Label: Esp-Disk, 2022
Personnel - Michael Marcus: tenor and soprano saxophones, alto tarogato, clarinet, bass flute, gongs; Frank Lacy: French horn; Tarus Mateen: acoustic bass; Jay Rosen: drums, percussion.
Accompanied by other stalwarts of the New York avant-jazz scene, multi-instrumentalist Michael Marcus dedicates his new album, Abstractions in Lime Caverns, to French bassist François Grillot, who passed away in 2021 at 66. Over the course of 10 admirably modeled tracks in which he explores the duo, trio and quartet formats, Marcus pays a couple more tributes to his inspirations. “Hueysville” is for altoist Sonny Simmons, with whom Marcus played for many years, and comes with a straightly bop, Charlie Parker-kind of melodicism on the alto tarogato. “Hillscape”, with its beseeching main melody and the two-horn interplay creating absolute shinning moments, is dedicated to the influential pianist Andrew Hill. Here, the known improvisational aptitude of Marcus and Fench horn player Frank Lacy extends to the bassist Tarus Mateen.
The session is a travelogue of sorts within the jazz universe. Take “Xia Xia”, for example, a Yusef Lateef-like excursion presented as a clarinet-drums duo, which envelops the listener with the relaxing sounds of the Orient. The duet continues to “Banana Pudding”, taking us to another kind of free-floating exotic realm. The path of tradition is taken seriously on “Crossing the Rio”, another duo with the experienced drummer Jay Rosen, whose subdued percussion blends harmoniously with tenor sax and gongs.
The hip opener, “Zight Pulse”, guarantees that the energy is consistently churning. Played by the full quartet, it boasts a magnetic head, whose melody is delivered with graceful intervallic concurrency and an ad-libbed, angular musicality that sounds like Steve Lacy would do. The dancing groove laid down by Mateen and Rosen keeps the momentum flowing, and they show to have alternative foundational options on the title track, while engaging in droning bass pulsations and imaginative cymbal embellishment.
The tones adopted are not blustery but sunshiny and pleasant. One can feel the warmth that emanates from the bass flute and French horn on the soothing and beautiful “Lioness of the Trees”. Revealing his strong musicianship everywhere, Marcus releases an album with strong themes and multi-colored hues. That will make you want to revisit it often.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Zight Pulse ► 02 - Xia Xia ► 08 - Hillscape