As the world’s first, one of the few, and the premier electric bassist of the straight-jazz world, Steve Swallow has long ago carved out his niche, using this unlikely instrument to make vividly lyrical music. We’ve seen how he can impact any session he’s called into supporting, whether it’s led by Gary Burton, John Scofield, Steve Kuhn, or his longtime companion and musical kindred spirit, the esteemed Carla Bley. Impactful as he is performing as a sideman or collaborator, Swallow is a composer of nearly equal level as his mate; “Sing Me Softly of the Blues” is one of his signature tunes. And that alone is why his first solely led album for a decade is worth paying attention to.
His new project Into The Woodwork is more than that, though. This introduces on record a new version of Swallow’s quintet, a striking combination of young talent at the peak of their careers (saxophonist Chris Speed, guitarist Steve Cardenas and drummer Jorge Rossy) and a couple of jazz’s most seasoned veterans who never got past their own peaks (Swallow and Bley). Moreover, Swallow put Bley on the organ instead of her usual piano, and it’s been quite some time since Carla has last been captured playing one.
Electric bass, electric guitar and electric organ…but not a fusion record. That’s perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this album, as Swallow sought to forge together a certain combination of instruments foreign to the modern jazz space he occupies. He does this to create a subtly new sonic impression against the backdrop of Swallow’s usual discreet approach to song crafting. It’s a mellow-to-moderate album, where tunes are deceptively simple, but close listening finds the great effort that went to make them seem effortless.
There’s the frisky bop “Back In Action” which relies on Rossy’s daring on drums to make the song something more than retreading familiar ground. At the other end of the continuum lies the feathery “Sad Old Candle,” leaving Cardenas to carry the melody of ascending and descending scales. “Into The Woodwork” goes up and down, too, but with a sweetly swinging waltz. Swallow’s bass here has such bounce, vitality and a perfect tone, while Cheek’s solo is old school soulful and Cardenas’ is polished.
Swallow isn’t the long form composition master that Bley is renowned for, but he cheats a little to make it appear that way. Beginning with the fifth track “Grisly Business,” songs transition without interruption into the next songs. Furthmore, everyone get to participate as equals, because Swallow took care to write up the compositions that way.
Bley proves to be as straightforward and circumspect an organist as she is on piano; she does a prowling bass walk on “Grisly” and shapes the angularity of the song in eccentric but effective ways. She’s symphonic on “Still There,” putting Swallow’s melody in the best light. She combines with bandmates with great empathy, as on “Exit Stage Left,” for example.
Cheek puts his West Coast style sax to good use; his doleful tenor is the perfect conduit for carrying out this sad melody of “From Whom It May Concern.” His Getz-like articulations and tone lend a bagful of soul to “Small Comfort.” Cardenas, meanwhile, might lend a hint of rock noise from his guitar on numbers such as the blues romp “Unnatural Causes” and “Exit Stage Left,” but he also follows Swallow’s rapturous, high-register bass solos with guitar solos which extend directly out from Swallow’s; you can hear that happen on “Suitable for Framing.” Both he and Cheek are mature enough to caress Swallow’s balladry with reserved but emotional performances as they follow each other, on display within “Never Know.”
A career that spans all the way back to 1960 shows no sign of letting up. Steve Swallow made an organically elegant record using a lot of electricity. Meticulously conceived and yet breezily executed, Into The Woodwork is a welcome entry from Swallow and his talent-packed quintet.
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Into The Woodwork will go on sale July 16, by Xtra Watt Records, an affiliate of ECM Records.
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