On Friday, June 21 2024 came another special suddenly dropped from Tim Berne. Live at the 188 Club is a capture of a club date in January, 2024 featuring the alto saxophonist performing with Mark Helias (double bass) and Aurora Nealand (accordion, clarinet, voice).
For decades now, Berne identifies a growing cadre of musicians who work well with him and mixes and matches liberally. By changing out instruments, musical personalities are also swapped, guaranteeing a fresh perspective, especially since the music relies so heavily on instincts and group dynamics. The Nealand/Helias/Berne combination is novel, though this comes on the heels of a couple of Nealand and Berne records with cellist Hank Roberts. Helias, like Roberts, is highly distinctive, and Helias’ presence is the difference maker that sets this apart from Oceans And and Lucid/Still.
“Cauldron, The Second Meaning” takes up nearly half the running time, moving through moods, tempos and sections like a symphony. Helias effects some of this variation by switching between pizzicato to arco, and Berne’s lyrical side is showcased, especially a moment when he briefly has the floor to himself around eighteen minutes in. Nealand sticks with accordion here, and she connects so intuitively with both Berne and Helias, she sometimes functions as the bridge between them.
“Alight, Young One” was sure to liven up the crowd with a pert conference between Berne and Nealand (on clarinet) while Helias provided percussion slapping on his bass. He then devises a funky bass line for Nealand to revel in. The two reedists converse again, but this time undertaking extended notes (and harmonizing well) instead of a volley of notes.
Helias’ bass feature sets “Timidly Bodacious” into motion and as he switches to the bow, Nealand can be heard singing in the approximate range of Berne’s sax, in this way functioning as a second horn. When she adds the accordion, the trio effectively expands to a quartet.
The shorter pieces “there are Seven Levels” and “Quodlibet:Encore” underscore the three-way interplay between sax, accordion and bass, and further proves the concept works nicely when the right musicians are executing it.
Live at the 188 Club is offered in digital-only form, and you can get it from the Screwgun Records store.
Recommended Tim Berne CD’s on Amazon:
Oceans And
Science Friction – The Sublime And
Hard Cell – Feign
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil – Shadow Man
Tim Berne – The Shell Game
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