Michaël Attias & Simon Nabatov met to play together for the first time in July 2014 when the alto saxophonist and pianist were booked together at a Brooklyn club. Brooklyn Mischiefs was unearthed from Nabatov’s archives during a pandemic that precludes events like this one. The program offers five spontaneous inventions plus a brief look at Herbie Nichols’ The Spinning Song. Their intense concentration and cohesion are evident from the very start of Glimpses & Tangles, the aptly named first track. Attias likens the “miracle of a happy first encounter” to the “sudden ease of dreams ...” The key difference, of course, between dreaming and actually living the dream is the intention and action required to bring their music into being. In this respect, the adaptable Nabatov and the volatile Attias make an exemplary pair with instant compositions seemingly plucked from the air. The moods range from careful tone poems to full-on rampages and almost everything between those poles, sometimes in the space of one improvisation, like Languid. That’s the first half of a medley with the Nichols tune, alluded to then elaborated by Nabatov. Attias re-enters the scene and they proceed to spar and commune for a spell. While I’m partial to the jauntier sections of their journey, like the second half of Gowanus at Night or the happy-go-lucky feeling that emerges in the midst of Glances, improvised music fans will find much here to hold their interest. Recommended.
Leo CD LR 901; Michaël Attias (as) Simon Nabatov (p); Brooklyn, NY, July 6, 2014; Glimpses & Tangles/ Gowanus By Night/ Medley: Languid, The Spinning Song/ Glances/ Poetic Bug Bite; 53:38. www.leorecords.com
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