RPR 1094
IG HENNEMAN JAIMIE BRANCH ANNE LA BERGE

DROPPING STUFF AND OTHER FOLK SONGS

release fall 2019

The title tells it like it is: a combination of unlikely timbres and harmonious musings. That is the outcome of an impromptu multi-generational meeting between Americain trumpeter Jaimie Branch and the Dutch pair of violist Ig Henneman and flutist Anne la Berge in concert in Amsterdam. [...] The eight cuts speak of a confluence of empathetic minds, unbounded imagination and artfully subverted technique. [...] On "Stevens' Dog" stately pastoral flute inaugurates what becomes a spontaneous Americana-tinged chorale, before the lovely interweaving dissipates into chafing abstraction. [...] But whichever pole the three tend towards, they demonstrate a remarkable focus, which makes the results all the more engaging,
--John Sharpe NYCJR New York March 2020

[…] Before the untimely passing of our good friend Mike Panico, who cofounded this, the Relative Pitch label, Mike had contacted and befriended the musicians with whom he offered to release their music on his label. Amsterdam-based violist, Ig Henneman, is/was one of Mr. Panico’s favorite musicians and they ended up hanging out together with Ms. Henneman and her husband, Ab Baars (from the ICP Orchestra) on several occasions. This CD was one of those projects and it features Ms. Henneman in a trio with Jaimie Branch on trumpet and Anne La Berge on flutes. […] Over the past few years, I have watched Ms. Branch’s profile rise higher and higher. If you haven’t heard either/both of the following discs, I urge that you do check them out: James Brandon Lewis’s ‘An UnRuly Manifesto’ (Relative Pitch) and Ms. Branch’s ‘Fly or Die’ (on International Anthem). Both are superb!!! American-born, Netherlands-based flutist, Anne La Berge, has worked with Cor Fuhler, Lucas Niggli and has a solo effort (as a composer & player) on New World Records. Ms. Henneman runs the Wig label, which documents many of here ongoing projects as well as discs from Ab Baars. I’ve several of Ms. Henneman’s performances in the past and she has knocked me out each & every time.
All three of these women are known for being gifted improvisers, composers and bandleaders. The beginning of this disc features those strange yet fascinating sounds that gifted horn & flute improvisers make when they put their horn close to the mic: buzzing, breath-like, soft hums, slowly building as other sounds added bit by bit. Soon the flute and viola enter and combine forces while the trumpet escalates, the interaction gets more varied and focused as it evolves. The music here often bristles with intensity, notes or sound are bent and twisted carefully so that it makes an endless series of combinations. All three members of this trio get many chances to shine, solo and interact, there is a constant stream of fascinating activity going on throughout. There is even a folky melody buried in the title track which sounds like a solemn lament. I truly believe that this disc would make Mike proud, it certainly touched me.
--Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG New York

[…] Wie unschwer zu erkennen ist, wünschte sich Henneman die Trompeterin Jamie Branch und die Flötistin/Komponistin Anne La Berge in ein brandneues, auf den ersten Anschein höchst differentes Trio. Von unüberbrückbaren Differenzen kann angesichts dieses Debütalbums, das einen Auftritt aus dem Splendor Amsterdam dokumentiert, keine Rede sein, sämtliche Spuren der Divergenz wurden spielerisch verwischt. Es ist ein kratziges, manchmal schroffes, meist überraschendes, bisweilen sogar melodisch-melancholisches Album entstanden, das mit einer Vielzahl an wunderlichen Fantasien ein inspiriertes Spiel treibt. Beispielsweise in When bells stop ringing oder im abschließenden Titelstück – samt smarter Zugabe in der overtime. Guy Peters vom Enola Magazine gerät ins Schwärmen, wenn er diesem Trio „an ode to the ingenious freedom“ unterstellt und „an intensely varied and colorful performance that was permeated by fun and games“.
--(felix) freiStil 88

Een samengaan van altviool, trompet en fluiten. Kom er maar om! En laat die drie vreemdelingen – voor elkaar – vrijelijk hun gang gaan. Dan kom je uit bij het bijzondere album ‘Dropping Stuff and Other Folk Songs’ dat je als luisteraar meeneemt op een trip die via kronkelige, haast onbegaanbare paden naar 45 minuten puur luistergenot voert.
--Rinus van der Heijden JazzNu febr 2020

[…] This setting shows the ease and comfort with which the three are able to play and interact instantaneously. It takes a truly special kind of chemistry to be able to play such improvised music with as much assurance and sense of purpose as this.
--Canthisevenbecalledmusic.com

Three gifted, highly inventive and somehow eccentric women composers-improvisers-bandleaders – Dutch viola Ig Henneman, American trumpeter Jaimie Branch and American, Amsterdam-based flutist Anne La Berge, share an intimate stage. They experiment with friendly sounds, compose instant songs while letting their imagination run free and having great fun. […] There is an immediate affinity and a strong sense of freedom in the close interplay of Henneman, Branch and La Berge. […] «Slamming» celebrates the natural intimacy of these great improvisers who quickly found their very own common ground while the brief «Slamming» highlights the rebellious aspects of such a meeting. The last, title-piece returns back to the lyrical-emotional atmosphere and suggests an arresting melody that immediately sounds familiar yet untimely.
Highly recommended.
--Eyal Hareuveni Salt Peanuts Nov 2019

[…] Og sammen er disse tre damene dynamitt. Ikke på den måten at det eksploderer i hver eneste takt (hvis de i det hele tatt spiller musikk som er inndelt i takter?), men det tette og nære samspillet utvikler en helt særegen form for energi som nærmest slår gnister mellom de tre.
Dette er blitt en spennende plate for den som liker originale bandsammensetninger, tett samspill og fri improvisasjon, som er mer enn å vise hvor flinke de er på hvert sitt instrument, men som viser tre kunstnere som lytter til hverandre og som følger ethvert lite vink fra de andre musikerne.
Ikke mye streit folkemusikk, men 45 minutter med ytterst spennende og frittgående improvisasjon!
--Jan Granlie Salt Peanutes Nov 2019

Trois notes dégluties par des souffles retors. Une harmonie tout droit venue d’un maléfique château des Carpates. Des chants lointains comme autant d’appels à s’extraire des habitudes et à rejoindre Ig Henneman, Jaimie Branch et Anne La Berge (Sauntering New Roads).
Et puis le guilleret s’en mêle. Le lyrisme expressif de la trompettiste percute les monts, une flûte obsessionnelle s’en prend à nos tympans, le violon alto crisse sous la torture. En quelques minutes, tout s’oppose (Gigging). La monoforme ce ne sera pas pour aujourd’hui.
Ainsi d’unissons poreux, d’harmonies détroussées, de dissonances marquées, de microtons assumés, de bavardages féconds, d’éruptions soudaines, de raclages profonds, de trombes sifflantes, de filets de son, d’attaques soniques, d’entrecroisements choisis, de nous laisser embarquer au sein de cette solaire sarabande.
-- Luc Bouquet ImproJazz France May 2020

Dat dit geen doorsnee jazz oplevert, weet eenieder die deze drie dames een beetje kent. 'Sauntering New Roads' bevindt zich dan ook op het grensvlak van de hierboven genoemde geluidswerelden en paart noise aan impro. In 'Gigging' blaast Branch krachtige lijnen, bouwt La Berge ritmes en horen we Henneman de gaatjes dichtplamuren. De jazz, met een knipoog naar New Orleans, komt pas echt aan bod middels een gemankeerde melodie in 'Stevens’ Dog', een bewijs dat deze dames iets wezenlijk nieuws weten toe te voegen aan de traditie. Henneman opent solo in 'When Bells Stop Ringing', op de achtergrond klinkt La Berge, blazend over het mondstuk van haar fluit, dan komt ook Branch erbij en raakt het experiment op stoom. Heerlijk experimenteel gaat het er ook aan toe in 'Soup'. Ontstemde vrije klanken vormen hier een opwindend geheel, met onverwachte samenhang. De interpretatie van het begrip folksong blijkt bij deze dames met andere woorden nogal een bijzondere. Neem het vrij korte 'Slamming'. Al blazend over het mondstuk, La Berge en al krassend over de snaren, Henneman, krijgt het ritme hier gestalte, terwijl Branch accenten plaatst.
--Ben Taffijn DraaiomjeOren mei 2020