Album Review: 'Polylemma' by Hertenstein, Heberer, Niggenkemper, and Badenhorst

Polylemma, by the quartet featuring Joe Hertenstein on drums, Thomas Heberer on trumpet, Pascal Niggenkemper on bass, and Joachim Badenhorst on bass clarinet, explores free jazz improvisation with highly composed pieces as starting points. Half the compositions were penned by Hertenstein, and the other half are by Heberer.

A polylemma is a situation where all the available options are equally unacceptable. With the great diversity of practice in today’s jazz music, an artist can find himself confronted with so many choices that perhaps it is harder today than ever in the music’s history to find one’s own sound. The upside is that musicians who do find that voice have the freedom to build a music that suits his or her sensibility from a more diverse palette than ever before.

Polylemma follows closely on the heels of Hertenstein’s first effort, HNH, which also features Heberer and Niggenkemper. Like HNH, Polylemma treats each sound with equal weight. Even in gnarly passages, in which all of the musicians are playing furiously, it is clear that special care is given to every note and every cymbal crash. The main difference in Polylemma is the addition of bass clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst. Heberer and Badenhorst play very well together, as they share a propensity for lithe tones occasionally accented with growls, squeaks, and rattles. They are also similar in the sense that they are constantly seeking melodies, and are willing to search throughout the entire range of their respective instruments. The interplay between them brings an added dimension to the group that is one of the great strengths of the album.

Polylemma expands on Hertenstein’s last album, HNH in a few important ways. The compositions on Polylemma play a more prominent role in the structure of the improvisations. Heberer’s “One Ocean at a Time” is a feature for Hertenstein and Niggenkemper. It is frenetic, and yet relaxed in its state of heightened activity. It’s also a play on expectations when it comes to formal structure; the composed fragments serve as introduction, interlude, and coda to the drum and bass solos. Not only do the composed sections act as the linchpins for the form of the piece in its entirety, but it constrains the improvised parts to certain moods and content in order for them to fit within the piece.

Hertenstein’s “Polylemma” is a contrapuntal duet between bass clarinet and trumpet. The nostalgically swinging melody grows out of a mysterious drum introduction, and eventually unravels into an increasingly mysterious and agitated state while all parties improvise agitatedly. The closing rubato melody has a tinge of sweetness, as if to suggest that the unsavory options in a polylemma may not exclusively yield undesirable results.

The quartet chooses a path through the open-ended, free jazz setting by making strong ensemble statements, and then letting each musician’s personality play out in the given confines of the pieces. Hertenstein is a smart drummer, sensing when he should support and when he should take the lead. The bassist Niggenkemper displays a similar adeptness and plays a broad range of sounds on his instrument without losing a warm, rich quality. Overall, this band of four strong personalities has made an album that is simultaneously sparse and virtuosic and will appeal to fans of free jazz pioneers like Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry with some nods to European players like Evan Parker or Louis Sclavis.

Release Date:

2011 on Red Toucan Records

Personnel:

• Joe Hertenstein – Drums
• Thomas Heberer – Trumpet, Quarter-Tone Trumpet
• Joachim Badenhorst – Bass Clarinet
• Pascal Niggenkemper – Bass

Track List:

1. Polylemma
2. Garden
3. Sugar’s Dilemma
4. Stratigraphy
5. One Ocean at a Time
6. Crespect
7. Banners n’ Bubbles
8. Nupeez