Keith Rowe's 2002 CD The Hands of Caravaggio was, or at least seemed to be, a sonata for improvisers built around his longtime AMM bandmate John Tilbury. Even down to the title, the recording — setting the pianist against a field of electronic sounds provided by the electro tentet MIMEO — seemed a tribute to the touch of a true classicist: If it wasn't an entirely unusual context to find Tilbury in, it was still a particularly beautiful one.
Tilbury's guest spot with Polwechsel on Field has a similar dynamic. The latest lineup of one of the greatest groups in minimalist improvisation (cellist Michael Moser, saxophonist John Butcher, bassist Werner Defeldecker and percussionists Burkhard Beins and Martin Brandlmayr), as heard on 2006's Archives of the North, works fantastically well, and seem on this 2007 studio recording to willfully take on a support role. Theirs is a much fuller sound than the previous lineups of the band. Silence is not a factor here, although certainly not all musicians play all the time, and the focus remains more on the creation of sound in itself than traditionally musical sounds. And of course, what is central is the group dynamic, the interplay. Polwechsel might not work within harmonic structures, but it works for much as a band.
Through varying lineups Moser's group has always excelled at creating sound palates more likely to be associated with electronic instruments. Against, and within, this backing, Tilbury's piano sounds gorgeous. The disc is comprised of two tracks, both about 20 minutes. "Place / Replace / Represent," credited to Moser, is the more delicate of the two, which makes the prolonged, static noises in Dafeldecker's "Field" all the more surprising. Needless to say with such an ensemble, all of the musicians excel. Field is a valuable addition to the discographies of both Polwechsel and Tilbury.
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