through with the direction they hint of on their recent collaborations: hyperactive Interstellar Space style free jazz drumming with a bed of glitching Hammond organ, generated harmonics and DSP keeping pace. Côté and Ceccarelli aren’t simply about assault, however, and they show their range with Las du futur, a tenuous drone formed from oscillating sine waves, melodic feedback, bowed cymbals and intriguing sonic detritus (i.e. wiggling noisy cables), and the chatter-driven, bass drum grumbling, pianissimo Avantage de la débilité.

Despite John Cage’s work in the 1940s and Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation (1930), the idea of “percussionist as band” is still often treated as a novelty — and, due to the excessive contraptions, toys and otherwise cacophonous instruments employed in most of the repertoire, this is often a fair label. But what happens when this equipment falls into the right hands? The answer is Vulgarités, an album that eschews the word “gimmicky” in favor of “virtuosity”.

Bassist Joëlle Léandre’s solo performances are, without fail, deeply impressive yet enormously human works. She is among that rare class of improvisers — such as Cecil Taylor and Derek Bailey — who are most complete when performing alone (that said, however, Bailey and Léandre’s 1997 duet No Waiting (Potlatch) is essential in both their discographies). There are, however, enough solo records in her catalogue that keeping up can be a challenge. A second selling point, then, is a smart idea.

Live in Israel offers the best of both: the first CD contains 54 minutes of Léandre unaccompanied from Tel Aviv and the Oud Festival in Jerusalem in 2007. She is, as always, virtuosic, elegant, and resonant. Like Bailey and Taylor, her work is so personal that, to a degree, you know what you’re going to get: the soul laid bare twice is still the same soul. It’s the second half of the set that — while not as strong — provides particular interest. Also recorded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the disc collects duo, trio and sextet performances with Léandre and an assortment of eight Israeli players. There’s a strange mix of slow unfolding and, at times, tentativeness to the disc; the players allow each other room to move, allowing some nice moments of discovery but ultimately making for an uneven (if nicely programmed) listen. The best known names show up in the sextet, with Assif Tsahar on bass clarinet and Daniel Sarid on piano, but the strongest collaboration is in Léandre’s duet with Sameer Makhoul. The dichotomy of strings, bass and oud, and of voices, male and female, isn’t just the best of the encounters here but stands among the more interesting mixing of textures she has put on record.

Saxophonist Philippe Lauzier, drummer Thom Gossage and violist Jean René will be in residence at L’Arsenal in Metz (France) with choreographer Isabelle van Grimde for her new work Les chemins de traverse. The premiere will take place on February 25, 2009, at the Schouwburg Theater in Arnhem (The Netherlands) followed by four concerts from March 3 to 6 at L’Arsenal.

On February 24, 2009, Bobelo Bobelo will be in concert at Le Cheval blanc in Montréal. You will have the opportunity to hear traditional music in an experimental concext, featuring musicians Liette Remon, Pierre Langevin, René Lussier and Pierre Tanguay.

As part of the Festival MNM, Bradyworks will perform Jean Derome’s new arrangement of his composition Confitures de gagaku, a classic musique actuelle piece dating back to1988. A sublte and melodic music inspired by eastern philosophy and poetry, the concert will take place at Salle Pierre-Mercure on February 27, 2009.

Sylvain Fortier in conversation with Danielle Palardy Roger. In the first of our brand new podcast series, the composer and percussionist talks about her work and offers us a few excerpts from her most recent releases, Pas de deux and Phénix.