Epstein/ Shepik/ Kilmer - Lingua Franca

Songlines 1555-2

Saxophonist Peter Epstein augers top-billing on the tray card, but Lingua Franca is really more of a communal affair. Guitarist Brad Shepik shares composing duties and Matt Kilmer supplies the array of supple rhythms integral to the music’s forward and lateral motion with a battery of drums. The title points not only to a common vernacular but also to the prevalence of precedence in both general approach and results. The trio’s blend of earthy ethnic influences, jazz, funk, blues and even a bit of New Age isn’t exactly nascent territory. They do manage to posit a shared personal perspective on the standard ethno-jam template. The outcome is nearly always enjoyable, but sometimes precariously familiar in scope and sound.

A pervasive pepper motif and pictures of what look like harvested Aji Escabeches grace the liners. The cover captures a scene from what looks to be an Andean delicatessen. Musical capital from that region of the globe fuses with the trio’s Radical Jewish Culture preoccupations to extract a stew rich in Old World and Third World seasonings that is occasionally a tad overcooked. Shepik’s sharp comping and precision arpeggios on “Miro” weave with Epstein’s slippery alto as Kilmer lays down a hand-jive groove via brushed frame drum. Shepik’s habit of shaping shimmering, often deliquescent lines that recall those of his Lower East Side colleague Mark Ribot lend the much of the music a wistful, even ethereal air, like the zephyrs swirling around the verdant slopes of a cloud-capped Peruvian peak.

“Témoin” turns attention back to sea level terra firma with another perambulating blend of percolating palmed percussion and fast-picking guitar. Epstein’s soprano rides the syncopations, but frequently cleaves too cleanly to the central melody, his tone anemic when a sharper, more tensile articulation might serve better. “Here & There” finds Shepik fingering the upper frets of his axes both acoustic and electric, shaving strips of bent notes in swift succession as his partners respond with agile atmospheric commentary. After a Shepik preface “Monsaraz” is mostly Epstein’s show, a vehicle for his Eastern-oriented soprano, solo and in nimble concert with guitarist’s hummingbird plectrum. Here and host of other places the pair attain a surprising level of congruity in shadowing each other’s lines.

“Sunrise” introduces a rubbery reggae beat and a brittle Rastafari guitar line and the trio adjusts its sensibilities accordingly in fleshing a convincing island vibe. “Meditation” morphs from the restrained mold of an opening reverie into a driving volley of processed guitar, cymbal crashes and piercing soprano. The SACD also includes a bonus track “Improvisation I” that travels a similar transformative course from delicate calliope opening to aqueous electronics-laden finish.

Tractable turns in structure and ideation are numerous but ultimately much of the program ends up sounding too much of a piece. Variety and experimentation are limned within relatively narrow parameters. As a tight and responsive trio willing to embrace a wide swathe of sources these musicians are more than equipped. But I caught myself longing for more fire and bite to their creations, flavor in common with the peppers that serve as the album’s visual analogue.

~ Derek Taylor