Allison Cameron and Contact – A Gossamer Bit

The Toronto-based Allison Cameron is both a composer and a performer/improvisor. With her eponymous band, which also includes guitarist/improvisors Eric Chenaux and Stephen Parkinson, Cameron plays the role of the hydra, seeming to be adept at a plethora of instruments. As a composer, she frequently works with the Contact contemporary music ensemble, and is vocal about her influences. On A Gossamer Bit, which features a quartet of works performed by Contact (of which three were written specifically for the ensemble), she references Charles Ives, Robert Ashley and Christian Wolff. The concept of collaboration is notable when listening to these pieces: the music unfolds nearly effortlessly, a pleasing array of sounds that captures the attention without being in any way obtuse. The harmonica and vibraphone on “3rds, 4ths, 5ths” dance around each other with a sense of glee. “Gossamer Bit (Ives Hymn)” and “In Memoriam Robert Ashley” are dirge-like in their melancholy, the latter based loosely around one of Ashley’s early graphic scores, with much room for improvisation. The almost-jazzy “D.I.Y. Fly” is a hybrid composed/improvised piece, in which the players are encouraged to think like composers “on the fly”. It’s a fitting closer for the disc, highlighting the skill sets of composer and ensemble alike.

A Gossamer Bit is available for purchase direct from the Redshift Records Bandcamp – I highly recommend acquiring a copy and basking in the glow of Allison Cameron’s sound-world; it’s a happy place.