Christopher Hoffman – “What Comes” (featuring Henry Threadgill), from the album Vision Is The Identity
Listen to “What Comes” at Apple Music
Listen to “What Comes” at Spotify
(Out Of Your Head Records, released March 22, 2024)
Personnel on Vision Is The Identity: Christopher Hoffman – cello, electric cello, drum programming & synth; Frank LoCrasto – keyboards; Bill Campbell – drums; Henry Threadgill – alto saxophone (track 2); Ryan Scott – guitar (tracks 2 & 6); Anna Webber – flute (track 5); Alfredo Colón – EWI (track 7)
Sometimes, even amidst a fantastic album, one composition or song will stand out and demand your attention. On Christopher Hoffman’s new album Vision Is The Identity, I had that experience with the track “What Comes.” I’m not focusing on “What Comes” to suggest the rest of Vision Is The Identity isn’t great – far from it; I’m excited about this record as much as any in 2024 – it’s uniformly excellent! Each of its seven tracks is a compressed statement, and at 24 minutes, Vision Is The Identity is a wonderful example of only releasing the most impactful, potent content. But even on such a strong release, “What Comes” stands out, and I want to focus on this track – and my love for it is only partly for its star-featured soloist – but we’ll get to that.
“What Comes” perfectly distills the strengths of its creator, cellist Christopher Hoffman. If you are unfamiliar with Hoffman, his interview with PostGenre is an excellent place to start. There, Hoffman describes how, as a young musician, he was in the Suzuki program learning classical music, but ultimately, he “didn’t want to play in an orchestra” and looked for a more individualistic path. That decision led him to the improvised “jazz” world and approaches to cello that eschew the norm for the instrument. For example, Hoffman’s 2018 album Multifariam uses both acoustic and electronic backgrounds, a trajectory Hoffman continues with Vision Is The Identity. With his new album, he creates tracks utilizing synthesizers, keyboards, and programmed beats on top of acoustic drums. Then, he often plays his cello with pedal effects, making his instrument sound like a distorted guitar or sometimes like a bass. Frequently, on Vision Is The Identity, the distortion on Hoffman’s cello catapults the energy of the music to another level.
Hoffman’s nonconformist direction is embodied in his association with the most iconoclastic musician alive, Henry Threadgill. Hoffman plays in Threadgill’s band Zooid and has appeared on six of Threadgill’s albums so far. Threadgill’s music has often used the cello, starting with the Sextett of the 1980s, where Deidre Murray’s careening, explosive solos often dominated the music. More recently, Hoffman has filled the cello chair with his intense sound and rhythm, and you can hear him on standout Threadgill tracks like “Ceroepic” and “Dosepic” from In for a Penny, In for a Pound (2015), “Part 2” from Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (2017), and “Come and Go” from Poof (2021). All those performances feature dynamic playing from Hoffman, who has been part of the formula for the new heights that Threadgill has reached over the last decade.
Now, Threadgill returns the favor with his feature appearance on “What Comes,” where he plays a solo that reminds me of the unparalleled power improvised music can have. Here is what I’m hearing, but as always, the real point is for you to listen along, so by all means, hit the link above: Threadgill plays on the second half of the opening chorus and then a four chorus solo from 0:26 to 2:10 – you can really hear his gloriously acidic and intense tone throughout the performance. That sound is the first thing you notice about Threadgill; it’s a sound that occupies a unique emotional space in music. I love how Threadgill balances his phrases with dramatic spaces for breath, which only intensifies the emotional wallop. In his last half chorus, Threadgill plays an idea (1:58-2:03) that’s one of his characteristic rhythmic phases, which drives the solo home dramatically. I’m fascinated by this kind of phrase that is a soloist’s calling card, and which is much more than a mere “lick.” These ideas, honed through the crucible of practice and imagination, are compressed musical ideas used to intensify the rhythm, project a forceful melody, and reorient the direction of the music. In Threadgill’s rhythmic phrase, I hear a connection to a great tradition, which is the provenience of alto sax players like Bird, Ornette, Julius Hemphill, Jackie McLean, and others. Threadgill is part of that lineage, but he’s startlingly unique, too. You can only listen to his playing in wonder.
But Threadgill’s playing is far from the only amazement in “What Comes,” which showcases Hoffman’s craft at creating a setting to elevate all the players on this album. One of the things I enjoy about this track, and Vision Is The Identity overall, is how non-traditional it sounds, and how exciting the electronic settings are. “What Comes” opens with four bars of Frank LoCrasto’s keyboards, played out of tempo and using a memorable reverb that sets an eerie tone. The rest of the opening chorus uses Hoffman’s programmed beats, giving way to acoustic drums played by Bill Campbell for the rest of the performance.
“What Comes” has an interesting rhythm track, which layers Ryan Scott’s guitar and LoCrasto’s keyboards to create a gorgeous shimmering sound. I also love how Hoffman has chosen the solo order – Threadgill’s dramatic solo is followed by a keyboard solo by LoCrasto, whose restrained, emotionally calmer sound is the perfect release after the intensity before. After LoCrasto’s three breezy choruses, Hoffman’s distorted cello comes in, ramping up the tension and the urgency again. The combination of the distortion pedal on the cello (Hoffman is credited to both “cello” and “electric cello”) and the note choices drive the performance back into an intense peak that he sustains through the out chorus. “What Comes” also features guitarist Ryan Scott, who is a big part of the sound and elevates the music without getting in the way. He plays exciting counterpoint during Threadgill’s solo, creating an intriguing sonic landscape throughout the track. What I especially dug is the spooky overtones Scott gets out of his guitar near the start of the performance and again on the out chorus. His playing combines beautifully with Threadgill’s, and together, they create an incredible sound that I just not have been able to get out of my head.
I hope you do not mind over 1100 words on one song. Music this rich and that says so much deserves to be played multiple times and studied. It’s a valuable exercise to listen over and over and try to understand what’s going on to the best of your ability and experience. You test yourself and start to unlock the mysteries and meaning in the grooves. As I said above, I recommend “What’s Comes” and the entire album Vision Its The Identity. Each track is a standout, but I’ll also mention Anna Webber’s incredible flute on “Better & Better,” the riot of LoCrasto’s keyboards and EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) by Alfredo Colón on the closer “Farewell Forever,” and the cinematic processed electronics on “It Is Done.” Also, I need to mention the fantastic album art by TJ Huff, which is the perfect match for the gripping music. While it lasts, check out Bandcamp’s merch, which includes a cool sweatshirt and stickers with the iconic cover art, and pick up a copy on vinyl.
Very striking cover art by TJ Huff!