Nu-Turn

French modern jazz/avant-garde pianist Benoît Delbecq performs on acoustic and prepared piano throughout Nu-Turn, highlighting the "DSD (Direct Stream Digital)" Super Audio CD format. And for the technologists, the producers provide the blow by blow of the recording process in the liners. Otherwise, the superior sound sculpting provides somewhat of a hallowed aura to Delbecq's oscillating pieces, consisting of deceptively complex rhythmic structures. Many of these works feature the pianist's shrewd employment of counterpoint and odd harmonic intervals. At times, his melding of prepared and acoustic piano might suggest the presence of a percussionist in the background, but such is not the case. Delbecq intertwines fragments of the minimalist movement, with traces of jazz and classical via a cyclical current steeped in rhythm. He invents subthemes that morph into the big picture, but the preponderance of this outing defies any rigid classifications.