Sound in Action Trio - Gate

Atavistic 160

Self-criticism comes surprisingly easy to Ken Vandermark. Where a self-conscious leader might seek to obfuscate weaknesses, Vandermark confronts them candidly and without artifice. He has remarked repeatedly on the superior prowess of his frequent frontline partner Dave Rempis and his ongoing struggles with mastering the complexities of harmony. Melody, and especially rhythm, are more his forte. As such, his encounters with drummers mark some of the standout entries in his discography. The Sound in Action Trio speaks to these strengths better than most by installing his modest assembly of reeds atop a dual drummer chassis.

The most noteworthy change in the three-year interim between this recent disc and Design in Time, its predecessor on Delmark, is the presence of Tim Daisy in place of Tim Mulvenna. On balance, Daisy is a more aggressive and direct player. He makes for a galvanizing match with the returning Robert Barry, whose own style at an economy-sized kit can perhaps best be encapsulated as idiosyncratic. Daisy does not shrink from Barry’s more eccentric metrics. Instead, he meets the older drummer head on, pressing him to some of his most productive work on record. Vandermark also sounds sparked by the driving tandem at his flanks, reveling in the compounded rhythmic energy like the surfer feeding off the kinetic force of a wave.

Taped in 2003, Gate predates Vandermark’s recent moratorium on repertory pieces so the program includes a handful of “free jazz classics” culled from the songbooks of New Thing notables. Predictably, the five originals are all dedicated to drummers. “Red Cross” and “Side Car”, tagged for Elvin Jones and Tony Williams respectively, are vigorous features for the patented Vandermark hardboiled tenor. On each, rhythmic riffs spill from his horn’s bell in bellicose honks. Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” is similarly suited to this sort of zealous approach and the drummers respond to the unfettered ebullience with parallel barrages of polyrhythms that echo Elvin’s halcyon days with the composer. Moody bass clarinet pieces like Dolphy’s “The Prophet” and “Slate” serve as cooling boards between more strenuous saxophone numbers.

Among the covers, it is a treat to hear Barry target his sticks on Sun Ra’s “Englightment”, a tune he no doubt played frequently during his 1950s tenure with the Saturnian. Ayler’s “Love Cry”, rendered on baritone, is reverential in execution, twining malleted kits bracketing a somber then joyous sax encomium that marches down the center. The set closes with left field selection, a faithful rendering of Herbie Nichols “House Party Starting” that builds from springy teeter-tottering cadences and more cottony Vandermark clarinet. Naysayers of the man’s personalized musical province will probably not have their opinions swayed by this disc, but those with fondness for Vandermark’s conscientious sound will find a fair amount to relish in this far from tapped out configuration.

~ Derek Taylor