Tineke Postma - Aria (2023)

Known for her artful, melodic playing, it's not surprising that Dutch saxophonist and composer Tineke Postma would name an album Aria; even though there are no obvious references to opera set pieces, Postma's compositions and solos brim with inventive strings of notes.

This quartet's frontline—Postma on alto and soprano saxophones and Ben Monder on electric guitar—presents several textural contrasts. Monder uses hard-edged distortion, lulling swells and other well-deployed effects; Postma brings a variety of attacks and timbres to her sax playing. The album's excellent rhythm section is made up of the bassist Robert Landfermann and the drummer Tristan Renfrow, and the band's qualities are apparent on the opener, "Sankalpa." The composition's striking theme features both piercing, zigzagging passages and longer, smoother lines. Nimble bass and drums provide an off-kilter groove that continually morphs even as it maintains momentum. Monder lets loose a dirty guitar solo that segues back to the head where he's joined by Postma for the outro.

The rhythm section is pin-drop quiet on "Frede" as they craft a spare and spacious setting. Monder's gentle, exploratory solo is strikingly distinct from the rock thrash he unleashed on "Sankalpa." Postma's horn gracefully wends its way through the composition's harmonies.

Landfermann and Renfrow assemble a slippery web on "Vibe Shift." (Though Monder adds a few nice touches, he mostly lays out.) The free improv proceedings are brought to focus by Postma's well-shaped lines and late in the piece, Renfrow's solo entrances with its low-key flow. "Mysterious Duty" finds sax, bass, and guitar engaging in counterpoint as Renfrow provides undergirding. Monder takes an understated solo before Postma returns to unfurl sinuous strands of sound.

Aria closes with "Loft," the album's shortest—and most open-ended—track. Saxophone flickers over arco bass, slivers of electric guitar, and barely brushed drums. It's different from anything else here and makes for a wonderfully atmospheric ending.

TRACKLIST

1. Tineke Postma - Sankalpa
2. Tineke Postma - Frede
3. Tineke Postma - The Sky Is Everywhere
4. Tineke Postma - Still Another Day
5. Tineke Postma - Lion's Roar
6. Tineke Postma - Vibe Shift
7. Tineke Postma - Idyll for Ellemis
8. Tineke Postma - Hymn for Hestia
9. Tineke Postma - Mysterious Duty
10. Tineke Postma - Leaning Into The Afternoon
11. Tineke Postma - Loft