Caesium cs857

Recorded live at CreativeFest #18 in Lisbon, the Isotope Ensemble channels the volatile and fluid nature of caesium through spontaneous improvisation, blending strings, brass, woodwinds, piano, electric guitars, modular synthesizer, electronics, and objects into a dynamic sonic reaction that reflects the element's unique liquid properties that make the isotope pivotal role in atomic timekeeping. (Squidco)

Quality outdoes quantity as Caesium's slightly more than 24-minute group improvisation proves on this disc. Named for the reactive metal and recorded as part of a Lisbon music festival, the performance shows how well 16 of Portugal's most accomplished creative musicians can cooperate without losing individuality.
Consisting of two brass players, four saxophonists, six string players, three people manipulating electronics and a pianist, the ensemble undulates and stretches through a polyphonic blend whose sequences succinctly expose distinct instrumental motifs until they're subsumed by the ongoing tutti elaborations. Brief interludes of string glissandi, splintered reed rasps. Harmon-muted trumpet smears and clip-clop drumming arise, intersect and vanish just as quickly, Warm piano comping and wave form drones from a modular synthesizer, objects and electronics suture the parts together after instrumental textures judder, vibrate and echo in and out of contrapuntal focus. Whether the textural pivots are pointillist or extended, harmonious or harsh, the group program maintains its equilibrium to the final dissolve.
For many years violist Ernesto Rodrigues, Isotope's de facto leader has organized and recorded similar free music interactions with smaller units. The cohesive connection the 16 players demonstrate here prove though that a notable contribution to that concept can be created with a larger ensemble without ennui or excess — albeit in a truncated time frame. Ken Waxman (The Squid's Ear)