Above: Keyna Wilkins and Shane Carpini began the evening with an improvised set blending the sounds from drum kit, flute, alto flute and piano. Featured image: Inlay Ensemble members-Jenny Eriksson, Elsen Price and John Napier. Inlay Ensemble photo by Shanti Raman.
Improvisation has existed in group format way before our modern association with it in breakout solos during trad jazz gigs of the twentieth century, cadenza moments in Romantic period concertos before that or continuo support during early music of many genres.
Whether it was vocal music for parish or music to work or play to, the intense listening required for seamlessly bouncing of other musicians in non-scored music has been creating its inimitable energy for some time.
But this performance practice is not always on offer for complete concert programmes or recordings in our current time.
Last weekend’s concert at Woodlands Studio in Ashbury featured two different but equally passionate local ensembles who have been regularly bringing is mesmerising, expert spontaneous interactions in fully improvised concerts and recordings of seamlessly improvised and very engaging fare.
Two groups, aptly named to indicate the decorative intricacy and developmental industry of fully improvised sets entertained us.
Ibid (Keyna Wilkins -piano/ flutes and Shane Carpini on drums began the evening with colourful contouring, some sensitive, diverse drum kit timbres and extended utterances with expressive arcs to the working of themes and strands of rhythm and feeling.
Inlay Ensemble (on this night featuring a string trio of Jenny Eriksson on electric viola da gamba, Elsen Price on double bass and John Napier on cello.
The diverse backgrounds of performers in this Inlay line-up was pleasing blend. The ensemble takes on different configurations at tines but always celebrates an all-string extemporised tone.
Inlay Ensemble gave us a wealth of colour and decoration as melodic material from each member was introduced in turn and reacted to by all. There was a seamless swirl and exchange here and the shifting dialogue was exciting to watch.
Sections of pizzicato that built to a eloquent frenzy plus harmonics and col legno playing bouncing of the inlay members’ diverse instruments gave us improvisation string-style.
This ensemble blended styles from early music, contemporary and world music inflection to jazz in its offered thematic ideas and elaboration. This made the set a compelling and engaging journey.
As an audience member at this improvised event I felt a lightness, focus and performer appreciation I have not felt for some time.
This genre-smashing, background blending soundfest is what we all need right now. The playing was in extended sections or ‘pieces’-a focus requirement not for the faint hearted, but the joyous momentum and direction of the impro helped us manage the varied stretches of sound and overlapping curves to the commentary.
As a listening experience with extended pieces, the chance to immerse yourself in the undulating spontaneous creativity of improvisation is an hypnotic almost-therapy found in few concert experiences currently on offer.
And the intimate-setting performance, plus enthusiastic and high calibre programming of players was once again championed by Woodlands Studio and its curator and performer Keyna Wilkins.
The next concert at Ashbury’s Woodlands Studio will be on September 6 at 6.30pm. It features the Nana Koizumi Trio direct from Japan plus Ephemera Trio with drummer Jodie Michael.
