Fans of Chicago's incredibly prolific Ken Vandermark will no doubt appreciate the fresh angle his V5
group has placed on these nine tunes, each dedicated to a distinct artist from independent-minded
filmmaker John Cassavetes to R&B hero Otis Redding. It feels something like their double set of
Free Jazz Classics (officially
released in 2002) in its combination of focus and freedom, though
this time around there's more of a backbeat in the mix and the pieces are all written by the leader.
An impressive sixth effort.
Cohesion has always been a hallmark of this quintet, there's nothing new in that regard. The
group comes first, period. Toward the end of the soft but dark Cassavetes dedication
"Staircase,"
bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Tim Daisy engage in a slender dialogue where Kessler's
undulating, dipping melody falls evenly into a combination of regular cymbal timekeeping and
unpredictable tom hits. When the horns come back they feel like they've always been there, but by
the starkly dissonant closure they more than communicate their message.
"Honey Down" (for Rahsaan Roland Kirk) has the forward energy that marks a third
of these
pieces. Short unison horn phrases over uneven, off-the-beat rhythms crash into an urgent
Coltrane-esque saxophone melody, which then segues directly into rough, jubilant funk. Daisy is
most impressive here in his ability to keep the rhythm in the pocket without ever letting it become
expected.
Timid listeners will likely squirm by the time the sharp and noisy "Confluence" (for
Sonny
Rollins) comes around to close the record. The group does not hold back here. Of course, their
ability to gallop unbridled through periods of energy and free-ish improv has never been a
shortcoming. But true to the spirit of Sonny, they balance warmth with more than a hint of a spiritual
call. (It's too late to
get the limited edition live Rollins tribute that came with the first 1500 copies of the record, sorry.)
As a conceptual project, Airports for Light is an unqualified success. It takes many listens
to fully appreciate the relationships between the tunes and the dedicatees, altogether a fun game
that reveals layers of meaning in the music. The record might not be the most consistent thing the
V5 has ever done, but that's not really the point, I think.
Visit www.atavistic.com.
~ Nils Jacobson
