Label: BAG Records, 2021

Personnel - Ben Goldberg: clarinet, bass clarinet; Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Michael Formanek: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums.

Anyone with strong ties to modern jazz has clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg in high account, not only because of his free-minded posture and adventurous sound but also for the exciting groups he puts together. His latest outing, Everything Happens To Be, features him in a malleable quintet with some of the most in-demand New York risk-takers, for whom he specifically composed the music. Goldberg combines his melodic resources with the ones of tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin in the forefront, while the rhythmic department features the illustrious members of Thumbscrew - guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.

Hyped by Halvorson’s phenomenal comping, “What About” demonstrates to be a romantic, cinematic and easy-on-the-ear opener, having Goldberg and Eskelin work closely together to draw a chorale-type of narrative arc. Fujiwara’s command of the brushes is noticeable here, and he finds a time for himself near the ending.

“21” offers a superb avant-garde psychedelia that gleams with sonic delights. It starts with the melody right at the center, passing through a period of moderate rhythmic fuzziness - thanks to Formanek’s woody plucks and Fujiwara’s snare drum - and then jumping into a steadfast swinging motion over which a collective improvisatory feast occurs. The two-horn coalition exudes a dixieland/swing type of allure during the theme, a disposition that returns on “To-Ron-To” and, less pronouncedly, on “Cold Weather”.

The group is symbiotic in its communication and tunes like “Fred Hampton”, a hummable pop song for the political activist that the title refers to; “Everything Happens To Be”, which flows with an underlying bossa touch; and “Chorale Type”, which flourishes with melody-drenched focal points (clarinet-guitar interplay / bass solo / tenor solo over pop-rock chord changes), make new and exciting music swirling into being. There’s also a groovy, asymmetric klezmer-flavored piece called “Long Last Moment”, which was previously included in the clarinetist’s 2006 quintet album The Door, The Hat, The Chair, The Fact.

Yet, the most impressive piece on the album is “Tomas Plays the Drums”, a tour-de-force that integrates the magnetic, sonorous tones of the bass clarinet with a mix of dry snare, wet toms and rim sounds provided by the drummer. The last section is reworked on the strength of an infectious rhythm atop which Eskelin’s multiphonics, Goldberg’s intensely vibrating blows, and Halvorson’s distorted tweaks, stand out.

This is an album that conveys optimism and joy, blending empathic familiar sounds with carefully measured tension.