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"Triosonic". A-Records ARP 73089. March 1997.
Ferdi Schukking (saxophones), Theo Hoogstins (double bass),
Menno de Bruin (drums)
  • Octocon (Octotonic construction) is a composition based on two octotonic scales which are worked up into series according to the applications of Arnold Schoenberg. By harmonising these into two seventh chords, a humoristic reference to the blues comes about.

  • Lick 'm Broeder (Lick 'm Brother). A 'lickenbroeder' is someone who rigidly makes use of another man's ideas (licks), carries these through into perfection, but loses sight of their original meaning and intensity. The song banters this phenomenon. It is written around the central A, being an ingredient of twelve chords on each step of the chromatic scale. The chords have been joined as I-VI-II-V. The theme evolves around the seventh and the ninth and is based on a number of 'licks'. The traditional AABA-form is stressed exaggeratedly as the B-part is being played straight as contrasted with the A-part which is being played in swing-conception. The B-parts vary in length.

  • Expansion is a lofty rubato-melody, supported by a bowed bass. The drumsolo is violent. It swells draws the soprano into it. It also doesn't leave the bass alone; plucking heavily, the melody is driven to a climax.

  • The Left-over is based on the third octotonic scale which we didn't work up in Octocon, so it was left over. A 5/4 bar crosses the up-tempo. The rock 'n' roll basslick gives the piece a punky character.

  • Visserstraat Blues (Fisherstreet Blues) is a blueslick played by the bass, which evolves into a 3/4 time. During the improvisation, the 3/4 time can be played at any given spot. The 14 bar-structure turns the four round four of the drums into an exciting climax.

  • Song 4 C has been dedicated to John Coltrane (1926-1967). This ballad expresses universal desire. The melody in the high register of the tenor is drafted with the additions -13 and 14- of the chord. The scheme modulates from e-flat minor to a minor. The B-part is a 3/4 time.

  • 8piral Sequence is a twelve tone series, which, because of rhythmic variation, gets a different character each time it is repeated. The cancrisance of the series introduces the solo in which the musicians use that series as the starting-point.

    Up and Go, Libero! Silence is music too. The contrast between the up-tempo theme and the (up-tempo) silence creates an enormous tension. The intervals are irregular (2, 3, 4 and 5 bars) and are continued without a scheme agreed on during the improvisation.

    Wind In Rockanje came into being during a performance on the beach of the Dutch seaside resort Rockanje. The murmur of the sea is heard in the false air of the tenor. The water babbles through the two chords of the bass. Is it going to storm?

  • Thanks is played in swinging 12/8 time. The double bass starts with the theme: an ostinato figure. With each new start the tone centre changes and the harmony gets more and more dissonant. Twice, the theme is being interrupted by a rhythmic pattern -first in 12/8, the second fime in 7/8-, by which a shift occurs. These are the ingredients for the soprano and drums. The piece is dedicated to Steve Lacey who has worked a lot with these forms, structures and harmonies.
  • 444 & 453 is a ballad which melody consists of all twelve tones. The numbers refer to the uee of complementary tetrachords, which are comparable to the harmolodics of Omette Coleman. The 453 stands for a tetrachord, a pentachced and a very surprising e-minor triad at the end of the theme.
  • One can play multiphonics on a saxophone too. With certain grip combinations and an extremely flexible embouchure (mouth position), even chords can be brought to sound. Multiphonics is being played on soprano saxophone; quietly, chromatic, modulating and back in the beginning, more violent, with dissonants, shrill and high further on. Vogelvlucht (Bird's-eye View), the second part, suggests more tones by the rapid arpeggio-movement. The 'circular-breathing'-technique amplifies this effect.
  • 7th Hour Blues. By projecting a twelve-tone series -based on the seventh hour of Peter Schat's toneclock- on a minor blues, a freakish 'lick' arises of which only the last tone affirms the key. The bariton and the bass solo 'lick for lick' and accompany the drumsolo with a rhythmic pattern.
  • Klipzo is a catchy melody, based on the Caribean Calypso. In the B-part the theme is being played half a tone higher and shifted one beat (the beat is reversed). What's more, it doesn't count eight, but seven bars. Klipzo is a melody to whistle while walking the dog.
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