Month: October 2023

Music discussed:
Kate Gentile – Find Letter X
(released October 13, 2023, Pi Recordings)
The Find Letter X band:
Jeremy Viner – tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Matt Mitchell – piano, Prophet-6, modular synths, electronics
Kim Cass – acoustic & electric bass
Kate Gentile – drums, vibraphone, compositions

Kate Gentile has a lot of music to share, and 2023 is the year to listen. When TNB did this profile of Gentile in March, we noted all the projects Gentile has going on – playing on half of Matt Mitchell’s piano-drums duet album Oblong Aplomb, starting a new record label, Obliquity Records, and issuing the label’s first release, a fantastic collaboration between Gentile and the International Contemporary Ensemble. That record, biome i.i, centers Gentile’s writing for a modern classical chamber group augmented by her drumming, and would have been the highlight of any year for most artists.

Yet, there has been even more music from Gentile in 2023. She has followed up biome i.i with Flagrances (Obliquity #002), an abstract experimental album of her drums with guitarist Andrew Smiley, featuring music at the border of jazz and rock. Now, the Year of Kate continues with Find Letter X, which is both the name of the group and its new self-titled album. As discussed in this interview with Jazz Speaks, Gentile’s band played a lot in New York before the pandemic, but we’ve had to wait until now for a recording of its work. Yes, it’s worth the wait – Find Letter X is a massive 3 CDs with 41 tunes spread out over 3 hours and 16 minutes. All the compositions are by Gentile. Yet there’s really no filler on this album. Somehow, Gentile has managed to assemble a musical statement that is both more expansive and more focused than anything she’s done before. Let’s discuss just some of the music that awaits you . . .

There is a distinct identity for each “volume” of Find Letter X, and disc one (named Iridian Alphabet) picks up right where Gentile’s album 2017 Mannequins left off, with rhythmically astute and harmonically complex acoustic jazz with additional electronics from Matt Mitchell. I’ll single out the disc one track “recursive access” as an example of the inventive spirit of this project. That tune starts with a “rock” beat that is easy to dig, but the rhythm section quickly flips into a contrasting, slower tempo and then back to the groove section again, while Viner and Mitchell play the elaborate melody and solo at a speed that often contrasts that of the rhythm. Gentile accentuates this contrast by dragging the beat on the cymbal during the slow sections, allowing the energy to burst forward again when the cycle flips back to the “rock” beat. That may sound complex, but it’s not esoteric at all – Gentile builds this tune around accessible elements like swing and energy, which are immediately captivating. “recursive access” is just one example – this well-poised bridge between intricate arrangements and attention-grabbing elements is all over Find Letter X. For more of the same, check out the intense “prismatoid,” or the concluding track of the first disc “the 5th clone,” both of which feature bristling, interlocking sections and excellent solos from Mitchell on piano and Viner on tenor. So much great material, and that’s just disc one.

Disc two (called Senselessness) is a blast! I mean that literally because Senselessness is the culmination on record of Gentile’s love of metal, which she has been talking about since her 2019 interview with Hank Shteamer’s Heavy Metal BeBop. So, on Senselessness, we get the blast beats and jazz-metal we’ve been waiting for. For this disc, Cass switches to electric bass, and Mitchell’s electronics play the role that we would expect from the electric guitar – it’s all very heavy, but the compositions draw from a sophisticated and diverse musical palette, so even if you’re not a fan of metal, don’t skip this one. If you approach this as “jazz with a big jolt of energy,” you’ll enjoy it too, and just hearing the incredible drumming from Gentile is great. This disc from Find Letter X is the most successful blend of jazz and metal I’ve heard, and not to be missed!

Disc three (The Cosmic Brain) allows Gentile to play vibes as well as drums and brings back the acoustic quartet + electronics of disc one. This volume seems more open and less knotty than the first disc, features a lot of Viner’s terrific clarinet, and leans more toward the modern classical approach of biome i.i. I was amazed by all the material on this project, and the quality of the music on The Cosmic Brain did not let up one bit. Highlights include the stuttering rhythms on “bask,” the contrast of churning drums against cool clarinet on “clarion fluorescent,” and especially the precise band interaction on the epic “synaptic blazes.”

There is so much more to say about Find Letter X, but words don’t stand in well for the music, so buy it! However, I want to say something about each of the musicians on this album. First of all, the leader’s compositions and drumming reveal someone with an adventurous spirit – these tunes are not easy to play, and many, such as “Laugh Magic,” turn on the drop of a dime from one measure to the next. When I hear these tunes, I hear a challenge being made – to the band, “Can you play this?” and to the listener, “Can you dig this?” But none of it feels pretentious or abstract. Instead, Find Letter X is challenging in the best way – a playful dare. I don’t think you’ll have much trouble appreciating and enjoying what Gentile is doing here. As I said about the Snark Horse collaboration with Matt Mitchell, there’s an infectious sense of fun here.

Matt Mitchell is essential to this band. Not only are his piano and electronics prominent elements throughout Find Letter X, but his rhythmic poise and commanding solos orient the listener to the shifting environments of these tunes. Gentile gives a special thanks to Mitchell’s electronics in the liner notes, which have reached an impressive level of maturity since Mannequins. Electronics are used as intros, outros, or transitions to many of the tunes and have an essential role in giving energy to many of the melodies and supporting the accessibility of the music to the listener.

Kim Cass’ bass playing does the heavy lifting, not just for the rhythmic lines but also for the band’s sound. In a recent interview with Mike Watt (yes, that Mike Watt – bass player in Minutemen and fIREHOSE), Gentile credits Cass joining the band with forming the identity of the Find Letter X band. It’s easy to see why – on acoustic bass, Cass plays with volume and energy that propels the music and animates its texture. Check out “In Casks,” a Kim Cass feature named after him (“In Casks” = Kim Cass, get it?), which features a great bass intro and Cass’s riffs out front during the tune. Cass’ electric bass on disc two is something else – it reminds me of the prominent role of bass on prog rock albums. Disc two would not be the same without Cass’s impressive tone and quick-fingered electric bass phrasing.

Last and not least is tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Jeremy Viner. Viner’s clarinet was one of the most impressive aspects of 2017’s Mannequins, but now I’m especially bowled over by Viner’s tenor saxophone. On Find Letter X, Viner seems to be able to do everything the demanding music calls for with ease – from the unexpected balladry on “subsurface,” where the sax playing would not be out of place on one of the more avant Blue Note albums, to the high octane blowing on “laugh magic,” “ore whorls, ” or “importunate babble.” Viner does it all so well, and now is the time for more Jeremy Viner! I know he’s an essential piece of Battle Trance (their 2022 album Green of Winter is excellent), but Viner has truly arrived with his superb work on this album.

As I’ve mentioned, there is much more we could talk about, but there’s no substitute for listening – you can sample key tracks at Bandcamp or watch and listen to the preview videos that Gentile made for disc one and disc two (where you can see her creating the distinctive album art as well). If you’re in the New York area, get tickets to Roulette for the album release party on October 31. Gentile promises you’ll hear reimagined and different interpretations of the material on Find Letter X – she’s already off to the next thing! If you can’t make it to the show, there’s also a live feed at the link above, which Roulette usually archives for future viewing. Gentile is also hosting an online listening party on November 7 – you can find details at Bandcamp here. We’ll be there.

Let’s end by saying don’t be turned off by the size of this project. Yes, massive, multi-part albums are often forbidding or unnecessary. I’ve listened to many projects much shorter than this one and wished the artist had been better at self-editing. Incredibly, nothing on Gentile’s new triple album feels out of place; it’s all very strong, and I’ve kept returning to all three volumes of this compelling music. This level of ambition and execution is rare, and Find Letter X is strongly recommended – certainly one of the year’s best.

Kate Gentile’s Find Letter X – L-R Jeremy Viner, Kim Cass, Matt Mitchell, Kate Gentile; Photo credit – D. James Goodwin

(Live at Trinity Church 10/8/2023 L-R Luis Perdomo, Ugonna Okegwo, Tom Harrell, Adam Cruz)

It’s always a pleasure to see Tom Harrell live. With Harrell, that pleasure is not necessarily from the fire or virtuosity of the music, necessary ingredients for some other musicians. Harrell is now age 77, and while he’s always had plenty of chops on both trumpet and flugelhorn, his age and long-term health problems are a challenge, especially given the difficulty of playing trumpet well. But chops have never been the center of Harrell’s aesthetic anyway. Instead, he eschews pyrotechnics that are other horn player’s bread and butter for something much more profound – the ability to improvise melodically and to tell a story with music alone. Harrell has a deep and humble melodicism that is the rarest gift in music, a gift that fills Harrell’s fans and fellow musicians with reverence for what he can do with a simple phrase. This gig, presented at New York City Trinity Church on October 8th as part of the “Jazz Icons” series, was a great place to catch up with Harrell. The concert was free and open to the public, and where better to experience beauty than in a church? Trinity Church was packed with an appreciative house for an hour and twenty minutes of beautiful music in a wondrous setting.

After remarks from the church’s music director, Harrell and his regular working quartet assembled in front of the nave under soaring arches and stained glass, ready to play. But before we get to the music, let’s talk about Harrell’s excellent band! Bassist Ugonna Okegwo anchors the group and has been with Harrell for 25 years. Okegwo’s deep sound and swinging time are the band’s glue. Drummer Adam Cruz has played with Harrell for almost as long as Okegwo, from 2014’s Trip onward. In the spacious soundstage of the church, Cruz’s drums were both dynamic and detailed, and he made the band sound alive. Pianist Luis Perdomo is a more recent associate to Harrell, yet he fit into this group like a glove. Perdomo’s comping under Harrell’s lines and his solos were poised, relaxed, and beautiful. This band showed they are flexible, played with immense intuition, and each member of the rhythm section gave terrific solos.

The show started with a Tom Harrell original, “Sun Up,” which features a stuttering rhythm and the bright, cheery melody the name suggests. Live, Harrell and his band slowed the tempo, allowing Harrell to develop a relaxed two-chorus solo. Harrell’s tone was beautifully transparent, and his ideas flowed gracefully from one phrase to the next. The leisurely tempo for the opener was a good choice because, unfortunately, Harrell had difficulty with the faster tunes of the set. Although Harrell played several solos that were beautiful gems (like on the arabesque original “Delta of the Sea,” where he played with a convincing bite, or the labyrinthine “Sea,” where he played a tender solo over a gentle rubato feel from the rhythm), he seemed to be having what I guess were embouchure problems. On the faster standards the group played, such as “There Will Never Be Another You,” you could hear Harrell’s difficulty with the head of the tune and his solo. That performance was still fine and quite beautiful, but Harrell’s chops really gave him trouble with the changes on Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice.” Here, Harrell had to give up playing at the top of the third chorus of his solo, leaving the band to “hold the music in place” for the next half chorus until Cruz could conclude the tune with a commanding drum solo. At moments, you could feel the band trying to carry their leader.

The gaffe on “Moment’s Notice” might have defeated other players. But the next tune was an astounding moment of grace and resiliency. Drummer Cruz and bassist Okegwo left the stage, and Harrell played a duet with Perdomo on a tune I’d never heard before, “Journey to the Stars,” which Harrell recorded on 2012’s Number Five. After a hypnotic piano intro, Harrell played some of the most transcendent, luminous trumpet I’ve ever heard. It was a dramatic moment; Harrell was bent over, his trumpet facing straight down to the floor, while he conjured phrases that seemed to soar to the church’s vault above. The beauty and power of this performance had me in tears, and it ended with screams and cheers from the audience as Perdomo clasped his hands in respect towards his duet partner. “Journey to the Stars” was a total triumph, made even more breathtaking after the trouble that Harrell had been having executing the music only minutes before. The band then rode out the afternoon of music with the breezy “Keep On Goin” from 2016’s Something Gold, Something Blue. The whole band sounded fine again, and the performance left the crowd happy after a fascinating and moving afternoon of music.

Seeing Tom Harrell reminded me of the remarkable honesty and courage of his playing. He’s at an age where many trumpet players think about retiring due to the demands of the trumpet. Instead, Harrell has pared down his working group to a quartet without another horn to carry the weight, and has focused more and more on the trumpet rather than the easier-to-play flugelhorn (which he left at home for this gig). What’s more, he does not play rehearsed “licks” or repeat himself – live, you could see and hear him creating melodic lines in the moment, always with the risk of running out of ideas or playing bad notes. Those imperfections are part of what makes Harrell’s playing so moving – even in the face of challenges from age and his health, he embodies what is best about jazz – playing music that’s real, that embodies experience and life, and is centered on beautiful expression that comes straight from the heart (and the brain too). See him when you have the chance.