Label: Endectomorph Music, 2019
Personnel - Kevin Sun: tenor saxophone; Tree Palmedo: trumpet; Simón Willson: bass; Dor Herskovitz: drums.
Earprint is a chord-less quartet of talented young voices in the contemporary jazz world, who found a way to make new music by connecting their individual languages and different approaches. The group incorporates a two-horn frontline composed of outgoing saxophonist/clarinetist Kevin Sun and sagacious trumpeter Tree Palmedo, and two rhythmic pillars, namely, Simón Willson on bass and Dor Herskovitz on drums, who provide solid foundations over which the improvisers soar to new heights.
For their second album, Easy Listening, all members contribute compositions, in a total of 11. The communicative methodology is noted throughout a recording that sports captivating improvised excursions and nurtures a groove-oriented temperament.
Palmedo’s “Sink Song” kicks things off with a forward-moving bass groove in five, simple ride cymbal conduction, and colorful parallel movements delineated by the horn players. If Palmedo’s individuality is restrained here to motivic remarks that serve as accompaniment for Sun’s fluid phrases, then he really seems to be singing a song as he takes expressively melodic routes on the playful “Volume”, a Wilson’s creation that gradually embraces a danceable rock abandon. By throwing in searing lines crammed with leaping intervals and dark timbres, Sun demonstrates why he is one of the most promising saxophonists out there. He takes his boldness one step further on the Herskovitz’s “Don’t Look At The Pot”, growling against an odd groove imposed with a mechanical-like motion. Apart from this particular passage, this tune follows a swinging rhythmic thrust that often accommodates bopish melodies atop.
The only somber atmosphere occurs during the intro of the solo-less “Toupée”, where the bowed bass is transformed into pizzicato before a cautious groove in five leads the way. Willson wrote this tune in contrast with the title track, in which his notes manifestly define harmonies associated with the pop/rock song format.
The drummer’s “Big Bear” distills Ornette-like melodicism across an inspired rock catchiness. The horn players combine smart hooks before an unexpected finale around kinetic drums, which gives Herskovitz a chance to amplify his usually unaggressive posture. In a totally different scenario, he lays down a cool Latin rhythm that works with talkative bass lines on Sun’s “Gallimaufry”. Before that, muted trumpet and clarinet had initiated the journey by dancing with freedom.
Also Sun-penned, “Suchness” was devised like a two-cycle funk rock engine that spins with hasty classical-like lines in phase. The combination is successful, but due to the tune’s short duration, you may feel a sensation of underdevelopment.
These four young colorists are among an exciting new crop of jazz talents, being as much musical strategists as they are ear-openers. This record is something you should try out.
Grade B+
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Volume ► 04 - Don’t Look At The Pot ► 05 - Gallimaufry