Life & Umbrella
Desafio Candente, 2023
8/10
The Chicago resident and esteemed pianist Javier Red brings along Gustavo Cortinas, Ben Dillinger and Jake Wark for these complicated and adventurous 12 tracks that recruits fusion jazz ideas.
“Thoughts Unable To Be Contained” opens the listen with Wark’s soft sax and Cortinas’ frisky drumming helping make for a cozy landscape that builds into busy free jazz exploration, and “The Happiness Of Hope” follows with a soft, intimate demeanor, where Red’s dreamy keys are met with soulful sax.
Halfway through, “Umbrella” is one minute of Wark’s meticulous finger acrobatics on saxophone, while “This Is What They Found” benefits much from Dillinger’s playful bass playing amid the crisp drumming and well timed keys.
Close to the end, the swirling “Different Tempos” illustrates a dynamic interaction between the 4 that’s melodic, mesmerizing and groove filled, and “Future, Umbrella and Life” exits with both bare and full bouts, where each member’s strengths are on display in spades for the multi-faceted jazz delivery.
A collective sophomore effort that embraces improvisation and composed moments, Red and company make for an unpredictable and highly memorable affair that balances quite versus intense songwriting.