Lori Freeman

Clarinetist/bass clarinetist Lori Freedman puts her ass — her artistic credibility — on the line every time she steps up to record. And Lori Freedman 3 follows its predecessors by capturing music that is intelligent, engaging and daring. LR3 has that weird and delightful quality of having tracks that are hauntingly reminiscent of something we’ve heard before, but know full well we haven’t. This is largely due to Freedman’s depth of musical experience; what she plays has heavy recognisable resonances of new music, free jazz, klezmer and noise. On LR3 she is joined by three sets of duo partners who, between them, cover an encyclopaedia’s worth of musical experience themselves. Guitarist Rene Lussier and turntablist Martin Tétreault weave atmospheric threads of sound, sometimes Stockhausen-ish etheric, sometimes delta blues palpable, like "Spaghetti Brule.” Next up is saxophonist Jean Derome and string shapeshifter Rainer Wiens, whose sibilance proves a stimulating counterfoil to her clarinet’s malleable tone, as on "Chrysalis,” an outstanding piece of collective listening and creation. Bassist Nicholas Caloia and percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger are minimalist and miniaturist, keeping things quiet, relatively sparse and brief. The restrained roars of "Tigresse” clocks in at a tad over three minutes. Highly recommended.