Hayden Prosser - Tether [CD]

The searching, cyclical aura of double bassist and composer Hayden Prosser's debut acoustic album 'Tether' fascinatingly finds its roots in electronic and process music. <p>Hailing from Somerset and now based in Berlin, Prosser met up with New York pianist Elias Stemeseder - the starting point for this quartet's sound with tenor saxophonist Philipp Gropper and drummer Max Santner - which set up the piano-and-bass connectivity that informs many of the album's eleven original tracks.</p> <p>Prosser's compositional angle is often derived from his own piano transcriptions of electronic phrases and programs - these are then translated into the analogue quartet environment to be expanded upon. 'All's' bass-induced riff, for example, mimics synthesized arpeggios, beginning strongly with one idea before fading to introduce another; and this concept of shaping a single line and then splitting it to be picked up by other instruments, including Gropper's subtly inviting tenor funk, establishes a strong sense of fluctuating textures and space (its detuned 'musical box' piano reprise adding a hint of foreboding).</p> <p>'Tether', as a title, subliminally references the electronic output of London duo Plaid (their recording of the same name is a go-to album for the bassist), as well as this quartet's geographic and logistical challenges of rehearsing and performing together. Often intentionally blurring compositional and improvisational meeting and parting, Prosser says his evolving, repetitive grooves are influenced by the work of two of his tutors, big-name US artists Drew Gress and Chris Lightcap ("bass players write with a different outlook") as well as the recordings of Craig Taborn.</p> <p>Personnel: Hayden Prosser (double bass), Philipp Gropper (tenor saxophone), Elias Stemeseder (piano), Max Santner (drums)</p>