Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver |
The music of the Michael Formanek Quartet offers the listener a kind of tough love. At the Regattabar Thursday night (as on their new ECM release, Small Places), they built tunes outward from small rhythmic cells of melody — repeated, then extended, knotted with sharp angles of dissonance, displaced accents, and odd rests. But it was beautiful stuff — delving into the noise and clamor of free jazz but with a compelling formal integrity.
It helped that this was a crew who, in addition to a previous Formanek Quartet ECM disc (2010’s The Rub and Spare Change), have played together often in each other’s bands. Bassist Formanek has been a regular with alto saxophonist Tim Berne, as has pianist Craig Taborn. And drummer Gerald Cleaver has the kind of O-positive jazz blood type that’s perfect for this kind of music.
The first tune, “Pong,” off the new album, was typical: a three-note ostinato played in unison by the band, which Berne gradually extended, Taborn joining him in unison until, almost imperceptibly, the piano part became its own thing — a full flung solo extending rhythmically and harmonically all over the map, running in tandem with Berne’s focused deliberations.
Related:
Time travelers, Theo Bleckmann takes on Kate Bush, Live jazz from John Scofield Trio at the Regattabar, More
- Time travelers
Trumpeter Tom Halter is wearing one of his snazzy mariachi outfits (black vest and pants with white embroidery). Russ Gershon is retouching his own make-up to get some of the green out (“I don’t look so much like a corpse now”).
- Theo Bleckmann takes on Kate Bush
It's easy to inflate an artist's reputation with words like "visionary," but in the case of Theo Bleckmann, it's apt.
- Live jazz from John Scofield Trio at the Regattabar
Not long into his encore during the first set at the Regattabar Thursday night, guitarist John Scofield stopped the band, walked across the stage and took the sheet music from Steve Swallow's stand.
- More jazz to catch live
Here are just a few upcoming jazz events that should be on your calendar.
- Dave Douglas Quintet + Aoife O'Donovan at the Regattabar
Dave Douglas told the audience at the Regattabar that the inspiration for his new album, Be Still (Greenleaf), was a challenge from his mother before she died in 2011 — a list of hymns she wanted him to play.
- Lionel Loueke | Mwaliko
Benin-born, Paris-and-Berklee-educated guitarist Loueke knows how to cover a lot of ground and make it all sound of a piece.
- Sonny, Pat, and all the cats
The primo jazz event of the spring will be SONNY ROLLINS 's concert at Symphony Hall on April 18 (bso.org). The great master saxophonist and peerless improviser often hits town in April, and this time it's to kick off his 80th-birthday tour. Whew.
- Ralph Towner/Paolo Fresu | Chiaroscuro
For some, these open, airy, acoustic guitar/trumpet duets, couched in typically pristine ECM production, will fall too easily on the ear.
- Ten live jazz gigs to catch in early 2011
Next week we'll tell you all about the tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who brings his great band with Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers, and Eric Harland to the Regattabar January 21-22. In the meantime, here are 10 other primo jazz acts to catch live this winter.
- Assaf Kehati Quartet | Flowers and Other Stories
The Boston-based Israeli guitarist Assaf Kehati and his quartet know how to straddle the great divide.
- Dominick Farinacci's hometown arias
Farinacci releases the new, romantically-themed Dawn of Goodbye (E1) on July 26 and comes to the Regattabar on August 3.
- Less
Topics:
Jazz
, Craig Taborn, Tim Berne, regattabar, More
, Craig Taborn, Tim Berne, regattabar, regattabar, Gerald Cleaver, Less