Cloud Song is the title of the latest album by the Undercurrent Trio, in which the trio has been expanded to a quartet with trumpeter Suzan Veneman.
The Undercurrent Trio consists of saxophonist/leader Iman Spaargaren, guitarist Guillermo Celano and drummer Marcos Baggiani. For the new CD Cloud Song, the trio has been supplemented with trumpeter Suzan Veneman.
The music on Cloud Song is full of musical colours and timbres. The arrangements are tackled grandly and elaborated in sophisticated arrangements. The pieces sometimes sound massive, but transparency remains present and the music retains its lightness (partly due to the absence of the bass). There is exciting interplay, such as in Cloud Song, in which the music excels here and there into a fine organised chaos, which develops organically into themes and solos on trumpet, bass clarinet, saxophone, guitar (exciting in En Toen) and drums. We hear beautiful 2-part themes on sax, bass clarinet and trumpet, sometimes played in unison (as in Buenos Aires Revisited) or on the beat, supplemented with beautiful changes of time and strong accents on guitar (beautiful solo) and drums. In El Compadre we hear something similar, but here it is 2 rhythm layers: the trumpet and sax part played on the beat are firmly supported by guitar and drum accents, later followed by a complementary trumpet-sax theme. A resting point on Cloud Songis Lonesome Gaucho, which starts with a beautiful (Bill Frisell-like) guitar intro (with subtle tremolo), followed by a beautiful bass clarinet theme, which later develops into a duo solo of trumpet and bass clarinet.
The music on Cloud Song is surprising, energetic and take the listener on an improvisational discovery: “…..what happens after the next musical turn?” All pieces are composed by Iman Spaargaren, who proves that he has found the right combination: working with excellent musicians who perform his ingenious compositions with passion!
Undercurrent Trio & Suzan Veneman: Cloud Song (Zennez Records)
