Splitting Image (album) explained

Splitting Image
Type:live
Artist:Les Diaboliques (Irène Schweizer, Maggie Nicols, and Joëlle Léandre)
Cover:Les_Diaboliques_Splitting_Image.jpg
Released:1997
Recorded:November 7 and 8, 1994
Venue:Rote Fabrik, Zürich
Genre:Free improvisation
Length:52:59
Label:Intakt
CD 048
Producer:Patrik Landolt
Chronology:Les Diaboliques
Prev Title:Les Diaboliques
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:Live At The Rhinefalls
Next Year:2000

Splitting Image is a live album by the free improvisation trio Les Diaboliques, featuring pianist Irène Schweizer, vocalist Maggie Nicols, and double bassist Joëlle Léandre. It was recorded on November 7 and 8, 1994, at Rote Fabrik in Zürich, and was released in 1997 by Intakt Records.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek stated that the musicians "are virtually incapable, as individuals or as a trio, of spitting out the sort of ill-defined twaddle that many groups of individuals do when they get together impromptu like this," and wrote: "This is more than impressive; this is an event."

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the album "intriguing," and noted that "the level of interaction is as close and responsive as one might wish."

Glenn Astarita of All About Jazz commented: "this trio delve into highly conversational interaction while purveying an overall sense of melodrama... Splitting Image is magnificent, beguiling and brimming with vivid imagery as it elicits thoughts of an off-Broadway play – complete with hefty doses of theatrical mannerisms, portrayed through music and lyric. Recommended."

Track listing

Composed by Irène Schweizer, Maggie Nicols, and Joëlle Léandre

  1. "Helas!" – 3:49
  2. "Uncle Peter" – 1:48
  3. "The Whole World" – 2:42
  4. "Bring Out Your Dead" – 1:07
  5. "Molto Strano" – 2:34
  6. "Stevens' Game" – 4:01
  7. "In a Balladesque Mood" – 4:13
  8. "Splitting Image" – 2:03
  9. "Two Waves" – 3:54
  10. "Silly Boy" – 3:57
  11. "Who is Adam?" – 6:08
  12. "The Very Last Tango" – 2:36
  13. "Little Nicols" – 2:23
  14. "Infinite Diversity" – 5:10
  15. "Quifecit" – 4:35
  16. "Valse Diabolique II" – 2:07

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Les Diaboliques: Splitting Image . Thom . Jurek . AllMusic . October 27, 2023.
  2. Web site: Les Diaboliques - Splitting Image . Jazz Music Archives . October 27, 2023.
  3. Web site: Irène Schweizer . Intakt Records . October 27, 2023.
  4. Web site: Intakt discography (Intakt 001 to 099) . JazzLists.com . October 27, 2023.