Point of Contact is an intimate collaborative project led by multi-reedist Ellen Weller in her second major album. Centered on Ellen’s long-standing musical relationship with husband/pianist Bob Weller, Point of Contact explores the various intersections that occur during real-time composition given the diverse musical paradigms of the players. This essential concept grew out of a suite of graphically notated pieces (Point of Contact, Point of Departure, Point of No Return and Point of Impact), which set up possible contrast/variation/mutation dialogues. Solo and duo improvisations by Bob and Ellen reveal their jazz and classical underpinnings, and the quirky prepared piano sounds coupled with jaw harp, ocarina and recorder wistfully suggests both lost childhood and the absurdity of war. Three trios and a duo mix in the mastery of internationally acclaimed bassist Mark Dresser, each ranging from quiet, introspective linear textures to explosive, in-your-face bursts of spicy dissonance and extended techniques.
"Bob and Ellen Weller are inspired musicians with a high degree of intuition... These pieces are at home somewhere in the great distance between
avant-garde jazz and new music..."
-Ragazzi
"[T]he timbral palette is quite vast throughout the record and the sensitivity of the interaction is meaningful and engaging. .. a subdued
patience that brings a measured pace, though contrasting tempi and radical
shifts in density await around every corner... The tracks that include Dresser expand the sonic and rhythmic spectrum, though the two Wellers do a
wonderful job of creating rhythmic drive and textural intrigue on the duo
and solo cuts. Ellen's flute playing is colorful, with unexpected turns and
vocalizations on the solo track 'Mandlebrot'..."
-All About Jazz