Label: Astral Spirits, 2020

Personnel - Ken Vandermark: reeds; Edward Wilkerson, Jr.: reeds; Jim Baker: piano; Luke Stewart: bass; Avreeayl Ra: drums.

Gifted young bassist Luke Stewart - a member of James Brandon Lewis Trio, Irreversible Entanglements and Heroes Are Gang Leaders - shows here he has a promising future as a leader/composer as he points in the right direction with the Exposure Quintet, a Chicago-based avant-garde jazz outfit featuring adventurous players such as reedmen Ken Vandermark and Edward Wilkerson Jr., pianist Jim Baker, and drummer Avreeayl Ra. For this double LP, the bandleader gathered motifs, ideas and compositional segments to be explored with freedom by these excellent musicians.

Often performed with vibrancy and dramatic tension, the music is also filled with spiritual inspiration, and the opening act, “Awakening the Masters”, shows exactly that, as a mid-tempo bass groove in seven supports languid saxophone unisons. Eventually, the reed players part ways, switching from parallel movements to juxtaposed lines where fiery improvisation professed with raspy and beefy tones meets the successive rhythmic figures thrown in as a garnishment by each counterpart. With the triangular rhythmic effort from Stewart, Ra and Baker successfully serving the revolutionary saxophone manifestations, it’s the latter who instigates musing through some reverie created in the mid and higher registers. Intrepid harmonies intermittently bolster this procedure.

If the previous piece intended to awake the masters, “Brown and Gray” evokes a bunch of them, including Monk, Ornette, Shepp, and Coltrane. Powerful drumming and fast bass walks pave the way for a blistering tenor solo. At times the sound of the group is restlessly ebullient; during others, they focus on the peaceful center of the spirit. Still, there’s a final saxophone solo that bubbles over with frenzy, leading to the reinstatement of the short theme. Favoring intensity over melody, this section burns avidly with Ra’s spanking drums and expressive cymbal crashes.

“Haarp and Concrete Silhouette” is delivered in two parts, the first of which clocking in at approximately 18 minutes and the second at 15. The former is initially explored as a steady, ritualistic abstraction with earnest arco bass, bass clarinet drones, and subdued percussion, all within a circular, motivic activity. The second part feels like a continuation of the first, ensuring that Stewart has the time to express his own thoughts. By the end, the vivid presence of Vandermark and Wilkerson, Jr. atop the expansive drum work of Ra allows this spiritual contemplation to escalate in density.

The record concludes with the 23-minute “The Scene”, where its shifting center of gravity results from the group's efficient communication, focused interplay and teamwork.

Stewart doesn’t seem the kind of player who stands still artistically. With this ensemble, he explores the unexpected with passion and intelligence.