Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2020
Personnel - Eric Revis: bass; Bill McHenry: tenor saxophone; Darius Jones: alto saxophone; Kris Davis: piano; Chad Taylor: drums, mbira; Justin Faulkner: drums (tracks #1,3).
Sturdy bassist Eric Revis has been leaning his musical views on a structurally defined avant-garde jazz where texture, groove and improvisation are effectively combined. The eighth album from the L.A. native, Slipknots Through a Looking Glass, finds him playing alongside explorative saxophonists Bill McHenry and Darius Jones, who contribute one composition each, pianist Kris Davis, and drummer Chad Taylor. Justin Faulkner takes the drum chair on two tracks.
Apart from the two ‘external’ pieces, the album presents the fruits of Revis’ compositional insight and taste for experimentation in a collection of eight fresh originals plus one trio improvisation.
The latter, called “SpÆ”, sounds different from the rest, being a volatile, monochromatic trio deconstruction spontaneously designed with bass, mbira and prepared piano. The strategic ambiguity identified here is common to all three short haunting abstractions that constitute the title track, which arrives with bass overdubs.
Navigating uncharted waters with fiercely exquisite textures and progressive aesthetics, the group approaches “Earl & the Three-Fifths Compromise” with a bittersweet tang and a fetching lyricism worthy of a Spike Lee film. Here the two reedsmen develop a synergistic association within an immersive atmosphere composed of a 15/8 bass groove, sluggish melodies and a deliberate rhythm that crawls along. On this track, it’s Faulkner who keeps the drum kit under control.
McHenry and Jones, two distinctive masters in the art of intonation, are given the opportunity to show off their improvisational skills on “Shutter” and “Vimen”, penned by Taylor and Revis, respectively. The former piece merges punk-rock energy and avant-jazz slipperiness in a thrilling polyrhythmic way, having a manic bass groove coiling nicely around the throbbing drum work. The latter benefits from Davis’ puzzling patterns and percussive key-jolts, which populates the primary tangle provided by bass and drums. It’s curious to see how McHenry emphasizes storytelling with a burning intensity, while Jones tears it up by extracting a lot of commotion from his beseeching cries.
Whereas “Probyte” is a slow-burning, melody-centric piece with great individual and collective saxophone efforts, “Baby Renfro”, the opener, suggests ecstatic funk and jazzy hip-hop, displaying sharply fragmented unisons, groovy piano riffs, and agile rhythmic transitions.
Tastefully brushed by Taylor, “When I Become Nothing” is a McHenry-penned ballad of great emotional force that deserves a mention.
Estranging the familiar and seeking a creative path outside his orbit, Revis has always been inquisitive, always opening in the way he composes. If you like your jazz imaginative and unconventional, you should grab this disc immediately.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Baby Renfro ► 03 - Earl & the Three-Fifths Compromise ► 10 - Vimen