Eric Revis - Slipknots Through a Looking Glass

September 11, 2020

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.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Baby Renfro ► 03 - Earl & the Three-Fifths Compromise ► 10 - Vimen

Eric Revis - Sing Me Some Cry

June 28, 2017

Label/Year: Clean Feed, 2017

Lineup – Ken Vandermark: tenor saxophone and clarinet; Kris Davis: piano; Eric Revis: bass; Chad Taylor: drums.

Eric Revis is an American double bassist whose understanding of contemporary music and intoxicating touch make him one of the most coveted voices within the jazz genre.

Containing a new set of original compositions, Sing Me Some Cry is an excellent follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Crowded Solitudes, which featured Kris Davis on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. For the latest album, Revis forms a pliable rhythm section with Chad Taylor, who occupies the drummer’s chair, and Kris Davies, whose pianistic twists and whirls are perfectly adequate to his style. Rounding out the group is the revolutionary multi-reedist Ken Vandermark, a valuable element who doesn't refrain from stirring up fire whenever necessary.

They set about the adventure with the title track, an experimental commitment that precipitates quasi-humanized, eerie weeps in parallel with Revis’ bass movements and Taylor's subdued percussion. Little by little, Davies and Vandermark join them; the former with piano string combs, later turned into left-hand thunders and right-hand persistent notes, and the latter with squiggles delivered in the form of high-pitch remarks.

An interesting tune, mostly because of the diversity of its well-arranged passages, is Vandermark’s “Good Company”, which starts with an invigorating wet African pulse and then shifts into a playful swing with accentuated Latin vibes before receiving Davies’ enthusiastic groovy takes. When Vandermark picks up, the swing is hardened and he answers to the call with fierce discursive stamina, often poked by Davies’ mesmerizing comping.

Besides the saxophonist, both drummer and pianist contribute to the recording with one composition each. The former clocks his “Obliongo” with a complex tempo while the latter granted “Rye Eclipse”, an old composition that advances confidently after a ritualistic introductory section painted with regular cymbal splashes, insistent block chords, scuffed up bowed bass, and saxophone furious growls and clamors. The dance ends up in a rough-and-tumble fervency.

The spirited rendition of “Rumples”, composed by the guitarist Adam Rogers, is surprisingly tidier, less funky, and more ‘hang-loose’ than the original included in Chris Potter’s 2009 album Ultrahang.

Revis’ pieces are both curious and distinct in its forms, surroundings, and structures. If “PT44” acquires an urban vibrancy through cyclic harmonic sequences and sturdy bass-drums underpinnings, “Solstice…The Girls” brings soft exotic sounds shaped by silky clarinet drop-offs, smothered piano notes, mallet strikes, and a minimalist bass drive. Conversely, “Drunkard’s Lullaby” features Vandermark’s vehement appeals over a questioning bass ostinato that becomes transiently swinging in certain sections. Still singular, the closing tune, “Glyph”, provides for literate balladry.

Filled with dynamic sparks and intriguing movements, this album is also a showcase for collective roams and extemporaneous individualities. The members of Eric Revis quartet confirm their virtuosity in this sort of creative deconstructionism.

Favorite Tracks:
02 – Good Company ► 03 – PT 44 ► 07 – Rumples

Eric Revis Trio - Crowded Solitudes

August 8, 2016

Kris Davis: piano; Eric Revis: double bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

Eric Revis is an unpredictable bassist who played with Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Branford Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and recently with the pianist Aruan Ortiz and the trumpeter Avishai Cohen.
In “Crowded Solitudes”, his fifth album, he leads a fantastic trio composed of the hyper-creative pianist Kris Davis and the focused drummer Gerald Cleaver.
The album opens with “Arcane 17”, a tune where there’s a lot going on. We can indulge in the non-linear yet steady groove lay down by Revis while Cleaver threatens to catch fire on several occasions. Davis bestows her strong influence, counterpointing with sobs and chords imbued in tension.
In “Bontah”, the voice of an infant, presumably Revis’ son, can be heard and the rhythmic cadence of his words was the inspiration for this spellbinding, motivic tune.
A meek atmosphere envelops Paul Motian’s “Victoria”. It starts with a bass intro and showcases Cleaver’s brushwork while Davis flourishes with sparse touches that never feel gratuitous.
The presence of a swinging bass is quite surprising on “D.O.C.”, but actually feels good. Davis constructs nice melodies based on motifs to be deconstructed afterward with a soulful imagination. Right after Greg Osby’s hectic “Vertical Hold”, the album closes with “Anamnesis Pt.1 and Pt.2” whose movements are very distinguishable, driving us from a bucolic contemplation to a quasi-military agitation. This is an eminent album that makes us ask for more.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Arcane 17 ► 02 – Bontah ► 05 – D.O.C.