Though the music was very different, the February 28th, 2024 Main Drag show (the last Wednesday of the series before it switched to Mondays) had several elements in common with the January 10th installment that I had last reviewed. Three trios followed by two quartets again created five unique sonic spaces despite having a few players in common. This time around, however, there was more of an overarching form with the first and last sets standing out from the others.
Visiting bassist Seajun Kwon dazzled, as he always does, in the opening set alongside Jonathan Paik on keyboard and Alex Woo on drums. Familiar as I am with the microscopic detail of Kwon’s compositions, it was refreshing to hear him cut loose in this free-improv setting and explore the pure possibilities of sound. In this trio, the focus was firmly on texture. The beginning grew out of massive waves of bass drones, and Paik got right into action with flying fingers. Throughout the set, Paik’s playing made me imagine a wind-up toy, winding ever faster and slower but never coming to an abrupt stop (except at the quite sudden end). His addition of a tremolo effect led to a deeper episode where he and Kwon were matched slip for slide with twiddling knobs and grinding bow. Woo was along for the ride in all the dynamic shifts, contributing to a tight ensemble sound. The real magic of this set was the constant textural strangeness - something fascinating was always going on in the keys and/or bass. Especially with Kwon playing as powerfully as he did, this group never sounded like a “piano trio”.
The second set, by guitarist Chris Cochrane, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, and drummer James Paul Nadien, brought us straight to the volume zone. The loudness, largely coming from the guitar, was really striking after the previous set whose dynamic range had been on the softer side. Cochrane kept things very noisy, but not relentlessly so. His noise was really a patterned layer, like weather; he would storm in, and then let up to reveal what Coleman and Nadien had been doing underneath with their bubbling-over energy. For such a tempestuous set there were a few surprisingly quiet moments. Short and sweet, it ended just as abruptly as it began. Unfortunately, this set was not recorded.
As with January 10th, Stephen Gauci’s weekly trio had Adam Lane on bass and Kevin Shea on drums. This time they really got down to business from the start, with one of the wildest opening statements I’ve heard from this trio in a while. Shea really led this first section with his usual high density, nearly matched by Gauci - everyone’s ideas came closely clumped together. Gauci was in particularly bombastic form, booming in the low register - including at the very end - and filling the room with raw wind power. All three duo combinations were utilized: immersive Lane/Shea with lots of wah-pedal bass (and hammering like a punk guitar), suitably uproarious Gauci/Shea, and classic Gauci/Lane with those unmistakable, seismic harmonics. For all their histrionics, Gauci, Lane, and Shea are extremely genuine improvisers. They all feel everything they play, and they listen with their entire bodies.
Kevin Shea stayed on for the fourth set, the first of two very different quartets both including guitarist Eyal Maoz. Rounding out this all-star lineup were Yoni Kretzmer on tenor sax and Shogo Yamagishi on bass. Like Gauci’s set, this one seemed very genuine - free improv at its most satisfying. Maoz’ quirky style, full of bouncy rhythms and unpredictable effects, was a worthy match for Shea’s wildness. The tightest interplay, however, was between Maoz and Kretzmer as their lines intertwined in full-throated concord. Kretzmer’s muscular sound really packs a wallop in this reverberant space, making his melodies that much more meaningful. This was a really well-balanced quartet; no one ever got in each other’s way, and every single idea was as clear as possible. The end of the set was riveting: a huge buildup from lyrical near-ballad through a shred-blues guitar solo, with Kretzmer coming in at the last minute to cap off a crashing conclusion.
After the previous group featuring Eyal Maoz as an improviser, it was fascinating to follow this up with Maoz the composer. In this final set, he joined tenor saxophonist Igor Lumpert, electric bassist Fima Ephron, and drummer Chris Stromquist for five of his original songs. The group sound here was completely different from the first quartet, defined by Stromquist’s squeaky-clean grooves and Lumpert’s dark, rounded timbre, nearly the opposite of Kretzmer’s or Gauci’s (and of course the only electric bass of the night). Maoz’ compositions were fun and funky, full of the same sort of slippery lines that he uses in his soloing. A lot of the funk came from Ephron and Stromquist, as they laid down tight beats that really made this a “dance party” set throughout, starting with a little New Orleans flavor on the first song. The last one, with its elegant lyricism at a fast swing tempo, was a strong finish to the entire show.
Watch most of the show (sets 1, 3, 4, and 5) on Youtube!
