Quartetto Stig - Lingua Oscura

Leading his Quartetto Stig, contra bass guitarist Steuart Liebig employs a variety of jazz-based motifs within a framework that is mainly improvised. Violinist Jeff Gauthier and trumpeter John Fumo add a stratospheric melodiousness, while drummer Dan Morris proves infinitely adept at shading with rhythm. The group plays collectively throughout, and though there are solos, counterpoint and shared impressions dominate these 12 pieces, all written by Liebig. From the dour "Net" and "Coda" to the chamber-like pieces "Una Señal de Soledad" and "Ten Pielke Duningies For," the music cries, sighs, and pines. The 15-minute "Terribilia Meditans" is a rather unsettling piece that acts as a collective improv. The Quartetto emphasizes clipped staccato phrases and a Mediterranean theme on "Plums and Apricots Falling from the Sky," and goes heavy on the very short "Exploded Sky." A minimalist bassline breeds gliding violin and soaring trumpet on "Other Name," and "A Rose Is Eros" contains a pure melody wrapped in a suggested tango rhythm. "Liquid Speedball" is an anxious and nervous full-bore bop with lots of interplay between trumpet and violin. "Seed" is less communal, with instruments partitioned between bar lines, while "Coda" is a distinct prayer, and the closer to this stunning side of creative music. Liebig's bass sound is as deep and full as any you'll hear. This West Coast group gives the downtown N.Y.C. Knitting Factory bands — as well as Orange Then Blue, Brad Shepik & the Commuters, and the like — a good run for their money. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi