KINDS OF ~NOIS | THE WHOLE NOTE - REVIEW

THE WHOLE NOTE - EDITORS CORNER

by: David Olds | May, 2024

I had no qualms whatsoever about Kinds of ~Nois, a recording of original works for saxophone quartet written by the members of the composers collective Kinds of Kings for the Chicago-based quartet ~Nois (Bright

Shiny Things BSTC-0197 brightshiny.ninja). Presented in reverse chronology, the disc is bookended by two works by Gemma Peacocke, the recent Hazel, inspired by a poem by Pablo Neruda, and Dwalm, which represents the first collaboration between the two groups back in 2018. Shelley Washington’s Eternal Present is in two movements: I. Now and II. Always. The first features gently moving cloud-like clusters; the second is more playful and percussive, with echoes and games of tag. Maria Kaoutzani’s Count Me In is an “exploration of rhythm and drive inspired by Afro-Cuban bata traditions, made up of interlocking rhythmic patterns” which at times give way to drone-like stasis. Washington returns to narrate her poem BIG TALK and then to perform one of the two baritone sax parts in the duet of the same name, “an outcry against rape culture designed to be an endurance piece for the performers in solidarity with women forced to endure a daily barrage of physical abuse.” An “intentionally confrontational” work, BIG TALK exploits fully the range and power of the baritone instrument in a wild and varied ride lasting 11 minutes, with driving minimalist low ostinati and occasional hints of Harlem Nocturne on speed. Kaoutzani’s Shore to Shore provides respite with its quiet tribute to the sea, “with echoes of a Cypriot lullaby the composer’s grandmother used to sing to her.” Dwalm is an old Scottish word meaning both stupor or daydream and to faint or fall ill. “The composer pursues that idea by contrasting lullabies with cries of sorrow [...] in the context of the same underlying darkness of oblivion,” although the density of layers and accelerated tempi keep despair at bay.