PrecipitationsSteven Ricks & Ron Coulter

Electroacoustic composer/performers Steven Ricks and Ron Coulter opt for a kind of hybridization of percussion and electronics (in Coulter’s case), and of trombone and electronics (in Ricks’), to produce the effects they want to evoke. The seven jointly composed, jointly performed works on a new (+++) Panoramic Recordings CD show how Ricks and Coulter implement their particular search for auditory engagement – at least on the part of an audience already committed to experimentation and avant-garde sounds. The opening Tap, Rattle, and Blow is aptly titled, since tapping, rattling and trombone blowing are important elements of its aural world. Late Night Call is a kind of “found music,” combining now-rare-or-obsolete sounds such as those of a dial-up modem and poor TV or radio reception. It may serve as a reminder, to those who remember the sounds in the real world, that it is good to have moved beyond them (beyond most of them, anyway). Mechanic’s Choice is strongly percussive, with an emphasis on gong sounds mingled with those of other objects that can be directly struck, their reverberations then enhanced electronically. Charming Waysincorporates snippets of words spoken on TV and radio into a mixture of trombone notes and the sounds of rubbing and scraping. Button Drop is the most strongly percussive work on the CD, mixing the comparatively straightforward sounds of a typical battery of percussion with modified, electronic ones that complement and extend the directly played material. The longest work on the disc, which bears the overly enigmatic title I-S3eM and lasts 17 minutes, includes sections that fade in and out, ones that emphasize different registers (high and low), and ones that allow somewhat unexpected material (such as trombone sounds) to peek through a kind of aural curtain established by the electronics. The last work on the CD, Slurry, mixes several elements heard earlier, including spoken bits, high flute in birdsong mode, bells, trombone emissions, and a mallet-struck keyboard (the glockenspiel). Although not intended as a summation of what has come before, Slurry is a good 10-minute overview of or introduction to the entirety of the recording. Listeners unsure of whether or not they would be interested in an hour-plus of these creations by Ricks and Coulter may find it useful to start at the end of the disc and sample the works that appear earlier only if they find the concluding one congenial.

— Mark Estren, 7.21.2023

New Music has its fair share of pretentiousness—composers who feel called upon to be shamans, gurus, prophets, and social critics—so it is refreshing to run across an album in the scruffy casual category, like two guys in a garage. I’m not denigrating what can happen under such circumstances—two guys in a garage built an airplane that flew at Kitty Hawk, and computer technology that launched Microsoft. But in the normal run of things, expectations would be looser. While appreciating the laid-back air of the improvised music created by duo composers Ron Coulter and Steven Ricks, I also got an impression of riffs tossed off in the moment without much in the way of second thoughts or disciplined effort.

I hasten to add that the composers’ first thoughts come from a deep background. Coulter and Ricks are sophisticated in their chosen process. They are also performers, and there’s an upbeat feeling to Ricks on trombone and Coulter on a combination of drum set, tuned percussion, and found objects. Tommy Dorsey and Buddy Rich might swing in their graves hearing this style of music-making. There’s a major entertainment factor.

Both partners are listed as contributing to the electronics side in this collection of seven pieces averaging around nine minutes, titled Precipitations. What we hear fluidly blurs the distinction between acoustic and electronic sounds, because over a longtime collaboration, Ricks and Coulter have developed “hybrid instruments,” as described in the online booklet. “Precipitations is their first recorded project as a duo, zeroing in on each of their hybrid setups, enhancing Ricks’s trombone and Coulter’s percussion with various batteries of electronics, effects pedals, and microphones.”

Largely because that description would feel alien to general listeners, I began this review pointing out that the results aren’t daunting. Anyone who gravitates toward jazz improvisation will be in the groove of this music. As always with New Focus releases, Dan Lippel’s commentary is lucid and helpful. For example, he adroitly captures the tone of techno mixed with hip in the second piece on the program. “Late Night Call revels in the subtle timbral distinctions in non-pitched electronic sounds; early dial-up modems, bad telephone connections, and poor TV or radio reception come to mind.”

Considerable variety is added in ingenious ways. Setting aside his trombone, Ricks joins in the percussion piece, Mechanic’s Choice, where a four-note ostinato beats continuously while he and Coulter perform on found objects and gongs. The effect is arresting. Keeping this sequence of rapping and tapping to six minutes was also a wise decision unless you are a born percussion devotee.

I prefer the pieces that employ trombone, and further interest arises when the soundscape created by electronics is as haunting as in Charming Ways. While the trombone part remains acoustic and boldly bluesy, the layered tapestry of backdrop scraping, rubbing, and squeaking noises are blended into ghostly snippets of radio and TV voices.

Each piece has its own contours and flavor, so there’s no risk of sameness. My one reservation is that, for me, the bulk of ingenuity has gone into creating the sonic picture. The actual events that unfold on percussion and trombone aren’t very distinctive. Skill and enthusiasm certainly emerge, which is important to note. But I didn’t take much musical interest in the playing for its own sake. Fortunately, Precipitations is carried along by the imagination of Ricks and Coulter, which I was happy to experience.

— Huntley Dent, 10.01.2023

The iconoclastic composers/performers Steven Ricks and Ron Coulter bring their inimitable prowess to these spontaneous and unpredictable pieces that blur the eletronics with trombone and percussion.

“Tap, Rattle, And Blow" opens the listen with the lively brass and wild percussion that’s complemented by a flute sample and bluesy nods, and “Late Night Call” follows with timbral manipulations and pitch-less electronica unfolding with nods to dated technology.

In the middle, “Charming Ways” emits plenty of adventurous samples of spoken text via the random percussive bouts and friction sounds, while “Button Drop” spotlights Coulter’s exciting percussion in rich, asymmetrical ways.

The final piece, “Slurry”, builds into a thicker appeal of harmonized trombone, calm glockenspiel and even the sounds of birds chirping.

An extremely inventive body of work that pairs performance art with sonic exploration, Ricks and Coulter turn improvisation into a refined science here, where reverb moments, haunting bits and much emphasis on timbre is nothing short of stunning.

— Tom Haugen, 2.04.2024