KLANG: Tea Music
Allos Documents, 2009

AVANT-GARDE – This quartet of Chicago improvisers draws primary inspiration from the early 1950s music of Jimmy Giuffre, as well as the clarinet/vibes quartets of Benny Goodman and Eric Dolphy. But all the music here is original, with a bright, shimmering tone, a deft blend of inside/outside playing, and a skewed sense of humor. Cool stuff!

* * * * | Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11

1. 3:18 – a goofy, lumpy swing slides into oblique, honking interplay
2. 5:16 – quick glide becomes loose jumble, quiet space, thick walk, returns
3. 4:36 – mysterious drum pattern, slow clarinet/vibes, ambient bass squeaks
4. 5:42 – slouching melody, then wide open improv: gets scribbly, somber, low
5. 2:12 – sneaky little ditty gives way to quick drum patter, comes back
6. 4:16 – lazy ballad: played straight but with a booming, oblique bass solo
7. 4:03 – off-center swing spars with odd little breaks, then jolly free playing
8. 4:19 – slow, melancholy: solo bass break mixes big tone & silence
9. 5:35 – happy, twisty melody, drifts into disorientation, winding boppy solos
10. 3:02 – slooow tune gets caught on spiky vibes, drifts lazily
11. 5:20 – perky stroll wanders into bad neighborhood: cool, layered improv
12. 1:39 – slow, thick, sloughs along and fades away

[ Fo ] 10/04/09