Yikes Too
Out Of Your Head, 2025
9/10
The always unpredictable Tim Berne finds himself in a trio setting with Tom Rainey and Gregg Belisle-Chi, and it makes for a double album where half of the songs are studio and the other half were captured live in Seattle in March, 2024.
“Oddly Enough” starts the listen with Berne’s lively sax amid Rainey’s wild drumming for the lively opener, and it isn’t long until “Yikes” allows for Belisle-Chi’s intricate guitar playing to complement the calm versus busy bouts.
Further along, “Bat Channel” trims the pace back with Berne’s soulful sax front and center, while “Sorry Variations” makes great use of Rainey’s adaptable drums for a timeless jazz appeal.
On the live portion, the powerful sax of “Curls” builds into a dizzying display, though it’s the atypical intimacy of “Trauma” that rumbles a bit that really highlights the trio’s live chemistry. “Middle Seat Blues” exits this portion, and it spotlights Berne’s radiant sax, the glowing guitar and subdued drumming.
An effort that blurs the lines of avant-garde, free jazz and fusion exploration, this outing adds yet another exciting and unclassifiable body of work to Berne’s accomplished catalog.
Travels well with: Hannah Marks- Outsider, Outlier; Marc Ducret- Palm Sweat: Marc Ducret Plays The Music Of Tim Berne