Kevin Kastning, Carl Clements, & Sándor Szabó: Convergence I
Greydisc

Prior to the recording of Convergence I, Kevin Kastning had played with fellow guitarist Sándor Szabó for about a decade and with flutist Carl Clements for three yet had never recorded with both in a trio context. The excitement the three shared in recording together for the first time is palpable on the release's ten tracks, all of them laid down on October 29th, 2015 (in fact, the trio recorded enough material for two albums). There's ample sensory pleasure to be derived from the sound their instruments generate in combination but as rewarding is how inspired the performances are.

Kastning is, of course, the innovator known for his multi-string guitar creations, on this release the 36-string Double Contraguitar, 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, 15-string Extended Classical guitar, and 12-string Soprano guitar. Complementing his fretwork are Szabó's 16-string Classical guitar and 16-string Contraguitar; completing the sound palette, Clements plays flute, alto flute, and Bansuri (North Indian reed) flutes. The pastoral blend in the opening “Splintered Gaze Remaining” might evoke for some images of hobbits traipsing through the Shire, but the latticework generated by the guitars and flute is transfixing, regardless of the associations the listener brings to it. The foundation laid by Kastning and Szabó in their earlier sessions is immediately evident in the ease with which the two lock into dense cross-patterns, Clements' flute a compelling addition to the textural mass created by the guitarists.

The pieces are improvisations but never feel directionless when the three are so wholly engaged. Some settings are taken at a faster clip (e.g., “Waking Ice Within”) whereas others are slower methodical explorations of a slightly more contemplative bent. There's much satisfaction to be obtained from following the real-time communication between the three instrumentalists and witnessing how each spontaneously responds to what's happening in the moment. No one player is featured more prominently than another, though Clements' flutes naturally stand out distinctly from the guitars. Solo sequences also occur, but for the most part the pieces document trio interplay where each voice is equally important.

As described by Szabó, the original plan for the project aimed at “a spontaneous inner fusion between Oriental and western musics,” and certainly the evidence suggests said goal was achieved. Aiding that realization is the fact that the North Indian Bansuri flute allows Clements to play pitches between the chromatic notes and thus help nudge the music outside the tonal boundaries associated with the European classical tradition. His playing in “Pass to the Dark Waters,” for instance, assumes a vocal-like quality in the way it moves melismatically between pitches, his searching exploration complemented by the meditative expressions of his partners. Tracks such as “A Far, A Way,” “Shadows Starlit Creep,” and “Tides Resisting” derive some of their crepuscular mystery from his choice of alto flute.

August 2020