(after)
Adhyâropa, 2024
9/10
The 9th album from the composer, saxophonist and clarinetist Aaron Irwin, the 9 tracks here recruit Mike Baggetta and Jeff Hirshfield for songs rooted in poetry and that revolve around jazz.
“Recuerdo (after Edna St. Vincent Millay)” starts the listen with warm guitar and cozy sax for the soothing delivery, and “Frederik Douglass (after Robert Hayden)” follows with an intimate mood, where eloquent wordplay suits the soulful sax.
Halfway through, “The Hill (after Joshua Mehigan)” uses strategic clarinet amid Hirshfield’s light drumming for a building climate, while “When I Heard At The Close Of The Day (after Walt Whitman)” is an upbeat and frisky delivery of flowing clarinet, lively drums and Baggetta’s spirited guitar work.
Close to the end, “Daniel Boone (after Stephen Vincent Benét)” benefits from a very precise minimalism that meshes the low wind with meticulous guitar progressions, and “The President Visits The Storm (after Shane McCrae)” exits with a dizzying and buzzing demeanor of thicker rock tendencies.
A body of work rooted in melancholy, effervescence and anxiety fueled chaos, the sprinkling of voices into the unpredictable musicianship is highly articulate, powerful and atypically creative.
Travels well with: Dana Kaufman- Emily & Sue; Danny Fox Trio- Time Took Care Of It