feature photo: Amy Touchette
Jazz’s foremost super trio Thumbscrew is out with another stunner. Michael Formanek (bass), Mary Halvorson (guitar) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums, vibraphone) are three of the most widely respected and busiest musicians in jazz of the last ten or so years, but still manage to combine to put out singularly great music at a regular pace, doing so again in late September of 2024.
Wingbeats (Cuneiform Records) is their fifth album in six years. Their elusive sound radically mixes studied with spontaneity, and they keep it fresh by incorporating fresh novel ideas each time around, with Wingbeats representing yet another step forward.
“Wingbeats,” the song, proceeds on top of Fujiwara’s Morse code rhythmic development, marrying a relatively simple melody to a complex beat structure. “Greenish Tents” shows another side of Halvorson’s composing prowess: a carefully played piece that showcases Fujiwara’s vibes twined so intricately with guitar and bass it’s sometimes impossible to hear each instrument alone. Formanek follows a similar strategy for “Somewhat Agree,” emphasizing the close harmonizing between Fujiwara’s vibraphone and Halvorson’s single note guitar.
So clearly, everyone is bringing their best, most imaginative songwriting game to the table. Fujiwara works backwards for “Irreverent Grace,” starting it with a sensitive Formanek solo from which the lissome theme springs forth and carefully elaborated on by Halvorson. Interestingly, Formanek’s “How May I Inconvenience You Today?” also uses a bass solo as an introductory section leading into the main passage. Halvorson serves up the motif before her unparalleled single line fretwork takes flight.
There is a lot of secret sauce that goes into Thumbscrew’s music but their strongest attribute might be the most elemental: they play so well together, as a unit. “Wayward” underscores the close coordination between bassist and guitarist, Formanek placing perfect counterpoints to Halvorson’s thoughtfully unforced sliding over from note to note. “Knots” is one of those Thumbscrew partitioned pieces that begins with a tight funk construction perfectly delivered by Formanek and Fujiwara that they revisit for the ending section, loosening up in between with Halvorson riding up and down the chord progression and the drumming going in many directions at once.
And lastly as a hat-tip to the recent, 100th anniversary of Charles Mingus’ birthday, the group chose to put their own spin on Mingus’ “Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk,” a bluesy number that Mingus played with numerous tempo variations that changed each time he played it. The degree of freedom in how the song is traditionally carried out suits Thumbscrew perfectly as they similarly play it in accordance to what they’re feeling at the moment.
As one of the most vital jazz ensembles on the scene today, Thumbscrew is still capable of surprising and dazzling listeners eight albums in, but you will still never mistake them for anyone else. With Wingbeats, they continue to outdo themselves.
Pick up Wingbeats now from Bandcamp.
*** Thumbscrew CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
- Thumbscrew – ‘Wingbeats’ (2024) - October 2, 2024
- How Toto Set the Stage for Success With the Overlooked ‘Hydra’ - September 30, 2024
- Joel Frahm Trio, “Vesper Flights” from ‘Lumination’ (2024): Video premiere - September 27, 2024
