Liebig/Vatcher/Golia

Steuart Liebig/Michael Vatcher/Vinny Golia
In the Cusp of Fire and Water
Red Toucan 9324

Over the years, I’ve tried to keep up with some of the Los Angeles-based improvisers who don’t get enough recognition as they would if their zip code were more high profile. Bass guitarist Liebig and omni-reedist Golia are both adventurous composers but, in the last several years, they’ve snuck out some killer free trio sessions (usually with Billy Mintz at the kit). I’ve enjoyed all that I’ve heard by them, but when I got this one in the mail I thought I knew more or less what to expect from it. Not so! California-raised, Amsterdam-residing percussionist Vatcher – who knows a thing or ten about open loose trio sessions – was home for a visit and Liebig wisely hooked up some studio time. Partly because of the excitement generated by any new musical formation, and partly because of the rhythmic goosing Vatcher gives these old partners, this hour-plus of creative music is pretty distinct.

They range from the heat of the opening “Flurries” to the long meditation of “Prelude,” with Golia’s marvelous flute expression set in a bed of bowed percussion and huge reverberant thrums from Liebig’s bass guitar (both he and Vatcher, by the way, use electronics and toys like popguns to create a sense of mischief and danger on occasion). Liebig has the uncanny ability to switch between lead lines and deep-down rumbling on his instrument; that he does it without inviting charges of wankery, and instead comes across as just deeply musical, is much to his credit. But really it’s no surprise, given the thoughtful free music these three resourceful musicians have made so often. The wonderful surprise of the session – or, perhaps better, the delight – is Vatcher’s playing, which is so liquid and so firm at the same time, slipping between idiomatic references playfully while still hewing close to the sense of alien complexity that characterizes the best free improv sessions. This trio can crank out fire music, they can float gracefully through restrained textural studies, and they can even funk it up pretty convincingly. Listening to Golia blow is always worth the price of a ticket, but it’s this trio’s ability to shift between different musical voices with integrity that really distinguishes this session.
The disc probably would have been just as strong without the 20-minute closer “Undertow,” but it’s still a highly enjoyable disc.