Realtree is a quintet composed of Carley Olson Kokal on Bb clarinet, Michelle Kinney on cello, Patrick Marschke on laptop, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin on cornet, and Adam Zahller on guitar performing compositions by Noah Ophoven-Baldwin. The label describes it thus: “They are collections of sounds, moments, and actions balanced on a thin string of seconds like trinkets on your shelf, little gifts and surprises, where the collecting dust is tenderly inspected, maybe to be wiped away with a damp rag in the days to come.” Sounds interesting, so let’s dive in.

We begin with a mix of field recordings of birds in a forest mixed with some really sparse improvisation. This is understandable, as the press sheet states that this album incorporates Ophoven-Baldwin’s “compositional focus on stillness and silence.” Still, it sounds like a group of musicians getting their instruments in tune (clarinet, cornet, guitar in this case). This then shifts to a sparse, composition with long, slow drones. Over time, the music becomes more chaotic, but still sparse, with bits of voice mixed with short bursts of improvisation.

Flipping over the tape, we have more of the same. Very sparse compositions with some improvisational moments. There is a kind of intentional dissonance that is nice and some experimentation with the instruments that makes it interesting. Overall, this was not really my cup of tea, as it moved far too slowly for my tastes, but I can appreciate what they are doing here. If you like your improvisational music on the sparse side, this may be up your alley.