Max Light Trio Herplusme

Max Light Trio
Herplusme
Red Piano Records

I write this on the day (April 16, 2020) Max Light was supposed to perform at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Museum's Take 5 series. Alas, the performance was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Light, a guitarist from the Washington DC area, is now resident in New York City. Light finished in second place in the 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Jazz Competition. The rest of the trio consists of Simón Willson on bass and Matt Honor on drums. Light has written eight compositions with performances that emphasize ensemble interplay. The inspiration for many of these is growing up and childhood memories.

There are moments where Light leads with some abstract pointed phrases. Other moments find him sounding more lyrical. There are some echoes in Simón's bass solo, while Honor deconstructs and restores a groove on the opening "Boy." One might suggest Light's approach is part of a post-Abercombrie generation of guitarists. By the end of "Boy," there is a mesmerizing quality to the performance. "Overcrooked" is inspired by a skateboarding trick as well as subdivision. This latter point is shown by Light's shifting between subdivision of 4, 5, 6, and 7 sixteen notes per quart note. The result is an unstable, unsettling groove but intriguing track. In contrast, Light plays in a more genial, lyrical manner on a ballad, "Pumpkin Pie."

Other selections bring together shifting rhythms with melodic phrases that sometimes segue into no-time changes segments. They also may employ unusual time signatures with the trio's members playing off each other in an engaging manner. For example, "Baby's Hard Times," utilizes a 13/8 meter, but also has some of Light's most imaginative soloing. "The Things You" is a radical recomposition of the standard "All the Things You Are." This recomposition involved the removal of some bars from the piece. A result is that the song seems familiar yet strange.

This is Light's debut recording and brings forth a fresh and unique approach. It is a recording that had me awaiting the now-postponed performance. Hopefully, the wait for his live performances will not extend too far in the future. His website is MaxLightGuitar.com.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Max Light's semi-final set at the Hancock Institute Jazz Guitar Competition.

Earprint Easy Listening

Earprint
Easy Listening
Endectomorph Music

Earprint is a quartet of improvising musicians-trumpeter Tree Palmedo, saxophonist Kevin Sun, bassist Simón Willson, and drummer Dor Herskovits. "Easy Listening" is the second album by the quartet, that in the words of liner notes writer Jacob Shulman, "see modern jazz as an invitation to unleash their creativity, their modern-day influences, and their vision of what a jazz quartet can sound like, which is loosely tethered to the blues but shares the same root system." Shulman further observes that the blues is an important "river" for Earprint, with the streams of both rock and jazz (two major descendants of the blues) playing roles in their sound. "The rough energy of Nirvana meets the transcendent progressivism of Mark Turner; psychedelic tinges of Jimi Hendrix recolor the counterpoint of Thelonious Monk."

Each of the four members contributed compositions for this piano-less quartet. What is impressive is that Earprint, with instrumentation akin to the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet, produces music that mixes elements of freedom with a deep melodic underpinning. Listening to a selection like "Toupée," the band builds a lyrical quality from the horn harmonies. This is not to give short shrift to the players' individual qualities. The spirited "Big Bear" allows Palmedo and Sun to display the fire they can bring before Dor Herskovits' concise drum solo closes the performance. Sun's "Silo" enables Palmedo to display his frayed-toned lyricism. Sun adds counterpoint and the horns riff in unison while Willson solos over Herskovits' rhythmic accents. Then there is the charm of Willson's "Easy Listening," with its delightful Caribbean rhythms supporting the concise improvisations from the horns and the interplay between the horns and the rhythm section.

"Easy Listening" brings together a first-rate group with exceptional soloists on a program of intriguing compositions. The result is this outstanding recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a performance by Earprint.