Label: Tao Forms, 2020
Personnel - Adam Siegel: alto saxophone; Michael Bisio: acoustic bass; Tani Tabbal: drums.
Throughout a remarkable career that came to prominence in the early 1980’s, Chicago-born drummer Tani Tabbal made a name for himself by performing/recording with fantastic and adventurous bandleaders such as Roscoe Mitchell, Sun Ra, Geri Allen, David Murray and Evan Parker. For this chord-less trio recording with the stalwart bassist Michael Bisio and the younger yet similarly risk-taking altoist Adam Siegel, he provides 10 pieces, six of which he penned and four by Bisio.
The record opens with one of the bassist’s pieces, “Arrested Confusion”, which, boasting a challenging additive meter signature [8+6] at the backbone, allows the saxophonist to explore in oblique ways.
Tabbal penned the next two discrepant compositions. “Just Woke Up” denotes a more reflective nature through a loose underpinning and open dynamics; the space doesn’t compromise the committed interplay and Siegel’s can be, by turns, assertively explanative and disconsolately plaintive. In turn, “Khusenaton” feels like a groove-centered 15/8 boogaloo that keeps revolving on the axis established by a robust bass figure and colorful drumming.
The title track, “Now Then”, accommodates the frenetic drive and improvisational impetus commonly seen in the free jazz genre. While Siegel becomes garrulous in his adventurous and largely timbral cacophony, Bisio and Tabbal intertwine their sounds in turbulent combustion.
Bisio’s “Sun History Ra Mystery” exudes a noteworthy spiritual vibe with Tabbal infusing a fine mix of cymbal colors in a first instance, before departing to mallet splendor. The name Sun Ra in the title is not by chance. The bassist also brought the freebop-ish “Oh See OC Revisited” to the program, a piece that had been previously recorded in a 2016 duo recording with cornetist Kirk Knuffke. For this version, the trio plunges into a happy, uncompromising swing that extends to Tabbal’s “Inky Bud”, a full-throttled ride where the drummer showcases his percussive skills. On this particular track, we experience a taste of timelessness with hints of Monk and Braxton.
With an elastic approach to pulse, Tabbal commands this trio with extreme confidence.
Grade A-
Favorite Tracks:
03 - Khusenaton ► 04 - Sun History Ra Mystery ► 10 - Inky Bud