Label: Sunnyside Records, 2019

Personnel - Jacob Sacks: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass; Eivind Opsvick: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Dan Weiss is a special drummer who puts his wide rhythmic knowledge and keen ears at the service of his playing. He is equally comfortable leading a piano trio and a knotty large ensemble, as well as powering a metal band composed of jazz musicians. For his most recent work, Utica Box, he adds bassist Eivind Opsvick to his long-standing trio with Jacob Sacks on piano and Thomas Morgan on bass. Together, they form a tight outfit, navigating Weiss’ challenging compositions in a program of seven cuts.

There’s always a melange of styles as part of the drummer’s expansive vision, and the title track, which kicks off the album with a dreamy if slightly tense vibe, mirrors that aspect within an inventive sonic geometry. A haunting, modernistic touch emerges from beat displacement and syncopation, bowed bass murmurs that confer it a chamber-esque classical feel, and cyclic arpeggiated piano uttered with a dream-perfect intonation. The mood is then briefly reshaped by a passage enclosing succinct lines and hushed, sparse activity before the initial state is resumed, this time underlined with a hip-hop rhythm underpinning the buzzing arco bass legato and broken piano chords. The intensity inflates until piano reflections meet conversational mallet drumming and, later on, concordant bass lines. The final segment is stimulated by a medium-intensity rock pulse that keeps hold of piano cascades and droning sounds.

Disarming the listener most of the times, these shape-shifting qualities in Weiss music can also be fully enjoyed on “Bonham”, a piece dedicated to Led Zeppelin’s genius drummer John Bonham, which starts and ends with vibrant solo drum work. There’s a deliberate rock inflection by the end, where the tune follows a more steady line, with the primary chapter including nuanced bass pedals and furtive piano footprints. This is a perfect occasion to observe the beautiful touch and feel in Weiss’ playing as he brings it to the center of things with crisp ride cymbal orientation, hi-hat predominance, precious and subversive drum kicks, and even short snare rolls.

A colorful polyrhythm with Afro-Cuban influence and hints of danceable psychedelia pushes “Please Don’t Leave” into the set of highlights. At once downhearted and euphorically groovy, this exquisite piece features Sacks articulating stunning intervals as he explores the tonal range of the piano.

Referring to the nicknames of Morgan and Opsvick, “Rock and Heat” showcases the two bassists walking expeditiously and side by side in a polyphonic swinging ride. With the drummer and the pianist joining their cause, they embark on a playful on-off cycle.

Compositions such as “Last Time One More Time” and “Orange” navigate more tranquil waters. The former, a sweet lullaby inspired by Weiss’ daughter’s bedtime phrase, promotes transparency of texture with the two bassists in tandem, while the latter entails both unconventional and easy melodies, off-kilter chords, and zigzagging drumming in its narrative. There’s some nice textural roughness in certain occasions here, but for most of the time, the trio muses on moods and timbres, finishing the tune with pathos.

The compositional integrity of each piece is extraordinary, while the overall dynamic balance in the orchestration, instead of feeling clinical, keeps our ears well alert through the musicians’ steadfast and tactful control.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Utica Box ► 05 - Please Don’t Leave ► 07 - Bonham