The surprise release of a Sun of Goldfinger + Aurora Nealand performance wasn’t the beginning of Tim Berne’s collaboration with the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist Nealand, nor is it even the latest. Following closely on the heels of MYSTIC by the Sunny Four comes Oceans And (Intakt Records), a studio set Berne recorded with Nealand and Hank Roberts.
As he is apt to do, Berne revisits old associations to forge new contexts that precipitates a fresh sound and approach. He goes with cellist Hank Roberts all the way back to 1987’s Fulton Street Maul, one of Roberts’ earliest appearances on a record. Nealand first appeared with Berne in the studio for a Trapper Keaper record released in 2019.
Roberts, a hero on several of Bill Frisell’s earliest records, is valuable as the “Abdul Wadud” to Berne’s “Julius Hemphill.” Nealand is a veritable Swiss army knife, bringing accordion, vocals and a Bb clarinet to the party, and knows just how to fit each into the whole unique aesthetic.
Myself and others will nominally tag Oceans And as a jazz record but it actually comes off more as avant-garde classical music, particularly in its presentation and its structure. Improvisations, if that’s what they are, are played like meticulously through-composed pieces, the three contributing unique parts that come together in a polychromatic weave. Moreover, they achieve this with the absence of density, the solemn air between them almost functions as a fourth performer.
Indeed, “The Latter” begins akin to a symphony orchestra warming up, playing extended chords with careful slink sublimely underpinned by Nealand’s accordion. As the end nears, all three creep up the scale to reach the crescendo together. “Low Strung” starts out as advertised, but like “The Latter,” builds up its conclusion with everyone scaling upwards.
For “Framed,” the unblemished blend of cello and accordion forms a bed for Berne’s alto sax sounding like no one else, as he consistently chooses notes that impact the most. Some rustling backs “Eez,” and Roberts’ plucked cello competes with Berne for the center, soon enjoined by Nealand and her accordion; a fractured, three-way exchange ensues.
Nealand’s multifarious skillset is leveraged to create different schemes for each song. Her Bb clarinet first appears on “Clustard” and it changes the sound dynamic, as the two reeds invariably harmonize, unify and joust with each other. The accordion returns during “Mortal and Pestered” but this time Nealand harmonizes with it using her voice, while Roberts adds subtle tension from near the bottom. On “Frosted”, Nealand tremolos the accordion, a curious backdrop from Roberts’ cello ponderings. Then, Berne enters with his trademark shaded notes, tugging the song into a darker direction. For “Peeled,” Nealand uses her voice alone to serve as a foil to Berne’s sax, coming quite close to the tone and timbre of that alto sax even when it reaches up high.
“10tious” is a well-conducted exercise of three-way interplay between Berne, Roberts and Nealand on accordion. “Sutile” feature one of Berne’s patented melodic developments, this time accompanied by Nealand’s Bb clarinet. When they slow it down, a balletic interaction ensues, underscored by Roberts’ graceful cello.
Exquisitely engineered by Joe Branciforte and mastered by David Torn, Oceans And intrigues because it’s a meld of sounds that don’t normally go together and delights because in the hands of Tim Berne, Aurora Nealand and Hank Roberts, it goes together so danged well.
Oceans And goes out to the public on April 21, 2023. You can get it from Bandcamp.
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