C’est dans un autre trio guitare / basse / batterie que celui qu’il forme avec Chris Burns et Nicolas Caloia — récemment entendu sur Live: Taking a Shot, cassette Small Scale Music — que l’on trouve ici John Heward. Le temps de quatre improvisations enregistrées en Nouvelle-Écosse en juillet 2013 avec Arthur Bull (la guitare) et Adam Linson (la basse).

Et ce trio diffère de l’autre, au gré d’intentions délicates qui n’imposent pas à l’improvisation l’allure forcée d’un jazz qu’on aimerait libre. C’est sans doute là l’expérience des intervenants, qui s’est forgée auprès de partenaires de taille: Steve Lacy, Lori Freedman, Malcolm Goldstein ou Joe McPhee pour Heward, Derek Bailey, Roscoe Mitchell ou Roger Turner pour Bull, John Butcher ou l’association Axel Dörner / Rudi Mahall / Paul Lytton pour Linson.

La frappe mesurée — retenue, même, parfois — du batteur invite ainsi à un jeu courtois que respectent les feedbacks maîtrisés du guitariste comme les allers et retours turbulents de son médiator, les grands mouvements d’archet du contrebassiste comme ses fabuleux accrocs. Sur la deuxième improvisation, la plus longue (une douzaine de minutes), le ton montera quand même, pour permettre peut-être au contraste de parachever le tableau.

Closely miked and closely knit, this eponymously titled CD captures four tracks of in-the-moment improvisations from Halifax-based guitarist Arthur Bull and visitors, Montréal drummer John Heward and American bassist Adam Linson. Like sophisticated linguists finally given a chance to speak the same language earlier studied in formal contexts, rapport is nearly instantaneous. Soon afterwards the three are unearthing a vein of connective musical inspiration like theoretical geologists discovering a valuable mineral deposit during a quarry visit.

A picker, whose every timbre is outlined with crystal clarity like a diamond displayed on velvet, Bull’s echoing bent notes and slurred fingering usually establish the exposition, with Linson’s tremolo runs and thumping ostinato commenting on, contrapuntally challenging, or stretching the narrative still further. As unobtrusive as a pacifist at a National Rifle Association rally, Heward, also a noted visual artist, contents himself with the occasional distant rumble or ruff. Case in point is Improvisation (2), which works its way up from austere string plinks to spiccato top-of-scale thrusts from Linson, with the merest suggestion of electronic processing. Reaching a crescendo of drums slaps and rattles; sul ponticello double bass shrills; and staccato scurries along the guitar neck with chipmunk speed; the trio concludes the track with a distinctive balance between chicken-picking motions from Bull, that rest comfortably on top of Linson’s double bass string buzzes. Alternatively expanding the sound mixture to widening cascades or shrinking to microtones like an Alice in Wonderland potion, Improvisation (3) is the perfect prelude to the final track. Here Linson’s buzzing continuum, encompassing conservatory techniques steadies the tune’s foundation, while locking in with occasional drum patterns. Eventually the guitarist’s irregular twanging fastens tongue-and-groove with the bassist’s sideways string swipes, creating a crackling finale that’s both multiphonic and memorable.

Bull often deals with more folk-based material; Heward is more oriented towards jazz; and Linson is an electronics experimenter. Yet together on this CD they manage to coordinate their ideas with the best qualities of a long-time working group.