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"The
Middle Distance draws on a bountiful reservoir of
experimental histories. Thomas is known for his performances of
Cage and 'complexity' composers like Michael Finnissy; in 1993 Burn
issued a disc of piano music by pioneering American composer Henry
Cowell, although his interest in composed means has been overshadowed
by his reputation as an improvisor. Thomas, playing prepared piano,
remains sonically distinct from Burn, but the music manages a
noticeably unified soundworld. Fell leaves conventional bass
rhetoric far behind as the musicians consciously match up their
timbres; at 2'55" on track four, their extended techniques flow
into a microtonal patois that trashes instrumental allegiance." Philip
Clark THE WIRE
"From the
start of the first track Looking Ahead, Seeing Nothing (an
allusion to the uncertainty of improv?) the music is put together
like some kind of finely crafted filigree sculpture, tense, full of
anticipation and edgy precipices hanging over moments of silence. The
interplay between the musicians is outstanding, there are three
exceptional set of ears here, and the many years experience they
share in the music is clear right from the outset. There is a chamber
music feel to the recording, which is wonderfully captured in the
resonant space that is the St Paul's building at Huddersfield
University. Everything is played entirely acoustically, and so we
have the sound of a lot of strings here, struck, rubbed, bowed and
hammered, combining wonderfully to create little sections of finely
balanced sounds, some short some long, some tonal some percussive. It
all just works so well. The second piece, a gradual, episodic
thirteen minute study called Not With The Fire In Me Now
sounds almost composed, and given that all three musicians have
worked with compositional structures quite often in the past maybe
this isn't such a crazy idea, but whether there is any preordained
structure to the music or not it is clear that improvisation is at
the heart of every one of the pieces here. I love to hear piano
played in improvised music like this, and Fell is such an able and
versatile bassist that he finds a multitude of ways to wrap around
the mix of scrapes and chimes from the pianists. The sense of shape
and balance in the music is what really makes it for me. Nothing is
overdone, bold statements are made when they are needed and there
isn't a fight to be heard. the musicians are working here to form a
music together. This is just a great recording. A wonderful fifty
plus minutes of finely crafted improvisation. The opening passage of
the final Looking Back, Remembering Little is just great, a
thunderous blend of pummeling deep piano booms matched by a heavy
metal approach to bowed bass, in places almost reminding me of a more
abstract Hendrix workout. Just as the opening is so powerfully
direct, so the sections that follow are elegantly gentle, so
underlining the varied nature of the music. I thoroughly recommend
this album to anyone that enjoys improvised music of any kind. My
favourite improv disc of the year so far." Richard Pinnell
THE WATCHFUL EAR |
