feature photo: Julian Parker-Burns
When a quartet of four of the finest in the current jazz vanguard convene to make a record, it’s time to sit up and take notice.
Not as well-known as another progressive jazz band featuring Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara, Illegal Crowns still demands that kind of attention. The respective guitarist and drummer for Thumbscrew combine with Taylor Ho Bynum (trumpet) and Delbecq (piano) to form this less-heralded supergroup that’s just as potent.
Following a couple of Illegal Crowns releases via RogueArt in the mid-late 2010s, these hotshots are finally able in 2023 to put forward their third album, Unclosing (Out Of Your Head Records).
There’s so much familiarity among these musicians, finding simpatico couldn’t have been hard. Fujiwara, Halvorson and Bynum are all Anthony Braxton alumni, and in addition to the Thumbscrew connection, Halvorson has played in Bynum’s Sextet and Bynum has been a part of Fujiwara’s Triple Double. Paris-based Delbecq has worked cohesively with scores of the best jazz musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
Four prize improvisers who also excel at group dynamism, Illegal Crowns is a true cooperative, underscored by three compositions a piece offered by Fujiwara, Delbecq and Halvorson. Considering the avant-garde pedigree of the four, some of these songs are relatively accessible while still staying close to the edge. Fujiwara’s “Crooked Frame” is a prime example of that, a theme simple enough to grasp but also providing the foundation for brazen solos from Halverson and Bynum. Delbecq, meanwhile, deftly guides the boat back to calmer waters. “Soul of the Grey” dispenses with solos altogether, more than getting by on Halvorson’s graceful melody.
The quartet holds interest throughout the set of recordings because they keep changing tactics and confounding expectations. Mary Halvorson’s “Unclosing” fragmented piece gets pampered by Bynum’s muted cornet with everyone subscribing to the ‘less is more’ mantra. Delbecq sets forth a staggered tempo for his “Triple Fever,” freeing up Fujiwara from strict timekeeping while Bynum is at his most untethered self. Tomas Fujiwara uses his trap kit’s tonal palette effectively to establish exotic colors for “Freud and Jung Go Cycling,” as Halvorson and Bynum playfully joust.
Delbecq puts his own imprint on Halvorson’s “Osmosis Crown” as the guitarist practically encourages the other bandmates to take leadership roles in shaping her circular, marching song. The outside jazz piece “Les Motset les Choses” begins with a Bynum/Fujiwara séance and moves on from there with peak performances from Delbecq and Halvorson.
Illegal Crowns’ new set of recordings Unclosing is the maximal, forward-minded jazz that results when everyone in the band is advanced composers and prodigious improvisers. Order/pre-order your copy from Bandcamp.
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