Matt Mitchell, the pianist who is known for presenting advanced original works with only a drummer accompanying him, has now shown what he can do when a bassist is added. Zealous Angles (Pi Recordings) departs from the duets with Kate Gentile and Ches Smith and tries out novel ideas with other well-regarded mates that further assures he won’t be repeating himself.
Mitchell has headed up a long-running trio with bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss but he hadn’t made a record with this little ensemble until now. Continuing with Mitchell’s pattern, this set of songs represents a unique idea he hadn’t done before. The approach taken this time has to do with the beat: he’s using both polymetric and polyrhythmic concepts together. This is somewhat akin to Vijay Iyer when Iyer made Accelerando, only that Mitchell’s trio are accorded the freedom to decide where to play the figures they’re assigned and how to interact with the other two. It guarantees unpredictable results that doesn’t lose coherency.
That’s Mitchell, always using friction to create sparks, jazz that wobbles but always falls in forward motion.
Mitchell’s pieces are mostly concise, opting to present ideas and wrap up before they lose their freshness. He makes the complex sound deceptively elementary: “sponger” is a pattern repeated over and over again but in varying lengths, not just by Mitchell but all three.
“apace” goes at a steady rhythm but the accents are placed at odd intervals, aligning with Mitchell’s serpentine lines, and the interval disparity between Mitchell, Tordini and Weiss only widens on “jostler.”
Tordini anchors “angled languor” with uneven lines, setting up a puzzle for Mitchell and Weiss to solve, and from these preconceived pieces, a whole song is constructed in real time.
Weiss frames the sweeping “zeal” with a persistent, cagey pulse pressing Mitchell to summon much of his vast arsenal of capabilities going far beyond strictly jazz and inspiring Tortini to heights as well. “cinch” displays how individual autonomy results in fluid leadership, as Weiss seizes control of the song midway through, moving it into another phase.
Songs, say like, “grail automating” have a very definable melody, but transformed by the interaction between piano, bass and drums. For that piece, it’s alchemized being speeded up, while the following “gauzy” is transfigured slowed down.
“pre-traipsed” is elusive both harmonically and rhythmically in a way that resembles mid-60s Paul Bley. “radial mazing” goes in several directions at once, as each of the three come up with their own angle to the same base concept.
Matt Mitchell blows a gaping hole into the notion that the piano/bass/drums construct in jazz has been played out. Zealous Angles goes where only the dauntless Mitchell, Tordini and Weiss can take it.
Pre-order/Order Zealous Angles from Bandcamp.
*** Matt Mitchell CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
- Jason Stein – ‘Anchors’ (2024) - September 10, 2024
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- Patricia Brennan – ‘Breaking Stretch’ (2024) - September 4, 2024
