Pianist Craig Taborn brings together Chris Speed/ts-cl, Dave King/dr and Chris Lightcap/b for a communicative display of freedom within loose forms. The quartet creates dreamy moods that expand and coalesce, as Speed sighs on his tenor over Taborn’s dark piano on the floating title track or the two go in unison with a restless rhythmic undercurrent on “The Shining One.” Lightcap does some pizzicato work on the loose gravel of “Ancient” and gets perky with the team as they bop with muscle on “Abandon.” Some dream sequences are produced with Speed’s clarinet as King’s brushes create soft clouds on “Jamaican Farewell” and the leader forms open spaces on “The Great Silencer.” A mix of prismatic light and kinetics pull back and forth on this thoughtful release.
ECM Records