Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing

June 28, 2023

Label: Pi Recordings, 2023

Personnel - Aaron Diehl: piano; Matt Brewer: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums.

Drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey has been a leading light in the innovative contemporary jazz movement. His trio album Mesmerism (Pi Recordings) was a career high, undoubtedly one of the best albums of 2022. Now, he returns alongside Matt Brewer on bass and Aaron Diehl on piano for four non-originals.

Continuing, which was recorded over two days, opens with Wayne Shorter’s “Reincarnation Blues”, an assuredly crafted back-to-the-basics number stirred by convoluted piano cascades near the end. Fairly softened here, this tune was made public by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, being the fourth track of the veneered drummer’s 1963 album Buhaina's Delight (Blue Note).

The 15-minute version of Ahmad Jamal’s “Seleritus” is elegantly mounted with a bass pedal point, dreamy piano playing, and refined hi-hat and ride cymbal touches that punctuate the whole with delicacy. There’s a certain modal intonation that is quite alluring, but also this old-time ‘ballroom’ dynamics over which a stylish bass solo takes place. The trio’s affinity for jazz tradition is on display, but Sorey dresses this tune up with excellent tom-tom work by the end, with Diehl throwing in forceful piano chords to pack a punch.

The slow motion returns with the ballad standard “Angel Eyes”. This 1946 composition by Matt Denis gets a rubato treatment at the outset, acquiring a three-time feel while sparingly ornamented with graceful piano and smoothly dragging brushes.

To conclude, the trio tackles Harold Mabern’s “In What Direction Are You Headed?”, a lesser known tune by the late pianist which first appeared on trumpeter Lee Morgan’s The Last Section (Blue Note). Expressed with élan, it is a groove-centered, funk-meets-post-bop piece, which, including a vamping 14-beat cycle controlled by Brewer, is turned motivically playful by Diehl’s skittering turns over the keyboard.

Although effective, as it revives old tunes (both widely known and unsung) that are extremely pleasing to the ear, this new trio session doesn’t match Mesmerism in strength and magnetism.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Seleritus ► 04 - In What Direction Are You Headed?

Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Mesmerism

July 6, 2022

Label: Yeros 7 Music Records, 2022

Personnel - Aaron Diehl: piano; Matt Brewer: acoustic bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums.

Multi-awarded drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey has several elements in his musical personality that work in his favor. Firstly, he always knows where he wants to go regardless of the context he’s playing; secondly, he’s willing to take risks when making music. With Mesmerism, he pays tribute to some of his influences and dabbles in a couple of inventive reworkings of classics from the Great American Songbook.

The superb playing of the new trio members - Matt Brewer and Aaron Diehl on bass and piano, respectively - substantiates the drummer’s clear success in this effort, which transitions from avant-garde ventures based on complex notated music to a more relaxed setting without losing any creativity.

The chosen repertoire is tackled with a supreme elegance, lovely detail, as well as disarming originality. It’s a colossally tuneful program that kicks off with Horace Silver’s “Enchantment”, in which the trio shares a natural simpatico. The enveloping sound of Diehl is so enriching, interlacing exquisite clusters of chords with single-note melodies. His pulsing chromaticism gains further expression against Brewer’s bass pedal, which eventually expands. The tempered yet crisp drumming and cymbal luster of Sorey work as a fulcrum between the two other men. Together, they create a lush atmosphere of excitement and reverie.

Over the course of the album, the trio celebrates two other pianists: Muhal Richard Abrams would certainly be proud of this version of “Two Over One”, which was originally presented in his 1976 duo album Sighsong, with bassist Malachi Favors. It’s a catchy waltz overflowing with ideas in an organic balance between the earthly and the spiritual. One can hear something of Bill Evans in it, as cascading waves and occasional piano tremolos find an excellent supportive net on bass and drums. The other is Duke Ellington, whose in-the-pocket “REM Blues” closes the album on a high note.

Sorey plunges into abstraction and stillness with a take on drummer Paul Motian’s “From Time to Time”, whereas the jazz standards “Detour Ahead” and “Autumn Leaves” are crafted with irresistible lyricism and no shortage of surprises. The former is 14+ minutes long and includes a thoughtful bass solo over smooth brushwork in addition to an extended piano statement that gets bluesier and mellower with the time; the latter, extraordinarily transfigured but still recognizable, announces the trio’s faultless command of tempo and texture while exuding a comfortable warmth throughout.

With no need for flash or gratuitous gestures, this is music made with a striking degree of intelligence. Tradition gives a newfound perspective to Sorey’s artistic genius.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Enchantment ► 03 - Autumn Leaves ► 05 - Two Over One

Jen Curtis / Tyshawn Sorey - Invisible Ritual

January 22, 2020

Label: Tundra / New Focus Recordings, 2020

Personnel: Jen Curtis: violin; Tyshawn Sorey: piano, percussion.

Here’s what I call a perfect musical match. Invisible Ritual brings together violinist/composer Jen Curtis, a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, whose technique is awe-inspiring, with multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey, heralded as one of the leading jazz innovators of our times.

Funneling their advanced musical practices into eight spontaneously composed movements, these open-minded artists subvert standards and provide new genre-defying perspectives by employing a sublime symposium of timbres and sound combinations in their music.

“I” exudes a tremendous avant-folk spell. Curtis strums, bows and plucks with edginess and power while Sorey responds with precision and brio. His unpredictable accompaniment, filled with true grit, allows him to whether make the drums pounding irregularly, rocking with some more form, or simply react with instinctive yet logical ideas.

The motivic-filled “II” alternates forward-moving thrust with calmer Eastern-flavored inspirations; it ends with peaceful flute-like tones and understated percussion. In turn, “IV” stresses strong rhythmic accentuations and turns loose motifs that can be simultaneously lustrous and rasping in tone. A powerful combination of mosaics drawn from classical, avant-garde jazz, rock and folk is on display, while synchronization, integration and reaction play key roles. In this particular movement, we have Sorey’s powerful drumming exploding with a superior sense of groove, occasionally adorned with inventive stunts for a grandiose effect. This piece marks a peak in the duo’s effortless communication.

Sorey is also extremely talented on the piano, and several pieces demonstrate his deep understanding of harmony, usually designed with quirky combinations of chord extensions. Take the examples of “III”, patiently sculpted with dreamy harmonic ambiguity and ghostly fiddling technique in the form of insistent hurried plucks and long multiphonic bows; “V”, whose balletic movements bring both circular and free-flowing activity to the table; and “VI”, a contemplative, lyrical offering where the piano breathes and the violin soothes. The record ends with a violin composite of veiled glissandos, bending plucks, and shrilling bowed notes in consonance with a panoply of percussive sounds, from gongs to chimes to vibes.

Probing with finesse and depth, the duo shows off an invulnerable musical affinity that makes me want to hear more. Invisible Ritual offers beautiful, incantatory moments and a great deal of outstanding playing.

Favorite Tracks:
I ► III ► IV

Tyshawn Sorey and Marilyn Crispell - The Adornment of Time

October 22, 2019

Label: Pi Recordings, 2019

Personnel - Tyshawn Sorey: drums, percussion; Marilyn Crispell: piano.

The Adornment of Time marks a memorable encounter of drummer Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Marilyn Crispell, two musical masterminds who fully integrated the sounds of their instruments to create fervent narratives with stunning timbres and textural realizations. For more than one hour, non-stop, you can immerse yourself in a single stretching movement comprising moments of conscious determination and curious ambivalence, peace and disquietness, atmospheric coolness and propulsive agitation, devotion and irreverence. All created in the spur of the moment.

The session, recorded live at The Kitchen in New York, kicks off serenely percussive. Piano notes gently infiltrate a region initially made of rattles, chimes, ticking sounds, sudden thuds, and crystalline vibes. The dialogue had just begun, and Crispell effortlessly extends her playing from meditative considerations to acerbic notes and tense clusters of varied intensity, whereas Sorey surprises us with unexpected crashes, candid reflections, and thunderous menaces complemented with rich cymbal expression. The ideas flow uninterruptedly, resulting in haunting explorations, pauses and silences, minimalist angularity, and hasty motions.

The duo’s deep involvement with this music, in addition to their rejection of anything conventional or banal, result in an intriguing palette of emotional colors and tones. From the depth, these sonic canvases are expressions of sadness, beauty, reserve, exuberance, and reverie.

A certain passage comes equipped with a piano pedal around which everything else revolves, another one fuses classical and jazz elements on top of the diligent and tonally rich drumming running underneath, a couple of other have dramatic string sweeps on the piano intersecting unpredictable irregular rhythms. With all that said, have in mind that regardless the complexity and the atmosphere created, the music is always readable, never forced or impenetrable. In the majestic final part of the album, refractory and spiraling piano patterns combine with looming drum attacks for a monumental climax.

These constantly innovative instrumentalists were blessed with the capacity of listening thoroughly and the ability to respond confidently, whether by embarking on thematic development or injecting experimental ideas to create anew. This is uncategorized music keeping an ample sense of communication throughout a cutting context of density and intonation.

Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars

October 8, 2018

Label: Firehouse 12, 2018

Personnel – Tyshawn Sorey: conductor, drum set, percussion, trombone, dungchen; Stephen Haynes: trumpet, flugelhorn, small percussion; Ben Gerstein: trombone, melodica; Todd Neufeld: electric and acoustic guitar; Joe Morris: guitar, double bass; Carl Testa: double bass; Mark Helias: double bass; Zach Rowden: double bass.

Drummer/composer/bandleader Tyshawn Sorey is a genius of modern composition. Embracing a completely different lineup and instrumentation when compared to his previous piano-trio session Verisimilitude (Pi Recordings, 2017), Sorey sculpts his forthcoming CD, a nearly four-hour, three-CD set opus entitled Pillars, to be quite an experience. However, it requires patience from the listener since the electro-acoustic octet he conducts digs deep into the abstract with a combination of sounds that can range from minimalistic hushes to ominous shouts and slashes to relentless machine-like sonic cycles. It’s difficult to say which parts are improvised and which are scored, but his willingness to try new things yields unpredictable outcomes on this particular work.

Part I kicks in with a long section of resonant ruffs with changing frequencies and overtones, morphing into a variegated patchwork of acoustic guitar and cymbals. This happens before the bassists are brought to the forefront and, whether bowing or strumming, create buzzing drones that support Stephen Haynes’ trumpet bursts designed in the upper register. Later, he is joined by Ben Gerstein’s trombone for a long conversation. Tweaked electronic vibes help to describe an unsettled cosmic reality through eerily phantasmagoric incursions or extraordinarily luminous points. Somewhere closer to the end, I could hear a bomb being dropped, an ambulance, a final blow… the trombone screams and the jittery percussion give the final touch to a dystopian scenario.

Part II is launched with a coalition of double basses - dented bowed reflections, cutting scratches and loose pizzicato sometimes create odd grooves. Then it’s time for electrical guitar rumination with effects, strident pointillism, harmonics, and drones. It precedes the war-like battalion that is arriving, emulated by melodica and drums. Water sounds with frenzied trumpet atop end up in a more accessible passage with trombone, guitar, and percussion.

Well-coordinated guitar plucks join the bowed basses to form eccentric chords in the solemn ritual that opens Part III. The trombone wails sound sweet when compared to the following lethargic section marked by cavernous arco bass, cymbal shatters, thumping toms, and electronic reverberance. The climax arrives with riotous attitude, softening again with the addition of acoustic guitar before diving into the haunting low-pitched sound waves that always return at the end of each part.

Sorey and his bandmates don’t reinvent but rather create from scratch with no preconceptions. This type of sound design would work wonders in movies like Malick’s The Tree of Life or Guy Maddin's experimental docufictions, offering sinister textures and timbres with sensorial intensity, instead of easy melodies on top of chord changes with perceptible rhythms underneath. I cannot say I would listen to this music every day (you have to be in that particular mood), but there is always something to be discovered when I do it. I’m still adjusting to Sorey's bold new sonic shapes.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Part I ► 02 - Part 2

Tyshawn Sorey - Verisimilitude

August 8, 2017

Label/Year: Pi Recordings, 2017

Lineup - Cory Smythe: piano, electronics; Chris Tordini: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums, percussion.

As one of the most innovative, consistent, and in-demand drummers on the current scene, Tyshawn Sorey always brings something bold and new to the projects he’s involved in, whether as a leader or a sideman.

After the complex yet absorbing musical poetry of last year’s unclassifiable The Inner Spectrum of Variables, Sorey is back with Verisimilitude, another spontaneous body of work full of unlimited ideas and conceived to be played in a malleable trio with pianist Cory Smythe and bassist Chris Tordini.

The opening tune, “Cascades in Slow Motion”, is also the shortest on the album and mirrors exactly what its title suggests as it dives in an apparent textural fragility that is progressively denied by Sorey’s decisive solidification of the rhythmic basis. Smythe’s regular moves anchor in inconsolable voicings for the final moments.

Like a classical mourning chant that wouldn’t embarrass Chopin or Debussy, “Flowers for Prashant” walks at snail’s pace through Smythe’s intriguing and tactile combinations of granular notes, intervallic cadences put out by relentless left-hand movements, and perplexing phrases and chords.

Those uncertain ways develop into sinister vibes on “Obsidian”, an 18-minute volatility that simulates utopian molecular activities through organized layers of sound. Electronic manipulations serve as points of departure, evolving into organic statements delivered conjointly by pianist and drummer, whose actions oscillate between static and dynamic. Tordini appears in the middle, soloing aplomb, but his speech is ultimately engulfed by Smythe’s low-tone hammering and the bandleader’s mystifying tribal artifacts. This is a tune that piques your imagination and turns your senses widely alert.

With almost 31 minutes of unstoppable instrumental exploration over a fluctuant, improvised ground, the Homeric “Algid November” lives from vital sonic elements that include several percussion effects, atmospheric vagueness, paradoxical piano incursions, and small, controlled explosions of variable intensity and purpose. The trio becomes delightfully melodious at some point in the middle of this intriguing trajectory, breaking the currents of ambiguity and shaping its sound with more accessible procedures. Another particular stage of this tune comprises multiple nuanced piano ostinatos accompanied by percussive chimes and offbeat drum punches. One can also hear different kinds of chimes, gongs, and cymbal splashes on “Contemplating Tranquility”, the wide but still tangible closing piece.

Defying every attempt of music categorization and declining musical conventions, Tyshawn Sorey takes a traditional piano jazz trio to another level through his crepuscular, unconventional creativity. This music is not instantly absorbed. It’s a slow infusion of intricate sounds that cross, connect, and live for real.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Flowers for Prashant ► 03 - Obsidian ► 04 - Algid November

Tyshawn Sorey - The Inner Spectrum of Variables

July 18, 2016

Tyshawn Sorey: drums; Cory Smythe: piano; Chris Tordini: bass; Rubin Kodheli: violoncello; Fung Chern Hwei: violin; Kyle Armburst: viola.

The highly in-demand and proficient drummer, Tyshawn Sorey, enriches the sound of his experimental trio, the same that gave us “Alloy” two years ago, with the addition of a resolute trio of strings.
“The Inner Spectrum of Variables”, a double-disc album that comprises six creative movements and a loose percussive tune, successfully rambles on jazz, classical, avant-garde, and exotic territories, creating several cinematic soundscapes that enthrall and satisfy. Sometimes low-key and minimal, sometimes effusive and intricate, this record gives us a lot to discover. Through his openhanded compositions, Sorey concedes enough space for his peers to express themselves in an erudite way. Smythe, in particular, deserves attention in the way he communicates, proving himself a specialist in the art of creating tension.
This music breathes at the same time that casts a powerful effect on us.

Favorite Tracks:
03 (cd1) – Movement III ► 02 (cd2) – Movement IV ► 03 (cd2) – Movement V + VI + Reprise