This outrageous and maddening collection of Peter Kowald's duets showcases, far more than the truly amazing talents of so many of his collaborators, his own striking diversity of approach to his instrument and the diversity of his range -- even within the seemingly unrestricted realm of "free improvisation." Note first his long, shape-shifting, largely tonal duet with Seizan Matsuda's shakuhachi flute and its contrast to the piece with Evan Parker immediately following, where texture, nuance, and strangulated, angular sound wind soprano saxophone and bowed bass together as one multi-pitched atonal skronk. Perhaps the most beautiful -- if unsettling -- piece on the disc is Kowald's bowed duet with Diamanda Galas, appearing as a collaborator for the first time since her album-long rock duet with John Paul Jones. Here, on "Voice I," Galas gets to sing -- using her full, four octave range -- against the sonorities created by the polytonalities of the frenetically bowed bass. But if this weren't enough, the late Tom Cora's contribution on cello creates an intertextuality of strings and effects that moves beyond what is lingual or expressible without those two instruments in your hands. The percussion works with Andrew Cyrille and Han Bennink are studies in the texture of intensity, making the rhythmic palette of the bass so wide and its structure -- as pushed by Kowald -- so taxed to its physical limits that the listener is left breathless. If not beautiful, the most musically forward selection is the duet with Irène Schweizer, where single notes and minor chords are augmented with major sevenths and played over by Kowald pizzicato. It's jazz to be sure, but this is more a spontaneous composition than an improvisation; we can hear Schweizer and Kowald engaging each other on a modal level and creating the space where interval and overtone overlap. In sum, this duet set won't be everybody's cup of tea, and some of these pieces just plain don't work. No matter. Kowald proves himself here to be a musician first and an improviser second. His restlessness is revealed and his emotional and technical accomplishments are duly noted. - Thom Jurek
Tracks
01. Soeurbet Frereboise (Peter Kowald/Joëlle Léandre)
02. Wind Arms (Peter Kowald/Seizan Matsuda)
03. Straight Angles Suite (Peter Kowald/Evan Parker)
04. Throat 1 (Diamanda Galás/Peter Kowald)
05. Bein Auf Stein (Conrad Bauer/Peter Kobalt)
06. Growing Crazy (Tom Cora/Peter Kowald)
07. Serious Fun 1 (Andrew Cyrille/Peter Kowald)
08. WunderKönigin und Fühlebär (Peter Kobalt)
09. Birth of Signs (Peter Kowald/Akira Sakata)
10. Genmai (Masahiko Kono/Peter Kowald)
11. Trollymog (Peter Kowald)
12. The Further Float (Peter Kowald/Tadao Sawaï)
13. Lost Lots (Derek Bailey/Peter Kowald)
14. Giorgo's Red (Floros Floridis/Peter Kowald)
15. Diepe Spoeren (Han Bennik/Peter Kowald)
16. In This Last Days (Jeanne Lee)
17. Grüner Mori (Peter Kobalt/Keiki Midorikawa)
18. Power Without Power II (Junko Handa/Peter Kowald/Traditional)
19. Riff riff Go On (Danny Davis/Peter Kowald)
PETER KOWALD bass, voice
JOËLLE LÉANDRE voice
SEIZAN MATSUDA shakuhachi
EVAN PARKER soprano saxophone
DIAMANDA GALAS voice
CONRAD BAUER trombone
TOM CORA cello
ANDREW CYRILLE drums, voice
IRÈNE SCHWEIZER piano
AKIRA SAKATA alto saxophone
MASAHIKO KONO trombone
PETER BRÖTZMANN tenor saxophone
TADAO SAWAI koto
DEREK BAILEY guitar
FLOROS FLORIDIS clarinet
HAN BENNIK drums
JEANNE LEE voice
KEIKI MIDORIKAWAcello
JUNKO HANDA Biwa, voice
DANNY DAVIS alto saxophone
FMP/FREE MUSIC PRODUCTION FMP CD 21