Living Things
Cacophonous Revival, 2024
9/10
The alto sax player Nicola Miller is joined by Frank Gratkowski, Doug Tielli, Nicholas D’Amato and Nick Fraser for these unorthodox jazz tunes that are as unpredictable as they are exciting.
“Barge” opens the listen with ambient field recordings, Fraser’s raw drums and Miller’s bouts of sax in the cinematic landscape, and “Night Crawlers” follows with a uniquely rhythmic moment of jazz nods amid the artistic sounds.
Halfway through, “Buffleheads” recruits Gratkowski on alto sax alongside the meticulous drumming and ‘found objects’ climate, while “Seaweed” makes great use of Tielli’s bright trombone for the playful, free jazz album highlight.
“Seagulls” and “Flies’ exits the listen. The former sees Tielli handling saw and D’Amato’s frisky upright bass helping cultivate a busy, dizzying, avant-garde moment, and the latter has Tielli contributing vocals through a tube via the cautious yet frisky finish that allows for Grakowski’s bass clarinet to shine.
A highly creative debut, Miller’s vision manipulates color, density and dynamics with a curious and memorable execution that will mesmerize those with an ear for experimental jazz.
Travels well with: India Gailey- Butterfly Lightning Shakes The Earth; Colin Fisher- Suns Of The Heart