Label: Sunnyside Records, 2022
Personnel - Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Caleb Wheeler Curtis: saxophone; Dierk Peters: vibraphone; Walter Stinson: bass; Buz Donald: drums.
The German-born, Brooklyn-based vibist Dierk Peters presents a set of compositions primarily focused on simplicity and further developed with the help of rising stars from the New York scene. Spring, the follow-up to his debut Ambrosia (Tangible Music, 2019), is composed of nine originals that took shape during the worst pandemic months. The quintet features a killing two-horn frontline with saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill flawlessly wielding their horns through the byways of modernism.
Titled after a Transylvanian Romanian town that was colonized by Germans, “Sibiu” displays a loosely conversational and polyphonic theme. The bandleader steps into improvisation with confidence, subsequently providing harmonic support to the horn players. And one can discern some rhythmic bends and displacements toward odd-meter. “Yet No Treble” is another flourishing endeavor. Explorative in nature, this forward-looking cut inspired by Ornette Coleman and Paul Bley is introduced by Wheeler’s authoritative lines, and features arresting moments throughout, including improvs by Stinson and Peters. The latter drops stretchable phrases on top of the punctual and regular measures of the former.
Connecting as a unit, these artists deliver “Haiku Pelt” with cinematic elegance and secure “Byroad Lyre” like a waltzing lament that shifts into other discrete pulses. “Bill” is also framed with fragility at first, but adjusts to something different without losing composure. This piece, written after an encounter with an elderly stranger who needed help getting home, builds to a climax via the horn-centered reciprocity.
Rich in sound and keeping abreast with a distinguished rhythm, “Segré” is a tribute to English pianist John Taylor, who died in the Western French town to which the title refers. Some pieces on Spring may sound punchier than others, but the up-and-coming Peters shows his talent with this vibing statement.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Sibiu ► 02 - Yet No Treble ► 04 - Segré