Last Monday, I received an email from a friend asking if I was planning to see Thumbscrew at City of Asylum two days later. I replied that I didn't know they were coming but, now that I was informed, yes I would be there. About an hour later I received an email from Alphabet City/City of Asylum about it. Stop last-minuting me, people!
The last time Thumbscrew (left to right above: Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara) came here, they were part of a three-night residency that featured Halvorson in three different settings - solo, as part of Fujiwara's the Hook Up band and with Thumbscrew. The trio's set started an hour earlier than originally planned and an email was sent out that afternoon about three hours before start time. Not having checked that email (the one I use for writing), I didn't know, so I missed all but about 20 minutes of the show. (There was a silver lining though, because I met a fellow jazz enthusiast from Erie who knows my family up there.)
I'm mentioning all this because it meant I was really looking forward to Wednesday's show. The trio had already been in town for about a week, once again working on new material and preparing to record it at Mr. Small's. (Their sophomore album, Convallaria, was recorded here under the same circumstances). The set consisted of brand new material they had been workshopping, three songs by each member of the group.)
Thumbscrew is an captivating group because each member of the group has a distinct musical personality that comes through, even if the compositions sound a little more conventional that what they've done elsewhere. Sometimes it's hard to figure out where to focus your attention. That doesn't mean things sound busy. There is just a lot of activity happening.
One piece later in the set (which didn't get announced) sounded like a ballad, yet there were still spots where Halvorson used her pedal to bend the notes. It was easy to identify her as the composer of "Thumbprint" due to the characteristic bright lines that guided it. Fujiwara worked all over his kit, incorporating woodblocks, switching cymbals between tunes to get a particular tone - always managing to create a groove, even if he played a little more abstractly, or followed the melody on his kit. And Formanek slayed, as always, running up and down the neck with ease, stopping to create a double (or was it triple) stop that sounded rich and mighty. At the end of the night, I picked up his solo bass disc, Am I Bothering You?, and I'm looking forward to hearing it.
Another strong quality about this trio is the comfort level they exude. They were having a good time and felt familiar with us. I regret not writing down the entire title of the final track of the set but I thought Formanek was kidding at first. It begins with "Nine Words that Rhyme with Spangle..." and he rattled them all off. Look for it on the sleeve when the disc finally comes out.
They encored with a piece by a Brazilian composer because, in addition to writing new works, they're also doing an album of other people's music. The blend of that style of writing and this group showed them in a different light, really digging into the rhythm and harmony of that work. Great encore.
Speaking of solo basses, I never got to post about the return of bassist Lindsey Horner to Pittsburgh for a show that happened two weeks ago today.
Horner set up with drummer Jeff Berman at the Point Breeze, an intimate little eatery which is in the 'hood of its name. He recently released an album One More Forever, which is half solo and half of the duo of him and Berman and they played a number of the tunes on that disc.
In the early 2000s, Horner lived in Pittsburgh playing with a number of different groups. One I recall was Always Know, with Ben Opie, Dave Throckmorton and Jay Willis, where they played compositions from the later periods of Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus. But prior to coming to town, he played in New York doing a variety of musics, from jazz to traditional Irish/Celtic music. He appeared on the title track of one of my favorite albums, Bobby Previte's Pushing the Envelope.
His set, and the new album, casts a wide net that touches on people he's played with (there are dedications) or inspired him, and some representative covers. "What Might Have Been" was really lyrical, with a melodic fragment that reminded me of the descending opening line of "La Vie en Rose," though Horner said that was coincidental. "Long Time Comin'/Long Time Gone" paid tribute to the great Milt Hinton with a deep groove. For Monk's "Let's Cool One," they took it in 7/4, which kept me guessing thanks to the way Berman was spreading the groove over the bar line. Throughout both sets, Berman was a skilled partner in crime. In one tune, he played just a shaker and a brush and it sounded awesome.
One More Forever was released by Upshot Records. Go to lindseyhorner.com to check it out. Solo bass albums, bad jokes aside, might not be something people don't regard that seriously but Formanek and Horner know how to keep you riveted to the music. I recently purchased the four-disc version of John Coltrane's Concert in Japan which has more Jimmy Garrison solos on it and it has helped me appreciate when the instrument stands alone.
In other weekend music news -- I've been out several nights this week -- there was something of an Oud Fest at Hambone's on Friday night. Tomchess, from New York, came with his trio, playing the 11-string instrument in a setting that incorporated jazz improvisation and Middle Eastern vamps. He was bookended by Tom Moran, playing solo in a manner that evoked spaghetti westerns and meditation,frequently letting notes hang in the air and slowly decay. King Fez closed the evening out, with a show that combined hand percussion, electric guitars and bass and a bellydancer. Their oud was electrified (like Moran's) and had some qualities of surf guitar.
Moran told me later in the evening that it isn't a remote comparison. Dick Dale grew up playing this type of music and it was a key part in his brand of surf rock. As time goes on, I keep finding proof that different types of music, and the people who play, have closer connections that we might initially think.
Last night, I was over at the offices of Get Hip Records, in their performance space to check out the release part of Zack Heim. Normally found fronting the Nox Boys, Heim has a solo acoustic album out now on Get Hip's new folk series. His story is going to be in City Paper in a few weeks so more about him later.
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