Label: LabelWhoAble, 2019
Personnel - Andrew Urbina: alto saxophone; Sandy Eldred: bass; Matt Scarano: drums.
U.S.E. is an acronym from the last names of the members of an explorative trio that hails from Philadelphia. They are alto saxophonist Andrew Urbina, drummer Matt Scarano, and bassist Sandy Eldred. After releasing Sideways Circle last year on LabelWhoAble, they put out another record, this time recorded live at Plays & Players in Philadelphia, with the exact same compositions of its previous plus two completely improvised pieces. The first of them opens the record with a well-balanced groove, while the second concentrates recurrent rhythmic figures and elliptical phrases within a solid avant-garde sphere.
“Features of a Forgotten Face” displays a beautiful melody over the groovy backbone offered by Eldred and Scarano. The robustness of rock joins the elasticity of jazz, and Urbina patiently builds momentum with a solo driven with sufficient outside detours to keep us on the lookout.
Another highlight, “Groove Suelto” sticks to a medium 3/4 tempo after the fine drum opening. Relaxed melodic contours, unstuffy bass, and the whispering of a brushed snare characterize the tune’s first phase, which later dissolves into an atmospheric passage. In the final stage, the trio retakes the circular waltzing movements, underpinning the infectious energy discharged by Urbina, who shows an admirable command of timbre and extended techniques.
“One Zero Nine” is launched by sax and drums, and their accentuations are later consolidated by the bassist for a cohesive interplay. After a ferocious hard-swinging crusade, there’s a long-standing, well-driven bass stretch, shortly extended to the drums in the concluding segment. The drummer chatters with punctuated nuances on “Stops”, whereas on “The Story About You”, he sticks to cymbal and snare legatos.
Urbina steals the spotlight again, both on the breathable “Minor Major”, where his beseeching and lamenting tones gain stamina with the time, and on “What Did You Think?”, a boisterous electro-rock template over which he unleashes fleet runs, growls and multiphonics with irony and pungency.
Sideways Circle Live overflows with musicality and virtuosity. The only quibble here has to do with the extended length of the solos, but, apart from that, this live recording, naturally less polished than its studio predecessor, benefits from the raw, often groovy tones put forth by this qualified trio.
Grade A-
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Features of a Forgotten Face ► 03 - Groove Suelto ► 05 - Minor Major