In 2021 we sized up a most interesting record from saxophonist Tony Malaby. Turnpike Diaries, Vol. 1 was a document of live recordings made under a NYC turnpike(!) that against all odds, sounded great. But part of that success was due to the adrenaline going because of the traffic whizzing by overhead and other buzz of activity surrounding them.
That’s a feeling that Malaby sought to carry over into an actual studio, which gave rise to an album named for that makeshift bandstand below an overpass, The Cave of Winds. In recapturing this sentiment of 2020, though, Malaby went back another twenty years. That’s when he made his debut album with bassist Michael Formanek, drummer Tom Rainey and guitarist Marc Ducret. The bandleader called back his old band aka his Sabino quartet – substituting Ben Monder for Ducret – and made the new record with them. Rainey and Formanek have been amply praised in this space but Monder and how he is able to subtly manipulate timbres through his guitar was the special ingredient Malaby was apparently looking for.
One other thing that informed this album: Malaby was getting the urge to revisit some old standards. A couple of them made their way into this set, but only completely on his own terms. For instance, “Corinthian Leather” feels like there’s a bop tune buried in it and in fact, there is. A re-write of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ‘n You,” Malaby grafted modern chord changes in it but the guys are playing with the vivaciousness and looseness of postwar jazz. Malaby and Monder simul-solo for much of time, but don’t get in each other’s way. “Just Me, Just Me” is another semi-cover, a re-imagination of “Just You, Just Me” popularized by Nat King Cole. Malaby and Monder do great work abstracting the song that inspired it but also avoid submerging too much of the original fetching chord patterns.
With the capabilities assembled for this record, a group improv makes a lot of sense, and “Recrudescence” shows off their intuitive skills, four aces listening and reacting to each other and when the time is right, Rainey finds a rhythm to take off with and the rest likewise raise the intensity.
If that’s not diverse enough, then take in the doom-jazz of “Scratch the Horse,” led off by Monder’s heavily overdriven guitar. A more straightforward tune, what it might lack in Malaby’s usual compositional subtleties it makes up for in Ayler-esque fervor. Malaby explores the tonal edges of his soprano sax for “Insect Ward,” which kicks off a locust-swarm of sonics from the group.
“The Cave of Winds” is a four way dialogue, featuring gorgeous arco bass from Formanek and thoughtful brushes from Rainey; everyone steadily works up to a frenzied climax and settling just as organically into a composed framed by Monder’s squalls. “Life Coach (for Helias)” dedicated to another one of Malaby’s favorite bassists, Mark Helias, is actually bass-less. Malaby’s tenor joined by only Rainey in a cozy discourse.
Tony Malaby has thrived best when there is chaos around him; whether under a freeway or in the studio, he can make good art out of his surroundings and does so again here with his Sabino band. The Cave of Winds is now on sale through Kris Davis’ Pyroclastic Records.
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