CD "Tenderness of Stones"
Joachim Gies & Lauren Newton “Tenderness of Stones“ is a work that asks searching questions - typical of both vocalist Lauren Newton and saxophonist Joachim Gies - about the relation of text to sound and what happens between the words. An eight line poem by Michael Speier, never heard in its original, is performed in four different translations (three in English, including Lauren Newton’s own, one in Japanese), stretching the improvisatory skills of both players. It’s a work that manages to be both intimate and suggest grand scale. Only two tracks are straight voice/saxophone duos, with all the rest involving sampled radio noise and guest contributions from Michael Walz and Koho Mori, who also supplied the Japanese translation. Newton at her magnificent best; Gies subtle and endlessly pro/evocative.
by Brian Morton, The Wire
TERMINE
