Label: Cuneiform Records, 2020
Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Michael Formanek: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums, vibraphone.
Guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara share responsibility for the output of Thumbscrew, a smart trio that vouches for complex polyrhythmic methodologies while seeking forward-looking perspectives in jazz. The group released five albums on the Cuneiform label, the newest of which is The Anthony Braxton Project, a collection of previously unrecorded pieces from the avant-garde/free jazz icon mentioned in the title that serves to celebrate his 75th anniversary. The work required some research and deciphering, but the trio's adaptations of Braxton’s diagrammatical scores and composition notes are presented with both innovation and inspiration.
The entry point in this enthralling sonic world is made with “Composition 52”, a paradigm for rhythmic accuracy and melodic angularity. Fujiwara’s drum fills are pretty cool, and I cannot refrain from exalting Halvorson’s chordal work here, which gives a sense of integrity between the unorthodox swinging pulse and the odd melodic excursions.
The imperious “Composition 274” advances with fragmented marching quality in a rhythm that reveals an impressive coordination of movements. These aspects are also displayed on “Composition 61”, where the accentuations and rudiments of the snare drum are even more intense.
“Composition 68” is unhurriedly introduced by bowed bass, sizzling snare brushwork and folkish guitar chops. Once again, coordination is key, and minimal expansions are added with no loss of ambiguity. The vibraphone, unexpectedly brought by Fujiwara, almost serves as an appeasing factor in a piece that, at a later stage and after stable suspensions, relies on fierce guitar exclamations and loose arco bass spasms to provide impetus.
Halvorson, who squeezes a blizzard of accentuations and rhythmic emphasis in her unique phrasing, plays slide guitar on the last track, the bouncy “Composition 79”. Racing over the supportive carpet offered by Formanek’s walking bass, her twisted melodies sometimes tag along and sometimes collide with the ones put forward by the vibraphone.
Also deserving mention, “Composition 14” is represented through a sonic triptych - solo guitar / solo bass / solo drums. While Halvorson stuns with soaring loops, quirky licks and rock-fueled strumming; Fujiwara, employing mallets, is incisive on cymbals and combative on toms. Formanek, instead, opts for a sober pizzicato statement with slides, bends and lots of space.
Fearless, Thumbscrew succeeds in its undertaking. The musicians’ talents together with their willingness to experiment generate an array of virtuoso rhythms and moods that will delight attentive listeners.
Grade A-
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Composition 52 ► 05 - Composition 274 ► 11 - Composition 79