(Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Improvisation, Leo Records) [CD] 6ix (Jacques Demierre, Okkyung Lee, Thomas Lehn, Urs Leimgruber, Dorothea Schurch, Roger Turner) - Almost Even Further - 2012, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

All music by Demierre, Leimgruber, Schurch, Lehn, Lee, Turner
Recorded June 23rd, 2011 at Radio-Studio DRS Zurich; Edited and mastered April 2012 by Martin Pearson
Booklet artwork Olga Kokcharova
Photos Olga Kokcharova
6ix photo by Gosia Cnota
Produced by Leo Feigin and Radio DRS2
Liner notes: Guillaume Belhomme (tr. Petya Ivanova and Peter Behrman de Sinety)
All titles from Gunter Wohlfart Zen and Haiku, Reclam;
Many thanks to Peter Burli, Fuka-Fonds der Stadt Luzern and Kulturdepartement des Kantons Luzern
"6ix" is a group of six musicians: Jacques Demierre on piano, Urs Leimgruber on saxophone, Okkyung Lee on cello, Thomas Lehn on synth, Dorothea Schurch voice and singing saw, and Roger Turner on percussion. The music is a subtle reminder of what each improvisation should strive for: explore a little bit further - almost even further - than the previous piece of music you played. When it seems impossible, try to give a little bit more. The music is an intimate and fascinating conversation between six musicians. To be engaged in the conversation one has not only to speak but listen as well. And this is a great art. - Leo Records
In Bernd Schoch’s wonderful documentary “But the Word Dog Does Not Bark” about the Schlippenbach Trio (hopefully soon to be released on Intakt) Evan Parker remarks about the process of improvised music that “it’s a question of finding a new path in an essentially known landscape (…). We sort of know the territory and when we get to the edges of the territory, what happens then? Can we see something we didn’t see? We go to that corner of the territory but instead of looking back to the things we know, for once we take the chance to look out”.
This is particularly true for 6ix’s “Almost even further”, the musicians explore their territory, they go out really far before they proceed even further. 6ix is Jaques Demierre (piano), Urs Leimgruber (saxophone), Okkyung Lee (cello), Thomas Lehn (synthesizer), Dorothea Schurch (voice, singing saw), and Roger Turner (drums), together they sound like a micro ensemble reminding of Evan Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble or King Ubu Orchestru. You feel like sitting on a hide listening to the music of the forest at night, unknown sounds come up, strange creatures communicate in a foreign language, which is fascinating because you are allured and attracted by this strange world. However, you have to be careful because the voices are very shy, as soon as you think you can catch one it immediately withdraws.
There are a lot of great moments on this album: Lehn’s synthesizer blends so well with Leimgruber’s saxophone and Lee’s cello, and Schurch’s voice is both scary and exquisite. When she enters the scene for the first time she is breathing heavily, whispering, panting, like the wind sweeping eerily through the treetops. Lehn works with her sounds, supports and processes them. It is a magical moment of high intensity – actually sensational.
The whole album is a game of concentration, sound colors, spicks and specks everywhere - as if a Jackson Pollock painting came to life - great art, really demanding. The more often you listen to it, the more beautiful details you can find in these sound landscapes. - Martin Schray, FreeJazzBlog.org

Jacques Demierre: piano
Okkyung Lee: cello
Thomas Lehn: analogue synthesizer
Urs Leimgruber: saxophone
Dorothea Schurch: voice & singing saw
Roger Turner: percussion