Steve Nelson-Raney and Hal Rammel have been improvising together in the Milwaukee area since l994. The results of that continuing collabortaion are evidenced in the detailed improvisations on this compact disc. Drawing on recording sessions at Nelson-Raney's own Cody Recording in Milwaukee and live performances at Lotus Music & Dance in New York and the UWM Fine Arts Recital Hall in Milwaukee, these duets encompass their extended instrumental array. Steve Nelson-Raney improvises on tenor, soprano, and sopranino saxophones, shakuhachi, clarinet, and ocarina. Hal Rammel improvises on musical saw, bass drum, and serveral instruments of his own design and construction including the acoustic triolin (a nail violin gone awry) and the amplified sound palette (an amplified variation on the nail violin). The results range from the subtle, breath-like sighs of the title track breathing, to the more raucous interplay of painting. (This improvisation is drawn from the middle section of an extended "painting and saxophone" duet in which Rammel alternated between improvised painting and the amplified sound palette as Nelson-Raney played tenor saxophone.)

This CD has been release in a limited edition of 500, each with an original cover image by Steven Nelson-Raney and Hal Rammel.
 
 

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