Label: Intakt Records, 2020

Personnel - Charlotte Greve: alto saxophone; Chris Tordini: acoustic bass; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

A lovely combination of distinct musical personalities is found in The Choir Invisible, a Brooklyn-based cohesive trio formed in 2017 and co-led by saxophonist Charlotte Greve, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. All three hard-working musicians contribute pieces for the project, possessing a prodigious capacity to create freely in addition to a conspicuous fondness for keen, organic sounds. It's a staggering integration of writing material and improvisation.

The relentless, ritualistic “Chant” and the sole-saxophone-driven “These Materials” are compact pieces that prepare us for “Low”, which is set up with a gripping languid groove, a variety of tonally rich cymbal intonations that enhance texture, and a buoyant bass solo with deliberately directional saxophone notes as underpinning. Greve penned these first three selections.

She also brings “Daily Task” into the program. Since the tension never grows too tight, this piece is all about coordination, shaken by the flapping sounds of Sperrazza’s sizzling snare.

The drummer infuses his broad percussive palette on his own “Change Your Name”, a reflective chamber piece in which saxophone and bowed bass start a dialogue, agreeing on the direction to take.

Tordini’s compositions seem crafted to spotlight each individual’s talents. The trio endows “1.7” with a wealth of melodic and percussive twists. At the outset we have Sperrazza’s pragmatic supportive brushwork, circular riff-motivated movements, and a thoughtful, measured bass accompaniment that never feels precipitate. Then the bass is set loose for a spacious and abstract middle passage - aiming for more open playing - and extremely aesthetic snare drum rolls. The final stage is designed with funk-infused accentuation and a sturdy indie-rock feel.

One can tell that “Zuppio” and “e)” share some compositional characteristics. However, if the former sounds agreeably elliptical rather than surprising, the latter evolves into a dancing syncopation with refreshing, non-obvious sax lines after a []-minute free bass intro. Tordini expresses himself with that full supple tone that characterizes his playing, predominantly round and robust.

The absence of harmony makes this boundless experience even more inquisitive, with the trio taking the listeners into a joyride abundant in colorful textures and noble melodic purposes.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Low ► 04 - 1.7 ► 06 - Zuppio

Label: Loyal Label, 2019

Personnel - Chet Doxas: tenor saxophone; Jacob Sacks: piano; Zack Lober: bass; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

Landline consists of a stellar crew of four contemporary bandleaders and improvisers, who take their compositional prowess to another level with a new challenging concept envisioned for their self-titled debut album. The process, based on the popular broken telephone game, has each member - saxophonist Chet Doxas, pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Zack Lober, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza - sending written notes to one of his bandmates, who has two weeks to work on it as he pleases and pass it along to the next member and so on. Each musician may ignore, alter, or maintain what was written. This well-prepared yet full of freedom process combines composition and improvisation in a totally different way and the result is 12 not-too-long episodes revealing strong capacity of invention and tightness.

The titles were given according to the final product and “Michael Attias”, the opening piece, couldn’t be more appropriate since the sax-piano unisons hold that curious ambiguity so characteristic of the aforementioned alto sax player. Snare drum assertiveness, cymbal color, and a bass pedal, here sustaining echoed phrases professed by Doxas and Sacks, are transported to the following tune, “Modern Jazz”, whose swift lines and pungent accents confer it a rock energy. The bass is then loosened to groove along recurrent expressive sax melodies soaked in chromaticism, while the entangling piano comping is fundamental to attain a perfect atmosphere.

A sheer vitality is also observed in other highlights such as “Feel the Bernstein”, which adheres to a freshly swinging mobility; the pop/rock-inflected “Flim Flam”, played with gorgeous accentuations and slight angular playfulness; “Yup”, whose disorienting tempo and contrasting timbres are complemented with absorbing individual statements from bass (introductory section), sax and piano; and “After The Money”, a successful crossing between the bluesy modal post-bop of Andrew Hill and the rock energy of Beat Happening, declared under an encouraging rhythmic thrust attributable to a dance floor.

There are also slow-moving chapters counterbalancing the more energetic ones. Examples are “Twelve Years”, which consolidates a dismal melody, continual cymbal effervescence, and dark chordal work; “Crystalline”, an exercise in piano minimalism with glacial moments and silences; and the vague “Shiny Things”, which meditates through popping sax sounds, sparse piano activity, snare drum calls, and moody bass notes.

Told half-and-half by Sacks and Doxas, “An Anecdote Regarding Anthony Braxton” climaxes in an ultimate collective laugh that closes out the recording with a bright touch of humor.

You’ll find immersive moods and textures on Landline informing us that these guys’ music is never clumsy or forced. Their big sound, open aesthetic, and compositional variety are great part of the appeal.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Michael Attias ► 02 - Modern Jazz ► 11 - After The Money