|
*SIGNAL TO NOICE* (USA) No16, April 2000 about CD: You See What We're Sayin...? BMN Trio mp3« >Like his compatriot Peter Brötzmann, with whom he has frequently collaborated over the past few years, Thomas Borgmann can be described as a modern day version of a "tough" tenor. All blues implications aside, the German saxofonist can really take it to the physical limit, with stretched out, fullbodied, scalar runs. Yet, both his Orkestra Kith n' Kin and his current project prove he can ease up on the throttle and keep it simple with emotionally stirring, tenor laments, that would feel at home on the Impulse roster from the mid-sixties. This is particularly true on the slowly evolving opening track "Goodbye Mr. Charles," which reflects the trio's despair over the loss of their former colleague. On this piece, the trio begins with barely audible sounds, slowly gains ground, picking up momentum after the wonderfully mediative middle section and extends into a runaway train of overflowing intensity by the conclusion. Though greatly understand in the mix, Morris' bass keeps the trio at bay, as he intertwines deft pizzicato lines between the others, or bows up a melancholy threnody of his own. Nicholson is a much less melodic drummer than Charles, but his ability to drive a group bodies well for Borgmann, who really capitalizes on such a foundation and sounds fully animated throughout. It's curious how the alteration of personnel by one player can have such an obvious effect on a group's dynamic; yet somehow, they sound like an entirely different trio with a new lease on life.< Jon Morgan CIMP 188 THOMAS BORGMANN - WILBER MORRIS - REGGIE NICHOLSON |
