KLANG is an all-star ensemble from Chicago's underground cadre that wants to form a perfect union within their broad sound palette. Clarinetist James Falzone and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz are leaders in their own right (check out other Allos records, or
Varmint on the Cuneiform label), teaming up here for music that keeps within progressive jazz while also touching on post-bop with a topping of Middle Eastern ethnic sounds. Back-and-forth concepts that display 180-degree twists and turns always keep the music provocative and daring. Falzone's passion for the adaptations of liturgical church music he regularly performs, and his love for the late
Jimmy Giuffre, merge with the fertile, developing modern style of
Adasiewicz, while expert rhythm navigators
Jason Roebke (bass) and Tim Daisy (drums) always add infinite color shadings to each track, no matter the specific style or fusions involved. Falzone is dominant on compositions by sheer numbers, with three from
Roebke, one by Daisy, and surprisingly none by the vibist. The clean, swinging, cute ditty "G.F.O.P." might lead you to thinking mainstream jazz is their only forte, but listening to "Fickle," with its hard bop-to-Mediterranean tone switching on and off suggests there's more brewing. This here/there precept continues during the fast bop, disintegrating into nothing for "Oolong with Multiplicity"; "#32 Busonius" bursts out with a harmolodic
Ornette Coleman line, then goes into free discourse; and "Dwarfs" uses a tandem clarinet/vibes line as fun to hear as it must be to play. Again bop is at the center of "China Black" in a simpler form, but "No Milk" has a staggered swing with a dollop of whimsy, Falzone and
Adasiewicz lockstep in melodic beauty, and features Daisy on a consistently thoughtful and absorbing solo. There are some placid moments as on the ballad "Giants," "Lament on Ash Wednesday" which speaks for itself, the downer "Last Love Song," and the solemn "Klang" in two versions contradicting its title. Don't let their name fool you into thinking KLANG clashes, smashes, and bashes their way through life and this music. More a cooperative sonance based on feelings sometimes bold and at others non-plussed, this extremely talented quartet have everything it takes to be a major force on the creative improvised music scene for a long time.
Tea Music comes highly recommended, no matter your beverage preference. ~ Michael G. Nastos