Max light at zinc bar, nyc, oct 20 - unlearning, album release celebration
photography by ©Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas
We had a wonderful time on Tuesday night, October 20th, at Zinc Bar, attending an exciting performance by Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer Max Light and his fabulous group, featuring longtime friends and collaborators, saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis, pianist Julian Shore, bassist Walter Stinson, and drummer Steven Crammer. The show celebrated Light’s remarkable new album, Unlearning, due out November 13 via Chill Tone Records.
Boasting an infectious, modern sound and great writing, Light began the concert with “Paul”, a piece dedicated to his father, a scientist and professor. The head revealed stunning intervallic precision, while the athletic solos on guitar and soprano saxophone never sacrificed melodic coherence or emotional weight.
“Authentication Two-Step”, inspired by the frustrating mechanics of password recovery, arrived with considerable rhythmic complexity, occasionally giving way to moments of reflection. Shore swung and meandered beneath a rich harmonic canopy, while Light ventured much further into outside territory. “Unlearning” initially suggested a fine ballad but instead unfolded into something more joyful, energetic, and shape-shifting in both tempo and intensity. Light and Curtis killed it in their respective solos before joining forces for a fabulous conclusion.
“Gracebound in Parody” showcased superb collective interplay, balancing soaring, atmospheric passages with textural exploration. “Talking To You”, a contrafact of drummer Victor Lewis’s “Hey, It’s Me You’re Talking To” (Light promised one million dollars to anyone in the audience who could identify the chart that inspired this version—an almost impossible guess!), sustained plenty of tension throughout, featuring Stinson’s resonant double-stops and slippery chromatic movement. “Caregiving” closed the first set with an asymmetrical feel and pronounced rock and avant-garde inclinations.
Light’s compositions demand attention, and the album is well worth your time. Their execution onstage was equally compelling, making for a truly memorable performance.