Christoph Irniger Quintet

Pilgrim – Human Intelligence Live

 Intakt

 Tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger leads the quintet Pilgrim, a Switzerland-based unit in a live program entitled Human Intelligence. They are a relatively young unit with five albums already released, blending through composed pieces with improvisation. The lines between the two are often blurry, and made even more apparent in this live setting where only minor edits were made to bring the album to fruition. This performance was captured at Red Horn District in Bad Meinberg, Germany in November 2023. Joining Irniger are pianist Stefan Aeby, guitarist Dave Gisler, bassist Raffaele Bossard, and drummer Michael Stulz.

Opener “Hendrix” begins with crashing drums and cymbals, each strike about three seconds apart, before the the unison lines of Irniger and Gisler, the latter of whom eventually unleashes a slow burning guitar over meditative series of chords.  Meditative is not the term that usually comes to mind with Hendrix but Gisler’s searching solo certainly captures the spirit of the iconic guitarist and as he catches fire so does the quintet, morphing from the pensive to the explosive almost instantly. The fourteen-and-a-half minute “Calling the Spirits” was released on the studio album Ghost Cat. It begins in ambient, rather mysterious fashion with electronics and bubbling percussion. Irniger enters around the two minute mark building his intense solo slowly and then engaging in vigorous dialogue with the guitar. The piece pauses to give him more space and morphs into dark piano chords and minimalist playing from Aeby. Like most of these pieces, we’re not at all sure where they are headed, focused on their improvisations, led by Irniger and Gisler’s probing lines to an explosive but abrupt finish.

“Secret Level” is a short meandering piece, also appearing as a ghost track on Ghost Cat. It is about the secret level that computer games used to have, easy to find but hard to get out of. Later the extended piece “Emergency Exit” is about the struggle to exit out. Human Intelligence” (as opposed to AI) is first played as an interlude, with a full version later with quintet furiously building the piece to a galvanizing crescendo, led by Irniger. “Seven Down Eight,” also from Ghost Cat. It’s an angular, briskly paced piece inspired by the book Listening by NIk Bartsch.  In one chapter he talks about falling seven times and standing up eight times. When Irniger wrote the piece he was having back problems that led to surgery and he had to pause for six months. His solo emulates his struggles and new ways to adapt. In the latter half the full quintet joins and the sound faintly echoes Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time sound.“The Kraken” is just a short snippet from their live album Big Wheel Live, a quick nod to Wayne Shorter.

“Emergency Exit” consists of a 10-bar form with a melody, chords, and a bassline, played as a suite that use combinations and improvisations with and over the material. It’s the same stuff that sounds somewhat different in each section. As mentioned, it is intended to reflect the protagonist finding his way out of the secret level, going through different emotions and coming to a ressolution at the end. The quintet, with alternating members in the lead, builds drama and keeps us guessing.  The closer “Back in the Game” appeared on their debut Italian Circus Story with the song title intentionally named after the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. They decelerate towards a calm, fading ending, after dealing with their usual pauses and severe dynamic changes. The audience response is cut here, which is unfortunate, given that it’s the end of the set.

As a reference point, portions of this album resemble Nels Cline’s new Consentrik Quartet, which was just released a week prior. Similarly, Pilgrim blends the acoustic and electric in their dramatic way which keeps the listener fully engaged throughout.

– Jim Hynes

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