Label: ears&eyes Records, 2022
Personnel - Shawn Lovato: bass, composition; Michael Attias: alto saxophone; Patti Kilroy: violin; Hannis Brown: guitar; Santiago Leibson: piano; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums; Colin Hinton percussion.
This commissioned opus composed by bassist/composer Shawn Lovato is structurally interesting, blurring the line between composition and improvisation with an up-to-date vision. The eight parts of the suite take us from the abstract to the concrete and were designed for a septet that integrates Lovato’s concert trio mates in Hotel Elefant - guitarist Hannis Brown and violinist Patti Kilroy - and New York-based jazz improvisers of the first order such as saxophonist Michael Attias, keyboardist Santiago Leibson, and drummers Vinnie Sperrazza and Colin Hinton.
The bandleader gets things cooking right away with some enigmatic vibes in the opener “Microcosms (opening)”. At first you hear deep arco bass playing, flimsy saxophone vibration, inscrutable violin screeches, a slightly eerie piano ebb and flow, and warped guitar contortions. The texture is later supplemented with drums, slowing down again when thoughtful bass plucks make a bed for Attias’ altissimo circular notes and terse phrases. The saxophonist has the word on “Modular Ascension”, choosing his idioms with freedom and getting suitable feedback from Leibson. The complex rhythm is driven nicely here, but the group also swings unabashedly, enjoying a more familiar jazz atmosphere.
Guitar and violin are preponderant on “Serenity Amid Absurdity”, which goes from a nearly transcendental Eastern psychedelia to a contrapuntal abstract setting that is far more serene and composed. Its last segment brings everyone together in a contrast of rhythms that creates considerable internal tension.
Sperrazza plays a tightly weaved solo drum part at the outset of “Splitting Hairs Part I”, which evolves into a collective dirge with the help of Leibson’s underpinning. The last section of “Splitting Hairs Part II” is even more exciting with Attias blowing his horn convincingly against a controlled cadenza.
With a well-measured melodic cell concept at the base, “Splitting Atoms I” has Lovato’s bandmates responding with stellar playing to his compositional challenges. They absolutely float free, but with violin, guitar and glockenspiel standing out in close communication. Before “Microcosms (closing)” finishes the cycle in a sort of classical chamber mode, Lovato claims the deserved spotlight on “Splitting Atoms II”, an unaccompanied bass effort.
There’s a fresh, unmannered feel in these tangled septet explorations devised with considerable room for individual expression. Many other avenues may be beckoning for Lovato’s talents, and it will be interesting to see what he does next.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Microcosms (opening) ► 02 - Modular Ascension ► 06 - Splitting Atoms I