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The answer to "what's new in jazz?" doesn't need to involve hippie jam-funk or a band that smarmily covers Nirvana and Radiohead. On the contrary, there are talented threads in creative improvised music popping up all over, and one of the most fertile scenes has been in Chicago.
The name of keyboardist Paul Giallorenzo is familiar to those in the Windy City who've attended the Elastic Arts series of improvised music concerts that he organizes. But for those of us who live elsewhere, releases are finally emerging that begin to document the many sides of this busy man's artistic persona.
Breakway is his electroacoustic free-improv trio, presented in a refined, European avant style (think Keith Rowe or Thomas Lehn). The closest this gets to jazz is the clattery percussion of Marc Riordan -- otherwise, the resulting scrapings, tumblings and clankings are much closer to the sound-art tradition going back to the '60s when David Tudor and Gordon Mumma first seized upon filters and ring modulators. In the case of Breakway, the electronics are mostly based on the laptop ministrations of sound designer Brian Labycz (although I'd like to find out exactly what the "breakway wand" and the "breakway box" do, as pictured on their MySpace page). But whether it's Labycz spinning out waves of gentle static and Subotnick-esque electronic tones, Riordan making his cymbals creak and whine, or Giallorenzo playing simple octaves on the piano, there's a determination to this work that's compelling, and by the conclusion of the almost Zen-like "Outtheotherside," you'd be hard-pressed to demean any of it as mere debris.
"Get In to Go Out," the pianist's jazz quintet CD on the prolific 482 label, is a very different animal, showcasing the bright cornet tones of Josh Berman and able timekeeping by drummer Frank Rosaly. True to its name, "Vacillation" kicks things off with angularity and modern classical inflections, but "Twisted Lopes" gets deep down in a swing rhythm with Giallorezno's fluid lines on the keys. "Porous" explores nebulous, plaintive atmospheres, while a track such as "Fifth Flow" is a herky-jerky offering of free-form fire and squonky sax goodness (courtesy of multi-hornist Dave Rempis). Despite its title, "Crazy Ladies" gets the listener chilled, snapping the proverbial fingers in the jazz lounge, while Ajemian's Funk (named after ubiquitous Chicago bassist Jason Ajemian, who's not on the disc -- Anton Hatwich is) gets those ladies out of their chairs with a bit of hip-twisting and head-bobbing action.
Finally, "Eternal Circle" closes out with credible solos from all and sundry, plus some lines that wouldn't be out of place on a Blue Note album -- if jazz radio doesn't pick up this track, it's missing something.
According to his bio, Giallorenzo also composes soundtracks for film, performance art, and dance, and it would be fascinating to hear what those contain. But in the meantime, he definitively and strongly makes his creative presence felt with these two albums.
-- Manny Theiner, for the Post-Gazette
Paul Giallorenzo's trio Breakway plays at 8 tonight with openers Melissa St. Pierre and Bernabo/Masterman at Monk's Place, 3634 Penn Ave. in Lawrenceville. Admission is $5.
