Klang
Ginkgo, 2026
9/10
The Chicago–Detroit avant-jazz quartet, Teiku, mash the skills of Josh Harlow, Jonathan Barahal, Jason Stein and Jaribu Shahid for this unpredictable and exciting sophomore jazz effort.
“Ki Le Noeh (Krumholz melody)” opens with Harlow’s quick keys alongside Stein’s dizzying clarinet acrobatics, and “Ki Le Noeh (Fendrick melody)” follows with Barahal’s percussion and electronics making for strong attention to mood and ambience.
The middle track belongs to the cautious “Khasul Seydur Peysakh (Chasman melody)” that blends the dense keys and rich clarinet with busy and bare moments that showcase Shahid’s well timed double bass, while “Ki Le Noeh (Shita melody)” illustrates the quartet’s inimitable talents into an atypical, improvised display of avant-garde fun.
Closing out the listen is “Odir Bimlikhe (Lunski melody)”, which spotlights Stein’s mesmerizing wind amid Barahal’s fast percussion and the strategic keys and bass.
An outfit that began as a way to interpret their respective families’ unique Passover melodies, this 2nd effort shifts to a broader community, obscure manuscripts, voice recordings, and memories of late-night ritualistic chants that unfold with the melodies transfigured, deconstructed, and reframed via their unparalleled vision.
Travels well with: Stein/Smith/Shead- Hum; Stein/Smith/Shead- Volumes & Surfaces