Tarbaby’s “You Think This America”

YOU THINK THIS AMERICA / Dee Dee (Ornette Coleman). Mirror of Youth (David Murray). Red Door. Reconciliation. Betcha By Golly Wow. Blues (When it Comes). Kush. Richard. Comme il Faut (composers unidentified). Tree Tops (Sunny Murray) / Tarbaby: Orrin Evans, pno; Eric Revis, bs; Nasheet Waits, dm / Giant Step Arts GSA-11 (live: New York City, 8/15-16/2022)

This album, due for release June 28, features drummer David Waits’ regular working trio Tarbaby, which was founded in the late 1990s. According to the publicity sheet, the CD includes music by Ornette Coleman, Andrew Hill and David Murray, but only Dee Dee (Coleman) and Mirror of Youth (David Murray) were identified by any of those names. Tree Tops is credited to Sunny Murray (I don’t know if he’s any relation to David), none were specifically credited to Andrew Hill, and I have no idea who the other song composers are. Sometimes we reviewers are forced to play Sherlock Holmes in order to review a disc!

As in the case of New York Love Letter, however, the names of the tune composers don’t seem to matter quite as much as the musical treatment which, once again, leans strongly in the style of Thelonious Monk. Here, this is in part due to the surprisingly Monk-ish piano solos of Orrin Evans, which transforms Ornette’s Dee Dee into a sort of Coleman-Monk hybrid (remember that Ornette seldom worked with pianists, except for Geri Allen on his Sound Museum albums). Bassist Eric Revis often doubles the top line of the music along with the pianist while Waits stays busy in the background. There is a style that is both rooted in tradition and modern at the same time, thus they do well in the asymmetrical rhythms of David Murray’s Mirror of Youth.

Unlike many if not most piano trios, Tarbaby is a true collaborative in terms of performance interaction between the three instruments, but to my ears Waits is a little too busy in most of these tracks compared to his excellent work on New York Love Letters. Even so, there is much to admire on this disc; I particularly liked Red Door with its unusual harmonies and funky groove, and Evans’ piano solo is simply breathtaking in its invention and drive. I’d love to hear much more of him, perhaps in a solo recording; his playing obviously includes several influences besides Monk. Bassist Eric Revis also shines on this track, the notes streaming from top to bottom of his instrument and including a great deal of atonal playing that he somehow makes fit. Waits’ playing behind this bass solo is some of his best on the album, and his own solo is also excellent. For me, this was one of the highlights of the album, but the opening piano solo on Blues (When it Comes), which sounded a bit like Lennie Tristano, was also superb, and here Waits’ drumming is less dominant and better integrated into the ensemble, making the trio really swing without overwhelming the others. Revis moves from walking bass accompaniment to walking bass solo here, adding his own thoughts while maintaining the strong swing of the piece.

Reconciliation has a definite Herbie Nichols vibe about it although, as it goes along, the rhythm begins to be subdivided in a more complex manner. Betcha By Golly Wow is, surprisingly, a ballad, and here Waits is particularly sensitive, sticking mostly to brushes behind the piano and bass, and this is followed by another ballad, Kush, which becomes quite complex rhythmically in the middle section.

Richard opens with a semi-walking bass solo before drums and then piano come in. To my ears, however, the melody bears a striking resemblance to Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, the old Bessie Smith tune.

Comme il faut is a slow piece but not really a ballad; it has a certain dark side about it, emphasized by the remarkable bass solo that opens the proceedings. When the piano enters, it is playing small fragments that just sort of fit into the scene of the continuing bass as Waits plays subtle cymbal washes behind them. The piano eventually comes to the fore, playing a melodic line that vacillates between tonality and bitonality as Waits starts playing drum rolls behind it.

The closer to this set, Tree Tops, begins with uptempo playing by Revis and Waits, but Evans’ piano is resolutely calm, playing what amounts to musical gestures rather than a defined melodic line. Eventually, however, this coalesces into a melody albeit a quirky one as the double-time playing of Revis and Waits continues, the latter, in fact, becoming louder and busier as it evolves.

I liked this album but was glad that I had heard New York Love Letter first. For the most part, the music is richer and, for me personally, more rewarding on that album, but there are several tracks on this set that I liked very much as well.

—© 2024 Lynn René Bayley

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