Little Symphony No 3 - First Thing Tomorrow Morning (Biodro Records, 2010) ****

Recorded as one long track during a concert in Knechtsteden, Germany, the performance by this German-Polish quartet is highly enjoyable, and sounds promising for more to come. The band is Joanna Charchan on sax, Andy Lumpp on piano, Heinrich Chastca on bass and Stefan Hoelker on drums. Lumpp, Chastca and Hoelker form a fixed trio, and their interplay and musical approach of improvisation is quite good.

The real discovery is the Polish saxophonist, who fits in perfectly for this expansive improvisation, which brings the listener from jazzy and rhythmic pieces over more meditative moments to staggering improvised music. The band's greatest asset is its melancholy lyricism, that works extremely well with the unstructured and sometimes adventurous nature of the music. Charchan's tone on alto is round and warm, yet she can bend her notes and shift them to a yearning cry, or play high energy staccato phrases without losing her focus.

As the band's name suggests, the quartet has released albums before, although they're hard to find.

Listen and download from Serpent.pl.

© stef