The title of alto saxophonist/composer Roger Hanschel’s Niederschlagsmengen, for saxophone and string quartet, roughly translates into English as “Rainfall” or “Amounts of Precipitation”. Either way, the work’s seven extended movements add up to 66 minutes’ worth of engaging, stylistically eclectic music. The opening section, Regeneration & Blend, features sequences of churning arpeggiated chords and healthy stretches of varied string backdrops for Hanschel’s inventive improvising. Hanschel’s experience in Indian classical music reveals itself throughout thes works on this disc which features saxophone lines that are reminiscent of Jan Garbarek’s early work on the ECM label. Hanschel is his own best interpreter, judging from his commanding technique, his colorful, flexible sound, and his willingness to blend into the ensemble when appropriate. Given the Auryn Quartet’s more traditional repertoire, it might seem unusual to find them playing music that blurs boundaries between contemporary classical, jazz, world music, and a smidgen of pop. Yet they clearly relish “playing against type”, so to speak, and turn in immaculate, fluent, and committed performances.
