I first saw the House of Waters trio opening for Snarky Puppy a few months ago in LA, and the fact that the lead instrument was a hammer dulcimer grabbed my attention. Somehow, Max ZT has turned something usually associated with UK folk music into a viable sound for modern jazz ears. I was determined to check them out in more detail next time he came around, and here he was , in a more intimate and sonically attuned environment.
He’s teamed up with electric 6 stringed bassist Moto Fukushima and drummer Juan Chiavassa, and while ZT has been dubbed “ The Jimi Hendrix of the hammer dulcimer”, it really doesn’t fit. After taking in the 75 minute set, he’s more akin to the dulcimer’s answer to Keith Jarrett, as his level of intuitive improvisation and lyrical dynamics makes him a hammering wonder of the jazz world.
Focusing on material from their album On Becoming, the team opened with “Avaloch” and “705”, mixing in deep rivulets of grooves, yet veering in and out of each other’s ways like race car drivers with fluid interplay. Fukushima delivered a soft intro to the latter while ZT created sounds like a musical Marco Polo, traversing sonic continents with tones of a harp, piano, bouzouki and koto. The team created tensions that built up and released on “ Hang In The Air” as ZT and Fukushima wove in and out of each other like a Raphaelesque tapestry.
Even the freely improvised piece had a cohesive and melodic appeal, as Chiavassa’s brushes served as guides around the soft tip toes of the dreamy strings.
ZT then delivered a chiming solo intro that mixed Asian ambiance to yearning intensity as drums and bass kicked in for an exciting and dramatic gallop on “Raindrops” . The closing “The Wall” rollicked with a deep R&B groove supplied by the rhythm team, as ZT relentlessly hammered out a relentless theme around some rumbling drum soloing.
The fact that three musicians could make such a kaleidoscope of sounds was astounding in itself. The fact that it was accomplished by an instrument foreign to the jazz world was even more impressive. At times, the band sounded like the first generation of Weather Report, with a freewheeling, propulsive and experimental sound, searching for new lands to explore. Where will this band end up? Not sure, but I’d sure like them to come back to Ventura!
Upcoming shows at The Grape Ventura include Kelly’s Lot 11/16 (afternoon), Jeff Lorber Fusion 11/18, Dan Barrett 11/30 and Jim Fox 12/06