Label: Screwgun Records / Out of Your Head Records

Personnel - Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Greg Belisle-Chi: guitar; Tom Rainey: drums.

The influential saxophonist Tim Berne leads a new explorative trio called Capotosta, taking listeners on a sonic journey filled with hidden treasures. Berne enjoys the inventive support of two other creative visionaries: guitarist Greg Belisle-Chi, a recent yet highly compatible collaborator, and drummer Tom Rainey, a longtime associate who played an important role in Berne’s acclaimed avant-jazz trios Big Satan and Hardcell.

Yikes Too is a double album with two distinct parts. The first disc features ten studio tracks recorded at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, while the second captures a live concert performance in Seattle. The album’s mixing and mastering are handled by guitarist and producer David Torn, Berne’s collaborator in the Sun of Goldfinger and Sunny Five projects.

The trio’s telepathy and responsive cohesion has been honed through weekly gigs at Brooklyn’s Lowlands. This synergy is evident from the opening track, “Oddly Enough”, which showcases their like-mindedness, Berne’s creative genius, and Rainey’s vibrant drumming that balances angular unisons. The shifting rhythmic patterns create space for Belisle-Chi’s abstract guitar explorations, which Berne joins with soaring alto sax lines over contorted noise guitar textures and charged drum activity.

In a nearly 10-minute odyssey “Guitar Star”, Belisle-Chi’s distorted introduction evokes dark shadows, oscillating between eerie Celtic underworld sounds and radiant bursts of light piercing through opaque textures. “Yikes” blends alternative rock with avant-garde jazz as Berne delivers expressive melodies brimming with twists and tangles.

Rainey’s drumset mastery shines on “Yikes 2”, flanked by robust, deliberately imperfect sax-guitar unisons, and “Julius Hemphill”, a reflective tribute to Berne’s mentor and hero. Operating on the same wavelength, the musicians offer beautiful, emotionally stricken moments, and the piece evolves into a foreign dance propelled by intricate rhythmic patterns.

“Bat Channel” offers a compelling framework of engrossing chordal accompaniment, eloquent sax lines, and comfortable chatting drums. “Trauma”, on the other hand, feels chantingly motivic with its cohesive ideas and nonconformist pulse, driven by an articulate 12-beat cycle riff that makes us feel the ground under our feet. The first disc closes with “Sorry Variations”, a sometimes-free, sometimes-mathematical excursion of spontaneous linguistic expression that embodies the album’s overarching mood.

Berne continues to carve out a unique niche as both a visionary artist and fierce improviser. His collaborators also deserve significant credit for the album's dynamic success.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Oddly Enough ► 03 - Yikes ► 06 - Julius Hemphill ► 08 - Trauma

Label: Tzadik, 2023

Personnel - John Zorn: alto saxophone; Bill Laswell: electric bass.

Saxophonist John Zorn and bassist Bill Laswell, stalwart figures of the New York’s downtown scene, have been close collaborators since the mid-‘70s. In their recent duo effort, Memoria, they pay homage to three late visionaries of jazz and improvised music. Working together in the spirit of trust, they transcend in their tantrums, creating an intense and evocative journey that explores new musical territory. The results are no less than telepathic.

In “Pharaoh Sanders”, Laswell's washing bass chords limned with synth effects provide a backdrop for an explosive saxophone performance. Zorn explores in feral fury with piercing squeaks, contrasting with Laswell's long, reflective notes. The saxophone pitch is manic, creating an astonishing density. The circular, spectral, and enigmatic bass texture transforms into atmospheric harmonics, pedals, and vamps, inviting Zorn to deliver intricate coils and rebellious shouts that challenge comfort zones.

“Milford Graves” features Zorn working on circular breathing techniques with fast notes over Laswell’s expert ambient treatment. The deep foundational underpinning of the bass brings uncanny feelings, encouraging Zorn to explore inventive phrases, patterned imprints, and circular arches. The result is an atmospheric ride suffused with restless tones.

In “Wayne Shorter”, there’s a mindfulness to melody, and the saxophone lines rest atop an effect-drenched, spaced-out haze that never loses its dark edges and exoteric spirituality. The propulsive, rippling fluxes of the bass invite fabulous interplay as Zorn blows his horn with authoritative power. This duo, with nothing to prove, does great things within experimental free jazz and structured improvisation.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Milford Graves ► 03 - Wayne Shorter