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on June 15. Nilssen-Love, whoseassociates range from the mostcommitted electronics dialtwisterto free-form veterans isequally proficient laying downa hard rock-like beat as he istrading accents with experimentaltimbre-shatters.The two extended tracks onLive at Café Oto (Unsounds 32Uunsounds.com) demonstrate notonly Nilssen-Love’s cohesive skillsamplifying the improvisations ofChicago-based tenor saxophonist/clarinettist Ken Vandermark ashe does in many other contexts,but shows how both react tothe power chords and violentstring distortions which characterizethe style of guitarists Andy Moorand Terrie Ex from Dutch punk band TheEx, who complete this quartet. In spite ofVandermark’s consistent overblowing whichencompasses pumping altissimo honks andfrenetic slurs, plus the guitarists’ constantcrunches, smashes and frails, the drummingnever degenerates into monotonousPOT POURRIEmbraceLenka Lichtenberg with FraySunflower RecordsBridges – Live at Lula LoungeLenka Lichtenberg and Roula SaidSR CD 005Songs for the Breathing WallsLenka Lichtenberglenkalichtenberg.com!!Fray (Free), the Czech born Torontobasedsinger-songwriter Lenka Lichtenberg’sbreakout 2011 album, embraced the city’sworld music aesthetic and its musicians.Embrace, her outstanding new production,continues to explore and expand that artisticdirection.The title lyric of the Lichtenberg songPeace Is the Only Way is a central theme ofEmbrace. Its refrain is the personal mottoof the Israeli violinist, oud player, songwriterand peace activist Yair Dalal. A leadingmusician on the global world music scenehis ideals and spirit, bridging Arabic andIsraeli — and other — divides, permeates thisalbum. The spirit of peaceful coexistenceamong loss and struggle is also present aswell in the earlier CDs, the live-off-the-floorrock music-like banging. Instead, while thebackbeat isn’t neglected, auxiliaryclips, ruffs, ratamacues andsmacks are used by Nilssen-Loveto break up the rhythm, with carefullymeasured pulsations. Thisstrategy is most obvious during theclimatic sections of the more-than-37-minute Drevel. With all four LeanLefters improvising in broken octaves,the narrative shakes to and frobetween Vandermark’s collectionof emphasized freak notesand dyspeptic stridency and thedual guitarists’ slurred fingeringthat leads to staccato twangs andjangling strums. Not only is theclimax attained with a crescendoof volume and excitement, but thefinal theme variations are in contrast as starkand minimalist as the earlier ones are noisy.As guitars methodically clank as if reading apost-modern composition, and the clarinetlines emphasize atonal reed bites, intermittentstick strokes and toe-pedal pressure fromthe drummer concentrate the sound shardsinto the track’s calm finale.Read how the drummer and reedist improvise alongside Ab Baars,another talented multi-reedist; how Vandermark scores with amixed European-American large ensemble; as well as how saxophonistMats Gustafsson, a close associate of both men, ralliesthe excitement of an even larger band with four drummers in thecontinuation of this column at thewholenote.com.Bridges: Live at LulaLounge and the Songsfor the BreathingWalls recorded on sitein the Czech Republic.The main directionson Embrace are multifold:world musicblendings, songs inthe Yiddish theatricaltradition, klezmerinstrumental touchesand Jewish liturgy. It’sall skillfully linkedby Lichtenberg’seffective song writingand unaffectedvocals, as well as veryeffective yet unfussy,lush-sounding, instrumentation.Yair Dalalshares co-compositioncredits withLichtenberg on theatmospheric trackPerfume Road whichbegins with an environmental recording ofbirds outside the recording studio backingDalal’s free-metre Middle Eastern-inflectedoud introduction, segueing seamlessly toLichtenberg’s crystalline singing of her ownYiddish lyrics. Also to savour: the superbperformances by Lichtenberg’s band, Fray,and guest musicians comprising Toronto’sworld music and jazz scene A-listers, as wellas those from beyond the GTA. Album guestsinclude the well-known Hindustani sarangiplayer Druba Ghosh, violinist Hugh Marshand Kevin Turcotte on trumpet.Some of the same material is assayed inLichtenberg and Roula Said’s 2012 releaseBridges, with many of the same musicians.The major difference here is Said’s authoritativeArabic language vocal contributionsand the inclusion of songs in the Arabiclineage. I moreover enjoyed the freedom andstraightforward arrangements in this liveconcert recorded at Toronto’s Lula Lounge, ascompared with the tightly sculpted Embracestudio magic. This contrast is particularlyclear in the extended open-feel instrumentalsolos in Bridges, giving the virtuosomusicians a change to groove and expressthemselves.The deeply affecting album Songs for theBreathing Walls refers to the 12 historicsynagogues scattered throughout theCzech Republic whose Jewish populationswere decimated by the Holocaust. Thesesettings of Jewish liturgical songs reflectthe varying onsite interior acoustics of thesynagogues, their outside soundscapes (ontrack 18 Lichtenberg remarks “ ... birds, cars,bells ... everything ... ”) as well as their history,intimately connected to their congregations.For instance, accompanied by a sole violin,El Maley Rachamim was recorded in a synagoguehidden within the Theresienstadtconcentration camp. The personal connectionsare palpable in her voice: this is theplace Lichtenberg’s mother and grandmotherswere interned during the SecondWorld War. The exemplary liner notes withtranslations of the lyrics, photos of thesynagogues and notes about their historyadd immensely to savouring this musicalexperience. It’s an achievement for whichLichtenberg was honoured as TraditionalSinger of the Year at the November 2012Canadian Folk Music Awards.—Andrew TimarFEELING LUCKY?THREE WAYS TO WINCDs, tickets and othermusical prizes courtesy ofThe WholeNote1. join our mailing list byregistering atthewholenote.com2. Like us on Facebook3. Follow us on Twitterthewholenote.comthewholenote.com June 7 – September 7, 2013 | 91