One thrill of freely improvised music is hearing how musicians transmute sonic special effects—huffing into a wind instrument, odd noises from the piano's interior, and bowed, sighing cymbals—into the substance of music itself. For the generation of improvisers currently in their late 20s and early 30s, those effects, often described as extended techniques, now compose the main vocabulary of musical creation and collaboration.
Chris Cogburn, reedman Jonathan Sielaff, and pianist Gust Burns all exemplify this outlook individually, and as a trio. In April 2005, I heard Cogburn, an Austin-based percussionist, perform with trombonist Dave Dove, whose blats and growls reminded me of a whinnying '70s ARP analog synth. Cogburn was perpetually resourceful, placing a tuning fork against his snare drum, bowing his cymbal while pressing it against a floor tom, and doing whatever else it took to bolster, underscore, or contradict Dove.
I caught Sielaff and Burns at the No West Festival last week. In the closing set, Sielaff and saxophonist Tyler Wilcox repeatedly exchanged breath-length buzzing drones, sculpting dramatic musical tension out of a gesture that most players wouldn't have the courage to continue after 20 or 30 seconds. Burns opened the Seattle portion of the festival, anchoring another trio; his trademark squiggling chords squirmed up and down the keyboard.
As a trio Cogburn, Sielaff, and Burns were terrific at last summer's August Exchange. A documentary recording captures Cogburn bowing a cymbal so ferociously that the resulting high, chiming tones snarl and mortise into what sounds like Burns rubbing rods against piano strings. Sielaff holds the shimmering atmosphere together, huffing quietly like a sputtering blowtorch. Don't miss this amazing trio.
Cogburn, Sielaff, and Burns perform Sat Sept 2 at Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5–$15 sliding scale donation.