Residing in a soundworld created from aleatory, signal-processed, and improvised music, the seven tracks of Encantamiento are performed by musicians who move easily from one genre to another without fissure. Percussionist Andrea Centazzo is known for his jazz and soundtrack work, harpist Anne LeBaron for her compositions and interpretations, while saxophonist Andrew Raffo Dewar is an academic who apprenticed with Anthony Braxton.
The essential idea behind this disc is of a self-contained process where not only are singular impulses muted, but where live electronics—joined with Centazzo’s percussion collection, LeBaron’s use of electric harps, and Dewar’s individualized soloing—drain identifiable timbres from the instruments. For instance, about the only time that clearly defined harp glissandi are heard is during “Encantamientos V”—and they’re soon superseded by split-tone yodels from the soprano saxophone. Elsewhere, LeBaron’s plucks take on bottleneck-guitar-like reverb; Dewar’s timbres vary from needle-thin whistles to near-opaque flat-line blowing; while, moving among vibraphone, booming kettle drum, maracas, wood blocks, and other parts of a regular drum kit, Centazzo breaks up and dislocates the rhythm. Processed wave forms further mutate expected timbres. By “Encantamientos VII,” however, bracketing electronic pulses draw back, allowing the instruments to align, as the linking continuum shifts constantly among the three. Agitated oscillations are still audible, but overall the theme narrows into a distinct forward motion until the finale. In Spanish, the CD title loosely translates as “enchantment with a touch of magic.” That, too, could serve as a description of the sounds here.
