Let’s indulge in cliché and state that cellist Tomeka Reid has many strings in her bow. Besides an academic career, Chicago-based Reid has worked with multiple advanced musicians in Europe and the US. Recorded less than a month apart, these representative trio sessions find her exhibiting complementary but still distinctive actions. A raspy Free Jazz outing, Beyond Dragons runs through seven compositions by German alto saxophonist Angelica Niescier, who has recorded in duo with Alexander Hawkins, as has Reid. Third player is New York drummer Savannah Harris, who has played with Kris Davis. More playful, Pith is an iteration of drummer Tomas Fujiwara’s 7 Poets Trio with mostly his compositions expanded by Reid and Mexican vibraphonist Patricia Brennan.

Niescier’s triple-tongued ferocity, jagged bites and reed slurps evolve as the cello and percussion vamp behind her. Alternately her concentrated sax strategies are doubled by drum pressure and/or arco cello pops. Whether the tunes are speedy or slow, swinging or stop-time, the intersectional shading means that there’s really no forefront instrument. Meanwhile a track such as “A Dance, to Never End” goes through several permutations. Beginning with a soft, almost so-called classical cello drones and understated drum beats, obtuse reed flutters move up the scale to screech variations. Drum accents and cello swirls continue to goose the excitement level. In contrast Harris’ martial beat on “Risse” faces broken octave cello sweeps as the saxophonist alternates harsh blasts and moderated slurs. The climax occurs as the formerly deconstructed tune is reassembled with reed flutters and string swells. These nimble shifts from moderato to staccato and back again, usually during the same track, characterize the session. Although percussion stress, prestissimo string glissandi and reed honks project heightened intensity, the trio members’ skill maintains horizontal connections. maintained.

Brennan’s mallet rolling tremolo sustain and multiple bar resonation makes Pith a more relaxed affair. The vibes’ supple ringing compared to a strident blowing reed, contribute to this, especially when Reid’s pizzicato response takes on double bass-like pulsations and Fujiwara emphasizes consistent rattle and claps. But the relaxed results are anything but sonically flimsy. Melding each player’s contributions on a track like “Resolve”, colors the thematic outline with a rainbow of timbres including arco cello expansions, positioned drum smacks and slow-motion echoes from the vibes. Simplified the contrapuntal interactions project strength as well as sprightliness. Careful to moderate the pace and sonority, andante movement with a walking bass line and simple drum rolls also leaves space for single note elaboration from Brennan as well as sporadic applications of upward string slices and paced drum rattles. Pressure is applied, but so subtly that the buoyant progression isn’t upset.

Maintaining both quick switches and sympathetic consistency on both sessions, Reid substantiates her role as a player and improviser. The other four player involved show similar adaptability as well as writers and interpretations of distinct compositions.

https://www.jazzword.com/reviews/angelica-niescier-tomeka-reid-savannah-harris/

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023
HONORABLE MENTIONS-NEW RELEASES
Alexander Hawkins Trio - Carnival Celestial (Intakt)
Angelika Niescier/Tomeka Reid/Savannah Harris - Beyond Dragons (Intakt)
Anna Webber - Shimmer Wince (Intakt)
Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet - As Things Do (Intakt)
Sylvie Courvoisier - Chimaera (Intakt)
Trance Mapt - Etching The Ether (Intakt)

The New York City Jazz Record

Polish born, German-based alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier has already made some outstanding records but this trio outing ranks among her best. She's joined by cello phenom Tomeka Reid and up-and-coming drummer Savannah Harris on a program of seven originals. which vary from the elegant yet enigmatic to the intricately wild. Each one encourages sensational extemporized exchanges as well as top drawer soloing.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/john-sharpes-best-jazz-albums-of-2023

Beim Bungee-Jumping stürzen sich Wagemutige von einer hohen Plattform kopfüber in die Tiefe. Als Absicherung der nur wenige Sekunden dauernden Grenzerfahrung dient ein elastisches Gummiseil, dessen Länge die Sprungtie-fe bestimmt. Ein ähnlich kompromiss-los-draufgängerisches Vorgehen trifft auf Angelika Niesciers Musik zu, mit dem großen Unterschied, dass ihr Sprung nicht gebremst wird, sondern in ein turbulentes musikalisches Universum führt.
Dass die aus Polen stammende Saxofonistin zu den führenden europäischen Repräsentantinnen der improvisierten Musik zählt, die mit ihren Kompositionen und Improvisationen das zeitgenössische musikalische Geschehen bereichern, dürfte hinreichend bekannt sein. Mit furiosen Altsax-Chorussen beantwortet Niescier die mystische Warnung „Hic Svnt Dracones" (Hier sind Drachen). Die Spannung, die sich in diesem Titel schon andeutet, wird durch die gewagten Aktionen der Leaderin und ein grundierendes rhythmisches Ritual ihrer kongenialen musikalischen Weggefähr-tinnen - der Chicagoer Cellistin Tomeka Reid und der New Yorker Schlagzeugerin Savannah Harris - noch beträchtlich erhöht. Schon diese Interaktion belegt die musikalische Seelenverwandtschaft des transatlantischen Ensembles.
In „A Dance, To Never End" umkreisen die Künstlerinnen einander mit kreativen Beiträgen, die wie die Einladung zu einem futuristischen Ballett anmuten.
Unerschütterlich manifestiert Angelika Niescier mit ihrem Trio in Tracks wie „Risse" und dem hypnotischen „Mor-phoizm" eine musikalische Freiheit, die sich aus der Enge des Vertrauten gelöst hat und zu einer neuen Ausdrucksform findet.

JOHN FORDHAM
NEW RELEASES
1 Tyshawn Sorey Continuing Pi Recordings
2 Marius Neset Geyser - Live at The Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms ACT Music
3 Uriel Herman Different Eyes Ubuntu
4 Michael Blake Dance of the Mystic Bliss P&M
5 Naïssam Jalal Healing Rituals Les Couleurs du Son
6 Mette Henriette Drifting ECM
7 Sissoko/Segal/Parisien/Peirani Les Egarés
No Format! Records
8 Angelika Niescier Beyond Dragons Intakt
9 John Scofield Trio Uncle John's Band ECM
10 Emma Rawiez Chroma ACT Music

Wat je te horen krijgt, is een werveling van klan-ken, expressievlagen, afgewisseld met verstil-ling, ademend in de sax, soms elegisch onder-steund door de cello. De
drums volgen al die ritme- en intensiteits-wisselingen moeiteloos, zichzelf integre-rend in het enorm complexe palet dat gecreëerd wordt. Dit is muziek die uiterst moeilijk te beschrijven valt. Misschien als een uiterst individuele expressie van een individuele emotie, met invloeden vanuit alle hoeken, idiosyncratisch verwerkt. Zij hebben daarbij geen remmingen, gebrui-ken alle registers en schakeringen, en drukken op die manier uit hoe getormen-teerd en duivels hun innerliike wereld er uitziet. Voer voor de liefhebbers en doorzet-ters! (MVDW)

Giovani donne inventano un nuovo jazz. Con Beyond Dragons (Intakt) la sassofoni- sta Angelika Niescier, la violoncellista Tomeka Reid e la batterista Savannah Harris non suonano dell'attempato free jazz, come potrebbe pensare l'ascoltatore distratto; la libertà in cui sono immerse è diversa da quella degli anni Sessanta, i colori di mezzo secolo di (altro) jazz libertario non sono stati creati invano. Violoncello e batteria ora fanno da sezione ritmica, ora si dissolvono in un pulviscolo d'ef-fetti; sax e violoncello sanno allearsi in complessi contrappunti estemporanei; sax e batteria possono produrre strati ritmici... Tutto è le- cito, in un magma di soluzioni che ha sempre grande coerenza musicale. (Claudio Sessa)

A Grain of Sound Begets a Symphony
Polwechsel, Niescier-Reid-Harris, Dan Peter Sundland's Home Stretch, Oùat
The Power of Three with Angelika Niescier, Tomeka Reid and Savanah Harris/The Elaborate Post-Bop Constructions of Dan Peter Sundland’s Home Stretch
There seems to be no line between the high-energy personality and the fiery playing of saxophonist Angelika Niescier. Both contain tightly-coiled propulsion; a tangle of ideas that need to be communicated with passion and craftsmanship. Her alto playing is stronger than ever on Beyond Dragons (Intakt), a recent trio album made with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris that both sparkles and wallops. Niescier’s energy seems contagious, as she brings out a visceral, bruising attack from her collaborators that I’ve never heard in quite the same way before. The trio first got together for a performance at Cologne Jazz Week in 2022, and they reconvened in Chicago in March of this year, when the recording was made following another performance. They perform in Berlin on Saturday, December 9 at House of Music, on a double bill with Dan Peter Sundland’s Home Stretch.
There’s no question that the musicians had already developed a strong rapport and cohesion by the time they hit the studio, because the opening piece “Hic Svnt Dracones”—Latin for “Here be Dragons,” a cartographic phrase for uncharted territory—shoots out of the gate like a racehorse. Reid takes on the bass role with nimble, fast-moving pizzicato, while Harris unleashes an equally furious groove that straddles off-kilter drive and explosive dynamism. They set up the saxophonist perfectly, who slides and slaloms across the groove with upper register lines that slash and seethe. Despite the aggression, Niescier’s tune is a marvel of steeplechase motion, with tightly interlocking alto saxophone and cello lines egging one another on and Harris holding it down even when she seems to be pummeling her snare into the ground like Rumpelstiltskin. The ease and precision of the mutual vitality can’t be faked—these three players couldn’t connect like this without some deeper sense of mutuality. Check it out below.

All three participants are excellent improvisers, but they come from different worlds and aesthetics, which onlymakes this communion more impressive. Niescier has long been a fiery presence on the Cologne scene, a player who routinely veers outside the lines of studied propriety that marks much of the town’s vaunted musical community, where great players seem to fall from trees. The education system produces remarkably versatile, skilled players, but many lose the wild sense of exploration that distinguishes Niescier. Reid has become one of the preeminent cellists in improvised music, a superb composer, bandleader, and ensemble-minded player known for close associations with folks like Nicole Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Mike Reed, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. She taps into a frenzied state I’ve never quite heard from her previously, reflecting Chicago’s deep free jazz culture without abandoning her innate melodic sensibility. She also incorporates judicious electronic flourishes to stretch, echo, and process her lines in real-time. Finally, there’s Harris, one of the most technically dazzling drummers on the New York scene—a musician who can approach the MPC-style of Damion Reid without ever letting her insane technique upstage what any particular group is trying to do. Last summer I saw her play in a group organized by bassist Petter Eldh and her ability to inject sudden runs, displacements, and wild accents within the flow of a simmering groove, all with a beatific expression on her face, blew me away. There was no question that she had loads of power in reserve, but it’s still something to hear her unleash in a collective setting like she does on Beyond Dragons.
Niescier is credited with writing all seven tunes—although Alexander Hawkins’ liner note essay mentions two collective improvisations—and most of them thread tricky unison passages atop swaggering rhythms. Harris reveals her compositional logic and melodic heart on the extended opening to “Risse.” The trio suggests a super jacked update of Henry Threadgill’s Air, with the trio engaging in constantly evolving three-way interplay. Reid uses her bow like a weapon, flailing it across the strings of her cello like a lash, albeit one with which she’s able to retain her usual precision and grace, even within the most harrowing passages, and as usual she comps and supports her bandmates with heightened sensitivity and selflessness, and when she and Niescier go head-to-head on "Morphoizm” their bond couldn’t be clearer. “Tannhauser Gate,” one of the collective improv pieces, opens with a gutsy textural exploration; Niescier blows unpitched columns of trilled air, Reid investigates fluttering harmonics, and Harris generates frictive hydroplaning metallic tones from a single cymbal, cumulatively conjuring an abstract sound world that ...

Jazz New Release Round-Up - 24th November 2023

Let's get straight to business. First up, we have Angelika Niescier's brashly experimental trio, who lead us into unchartered territories on Beyond Dragons. Next, a piano trio of a different ilk — this time, the amicable delights of Hayes Street Hart with Bridges. Rob Luft is pulled by the current as he soaks up his castaway blues on Dahab Days, whilst we come across a solo piano performance with a poignant bend from Espen Berg and his The Hamar Concert. Finally, Levon Eskenian & The Gurdjieff Ensemble rouse spirits with the Armenian folk magic of Zartir.

Beyond Dragons
Angelika Niescier - Tomeka Reid - Savannah Harris
Boldly venturing into the harsh terrains of unconstrained sonic discharge, WDR Jazz Prize-winner Angelika Niescier heads a fearsome trio of alto sax, cello and drums. A wildly intense ride, the group approaches the vast avant-garde landscapes they inhabit with a powerful combination of individual drive and collective ambition. Each performer never fails to provoke their bandmates into reaching their goals of emancipated improvisatory assuagement.

https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/articles/5635--new-release-round-up-jazz-new-release-round-up-24th-november-2023

Dass dieses transatlantische Trio nicht bereit ist, Gefangene zu machen, wird schon im Opener „Hic Svnt Dracones“ klar: Über einem von Cello (Tomeka Reid) und Drums (Savannah Harris) durchgehalten peitschenden Puls beweist Angelika Niescier, wie frau mit dem Altsaxofon ackert. Zwischen ruhigeren, klangexplorativ angelegten Stücken schieben sich solche, in denen das glänzend eingespielte Trio hitzige Improvisation mit messerscharfem Drive zu verbinden weiß. Gut so! (Intakt)

https://www.falter.at/zeitung/20231024/niescierreidharris-beyond-dragons

On Beyond Dragons, the Cologne based saxophonist Angelika Niescier teams up with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris. The results are exhilarating. Niescier's compositions for the trio are strongly motivic, but they quickly open into structured improvisation, with inspired interplay and relentlessly inventive sound making from each musician. "Risse" is superbly organised, with the trio moving in lock-step through a tricksy theme, then turning on a dime into short ragged blasts. From the free improv scrabble of "Tannhauser Gate" emerges Tomeka Reid's gorgeous cello melody, supported by purrs and flutters from Niescier. Behind dissonant harmonies, "A Dance, To Never End" expertly builds a rhythmic tension that is never fully released.

2018 beschäftigte ich mit bereits mit der in Stettin, Polen, geborenen Jazzmusikerin Angelika Niescier, als sie mit dem Bassisten Christopher Tordini und dem Schlagzeuger Tyshawn Sorey The Berlin Concert vorstellte. Nun gibt es eine weitere Trio-Einspielung, nur die Bass-Besetzung wurde durch die Cellistin Tomeka Reid aus Washington, D.C. ersetzt, am Schlagzeug hören wir Savannah Harris aus Kalifornien, ein reines Damen-Trio also.

Bereits auf "The Berlin Concert" konnte ich feststellen, dass die Saxofonistin dem Jazz eine frische Note gab, und genau das wird mit Beyond Dragons weitergeführt. Beide Mitstreiterinnen verfügen über eine ganze Reihe von Stationen mit bekannten Jazz-und Avantgarde-Musikern*innen und zusammen hat man einen entsprechenden Background, der sich auf die Musik positiv auswirkt.

Zwar stelle ich zunächst fest, dass beim Berliner Konzert ein ständiger Druck von Tyshawn Sorey am Schlagzeug herrschte, der auch synchron solierte, und das scheint mir mit der Schlagzeugerin Savannah Harris etwas gewichen zu sein, so wirken diese Studioaufnahmen aus Chicago auch nicht ganz so fordernd und zerrend wie die Live-Aufnahmen aus Berlin, und zugänglicher, gleichwohl die live herrschende ständige Veränderung und wenig zur Ruhe kommende Stimmung auch im Studio gut umgesetzt wurde.

Sehr interessant ist hierbei, dass der Bass nun durch das Cello ersetzt wurde und dass dadurch eine ganz andere Komponente Einzug gehalten hat, die durch das "Befremdliche" in diesem Kontext dazu geführt hat, dass man eigentlich noch aufmerksamer wird beim Zuhören. Nun gut, das Cello ist sicher im Jazz nicht total unbekannt, integrierte es zum Beispiel auch Ron Carter bereits in vielen Kompositionen. Doch durch die Improvisationsmusikerin Tomeka Reid werden mehr Facetten klassischer Musik oder der Avantgarde eingebracht, hier ein großer Mehrwert.

So verbreiten die sieben Songs des Albums, die zeitlich zwischen 4:45 und 11:14 angesiedelt sind, eine Menge Temperament und Einfallsreichtum, ich ziehe einmal exemplarisch den Song "Risse" heran, der mit seinem Thema ein solches in ungewöhnlichem Umfeld darstellt, herrlich, wie sich die drei Damen hier untereinander die Ideen zuwerfen und jeweils auf sich eingehen, hier besticht für mich zum Beispiel diese hervorragende Zusammenarbeit von Saxofon und Schlagzeug, während vom Spiel des Cellos im Hintergrund Lücken geschlossen und gleichzeitig neue Impulse eingeworfen werden.

Ja, das ist wahrer Ausdruck von Kollektivität, kraftvoll, lebhaft und direkt anspringend, dabei eigentlich nie in Bereiche des Free Jazz abtreibend, sondern im Zuge recht freien Spiels immer noch im Rahmen bleibend. Da wird dann auch einmal zur Ruhe gebeten, um dann bald wieder auszubrechen mit kraftvollem Druck, der unweigerlich mitreisst, und noch einmal sehe ich die Rolle der Cellistin Tomeka Reid als eine sehr prägende und wichtige innerhalb dieser Trio-Formation.

https://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=24631

Angelika Niescier al sax alto, To-meka Reid al violoncello, Savan-nah Harris alla batteria. Un trio tutto al femminile che fa fuoco e fiamme con un disco teso e ispira-to, senza compromessi. Fire music chirurgica e densa di un groove mobile e irrequieto. L'iniziale Hic Sunt Dracones espone già tutta la mercanzia. Grande interplay, scrittura sempre in equilibrio tra ferocia e lirismo, maglie che si allargano e si fanno fitte a seconda del momento. La splendida, tautologica Oscillating Madness, il groove carro armato di Risse, le fratture di Morphoizm, le visioni di Tannhauser
AMERe Tos! [7.6]

Best Jazz Albums of 2023
The following selection is our definitive “Best Jazz Albums of 2023” list. The selection is divided into albums featuring solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and larger ensembles, with three selections per category, for a total of 21 albums. We also added one category for “Artist of the Year”, and one for “Archive of the Year”, thereby adding two albums to the final selection, for a grand total of 23 albums that sum up how great 2023 was for jazz.

Angelika Niescier, one of the most distinguished voices on the European jazz scene, is here with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris to surprise us with every second of this release. It is intense, dramatic, and never predictable; it is extraordinary musicians perfectly playing together as a trio.
“This is an ensemble with a cohesiveness and empathy, and is an object lesson in the notion that collectivity need in no way blunt the radical individualism of participants.“
–Alexander Hawkins, liner notes.

https://bestofjazz.org/best-of-jazz-year-2023/

Von 'Hic Svnt Dracones' lassen sich ANGELIKA NESCIER, TOMEKA REID und SAVANNAH HARRIS nicht abschrecken. Im Gegenteil, gefährliche Gefilde und 'Risse' in der Wall of Sound scheinen sie so anzuziehen wie das 'Tannhauser Gate' den Tannhäuser. Entstanden ist Beyond Dragons (Intakt CD 412) in Reids Heimatstadt Chicago, Ausgangspunkt war jedoch das Moers Festival, wo sie 2022 als Composer in Residence Nesciers Bekanntschaft machte. Um schließlich den von deren modularen Morphoismen und ausgetüftelten Rhythmen geprägten Zusammenklang von Cello und Altosax noch mit dem Drumming von Harris festzuklopfen, in 'Oszillating Madness' oder als 'A Dance, to Never End'. Harris, aus Oakland nach New York gekommen, hat mit ihrer jung-dynamischen Afrolook-unterm-Blumentopfhut-Präsenz Anklang bei etwa Peter Evans und Petter Eldh gefunden und leitet ein eigenes Pianotrio mit dem israelischen Bassisten Or Bareket. Hier ist das gleich dreifach angereichert mit 'Femiknowledge', wie Harris einst ihre Kolumne als angehende Journalistin überschrieben hat. Und ergießt sich, von punktierenden Beats und crashenden Trommelwirbeln, insistentem Pizzicato und Coll'arco-Staccato geschoben und mit diskanten Kratzern gewetzt, in liquidem Spitfire, drachenzungigen Trillern und - - - wonniger Daumenlutscherei. Denn Nescier badet in flüssigem Feuer wie andere in flauschigen Decken kuscheln. Überhaupt ist das Daenerys-Trio eines, das sich auch kammermusikalisch im kleinen Schwarzen zeigt und vom Blatt präzise Taktschläge und Synkopen kniffelt. Reid hat sich ja bereits bei Ingrid Laubrocks „The Last Quiet Place" als quicke Notenleserin gezeigt. Die Musik ist nämlich nicht nur extrem und exklusiv - wie Nescier verspricht - , sondern zugleich exakt, evokativ, elusiv, flatterhaft, ja sogar mystisch. Als Vision von Schönheit und Menschlichkeit, denn /'ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like... tears... in rain sind die letzten Worte des Replikanten Roy Batty in „Blade Runner". [BA 122 rbd]

Angelica Niescier raconte la création de ce trio dans l’entretien qu’elle a accordé à Citizen Jazz et nous pouvons aujourd’**** en découvrir le résultat sur disque. Au côté de la violoncelliste Tomeka Reid et de la batteuse Savannah Harris, elle est une nouvelle fois à la tête d’une configuration qui lui permet de s’exprimer de manière optimale, tant dans son approche de compositrice que dans celle d’instrumentiste.

Exclusivement à l’alto, elle développe une sonorité profonde d’une grande vélocité et d’un mordant tonique qui lui permet d’emporter avec elle des partenaires bluffées par son énergie mobilisatrice, comme c’est le cas sur Hic Svnt Dracones, le titre d’ouverture. Pourtant, il ne faut pas considérer ce Beyond Dragons comme un album de saxophoniste avec deux accompagnatrices. Bien des titres gagnent en intensité et prouvent, s’il en était besoin, que ses partenaires sont ses égales ; elles la suivent sans frémir dans des compositions qui se prêtent à une dramaturgie progressive. Sur Oscillating Madness, c’est au tour de la violoncelliste de s’imposer à l’archet par une architecture puissante, rejointe ensuite par les deux autres musiciennes, notamment Savannah Harris qui s’immisce au côté de la violoncelliste et impose un jeu égalitaire.

En réalité, les trois voix se mélangent en permanence, et peuvent prendre tour à tour une fonction de basse solide ou un lead ouvert dans sa proposition. L’intérêt des compositions de Niescier est, en effet, d’offrir un terrain de jeu suffisamment structurant pour ne pas s’égarer dans des improvisations trop libres, mais dans le même temps, autorisant toutes les propositions. La force de ce trio tient justement dans ses interactions constantes portées par une volonté pugnace d’en découdre, avec une énergie libératrice.

https://www.citizenjazz.com/Niescier-Reid-Harris.html

Fans of alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier already know her to be one of the most exciting voices on her instrument—someone who can shift instantly from pensive reveries to tempestuous maelstroms. And she has worked with a growing list of top-shelf partners, including drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist Chris Tordini, both of whom appeared on her excellent Berlin Concert (Intakt Records, 2018), and drummer Gerald Cleaver and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, who joined Tordini and Niescier on her New York Trio (Intakt Records, 2019). Now she has recruited the expert skills of cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris, who possess an uncanny understanding of Niescier's concept, enabling them to create an enticing, often riveting set of music on Beyond Dragons.

Niescier's intricate compositions have always been one of her greatest assets, and there is plenty of proof of that here. The bounding energy of the opener, "Hic Svnt Dracones," animated by an arduous ostinato from Reid, pulses with life, as Niescier's cascading torrents come crashing in a seemingly limitless supply. Reid's nimble maneuverings are always a marvel, while Harris has an especially punchy snare attack that she uses to spur the music forward. But the piece takes a turn midway through, reducing the heat to a simmer as Niescier teases out brief fragments of phrases, and sometimes just a repeated note; she then cedes some ground to her partners, as Reid's and Harris' own volubility emerges and the trio generate some suspenseful excitement through a gradual crescendo of intensity, with Niescier riding a staccato, single-note attack to the finish, and Reid and Harris in lock-step with her all the way to the thrilling end. It is a master class in demonstrating how to build, release and recreate tension over the course of the piece's eleven-plus minutes.

The trio is at its best in its most vigorous moments, but Niescier has a darker, more mysterious aspect as well, revealed in "Oscillating Madness," which gives Reid a chance to trace the nuances of the track with her superlative arco playing while Niescier stays in a ruminative, slightly tremulous vein and Harris provides color and texture. But even here, the trio's barely-contained energy seethes just below the surface. "Tannhauser Gate" is a spare, haunting track, with Niescier's breathy lower register offering the ideal complement to Reid's imaginative, often luminous arco. On pieces like "Risse," or "Morphoizm," however, the trio once again lets loose fully, with Niescier's astonishing stamina and range catalyzing the vitality of her colleagues. And sometimes it is when Niescier strips the music down to its essence that it carries the most power. Her rhythmic dexterity allows her to make a single, repeated note speak volumes, and with Harris and Reid attuned to her every move, it is the three musicians acting as one that gives this music its potency.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/beyond-dragons-angelika-niescier-tomeka-reid-and-savannah-harris-intakt-records