Steven Nelson-Raney and Jon Mueller - Cutting Off the Edge of Time
(Penumbra)
Right off the bat, Steven Nelson-Raney lays down some insanely long tenor sax trilled while Mueller warms up on the drums; it's an impressive beginning to this CD of duet improvisations on the small Penumbra label (Grafton, Wisconsin). On subsequent tracks, a less intense world is sketched out. Nelson-Raney's style is quite melodic, never skronky or atonal, while Mueller's drums clatter around, never staying in one place. It's a CD of improv your Mom could enjoy--not that it's dull; "Blanked Shadows," for example, sketches out a quite evocative scenario in its opening moments. Overall its significantly less atmospheric than Mueller's work on the excellent Racoons CD, but the musicianship is still top-notch. The two players feel as if they are playing aside one another, both headed to the same destination but with slightly different paths; it's an interesting effect that doesn't come across immediately. Nelson-Raney skirts around themes with a strong sense of dynamics, and he occasionally overpowers Mueller--in fact, my biggest complaint with the record is that the drums are sometimes hard to hear. The Penumbra label (along with cohorts Crouton) are releasing very interesting documents of the midwest improv scene--this CD is limited edition and definitely worth snatching up.
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