This album lead by pianist/composer David Chesky is being billed as a “new twist” on what used to be termed “Third Stream” music, essentially a mix of jazz and classical that was a big deal in the late 50s and promoted by guys like George Russell, Gunther Schuller and Stan Kenton. I never got into all of that “serious” approach to jazz, and this hip little session doesn’t need any background info. The rest of the quintet features a first rate group of guys: Billy Drummond/dr, Javon Jackson/ts, Jeremy Pelt/tp and Peter Washington/b, and if you want any history lesson, the dark, spacious and moodily modal pieces such as “Broadway” “Grooves from the Underground” and the title track sound more like what I thought Miles Davis material like Bitches Brew and In A Silent Way were going to sound like when I was looking for the roots of my obsession with Weather Report back in the 70s.
The songs here and undulating, cooly driving pieces with searching solos provided by a Pelt and Jackson that sound like they’re having the times of their lives. Pelt pierces the ice like a sharp tool on “American Culture” and Jackson gurgles like the La Brea Tar Pits on “Transcendental Tripping.” Spacy, spacious and wonderfully eerie as it percolates like risotto with onions.
Chesky Records
www.chesky.com