MetalJazz

Steve Lehman's trio came determined to yank our comfortable cars out from under us and replace them with space vehicles whose complicated controls might help us explore new galaxies if our minds could only adapt. For those still feeling out the defogger on the new Tesla, 45 minutes was not enough, but maybe an introductory course for the mathematically inclined. The easiest and loudest point of entry was drummer Jonathan Pinson, whose crisp and unceasing attack brought the unusual time signatures and offbeat accents into focus, while Lehman's biting alto sax riffs and Cory Smythe's block piano chords often pointed up the compositions' more jagged melodic and rhythmic edges. Aside from the aggressive lines, another prime concern of Lehman's Klōns was color: Smythe contributed with preparations of the piano strings, which he used for strums and alternate resonances; Lehman frequently synthesized his sax tone; and Pinson tweaked his drum sounds for a parade of effects, a show unto himself. Each improvised some, but not much, especially not Lehman and Smythe -- this was composed music, aimed at the head rather than the heart. A statement. Not out of line with what Lehman has done before, but pushing himself.
Kris Davis said something at the beginning of her set about the time she'd spent trying to figure out what kind of piano player she wanted to be. Just a guess, but her recent music sounds as if she's been listening to how audiences respond to her, and decided that she values communication somewhat more highly than idiosyncrasy. Davis' personal way of composing was on full show here, though: She would start in one place and maybe end somewhere completely different, or head in two or three directions, doubling back. It was fun to follow her, and if she thought the path might be getting a little twisty, she'd repeat herself again and again, with little variations. Her touch was even and sure, her improvisations full of exciting clusters, dissonances and crosshanded action, as if the two halves of her brain were playing chess with each other. Progressive AND inviting? You got it. Davis picked her trio mates for the bedrock foundation they supplied. Dunno what drummer Johnathan Blake needed two snares for, but he clipped along with an irresistible tumbling beat that could've driven an orchestra, especially on bassist Robert Hurst's railroad flyer "Albert Collins." Hurst was articulate perfection, adding a little something to his clean-lined solos with an electronic octave splitter. All tops. And Kris Davis' current recording with this trio, "Run the Gauntlet," is highly recommended.


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PHOTOS BY FUZZY BORG.