Joe Fonda Quartet

Søren Narbo/Wadada Leo Smith/Kresten Osgood
D​é​t, Som Ikke Kan Kaldes Tilbage
ILK 358 CD

Consistency can be a virtue, if the creation’s subtle fabric preserves a high standard over time. So it has been with the trumpet playing and improvisations of AACM member Wadada Leo Smith, 83. A composer, orchestrater and teacher as well as a player since he began recording in 1968 with Anthony Braxton, Smith’s interests have since taken many forms from the electric to the ethnic. Although recorded 14 years apart these discs show his creative consistency.

An unpretentious living room jam, 2014’s D​é​t, Som Ikke Kan Kaldes Tilbage links Smith with two younger Danish musicians who were even younger then, pianist Søren Narbo and Kresten Osgood, who has worked with the likes of Mark Dresser and Maria Faust. Led by American bassist Joe Fonda, who has played with everyone from Marilyn Crispell to Billy Bang, besides Smith, the Eyes on the Horizon group includes Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii, who has recorded with both the trumpet and the bassist and Italian drummer Tiziano Tononi, best known for his bands with Daniele Cavallanti.

Less casual than expected, the nine Danish tracks encompass Monk-like dissonance and reflective passages as the pianist’s output takes in processional and contemplative phrasing as well as menacing key stabs. Meanwhile the drummer’s strokes include feather light brush swishes. martial rata tat tats, cymbal rebounds and stout ruffs. For his part, whether playing interludes a capella or interacting with one, the other, or both players, Smith’s parts include Harmon-muted puffs, open-horn portamento expositions, vigorous amplified bites and inner tube vibrations.

Tracks like the sequential “Det Banker Stadig På” and “Klip I Papiret, Så Det Bliver Helt” exhibits many of these motifs as repeated phrasing from the piano and drum emphasize the woodiness of each instrument as the trumpeter murmurs grace notes until keyboard stabs and drum clatter push Smith into sourcing jagged breaths. Sliding into the following track open-horn ripples and swelling piano motifs reach a dual climax until all three players relax into a moderated horizontal line.

Resonating xylophone-like clips from Narbo and elastic snarls and ascending brass triplets may define a track like “Om Det Slutter”. But at the same time others such as “Træd På Brættet, Hvor Det Ikke Knækker”, with muted brass smears and gong-like swishes from Osgood’s kit accompany a carefully measured piano exposition with echoes of familiar ballads.

In 21^st Century terms Smith would be termed an influencer, and Fonda was one younger musician who came under the trumpeter’s influence in the early 1980s. This was part of a musical collective the older man was directing, and the seven tracks, all composed by the bassist, reflect that situation and his subsequent musical growth. Tononi’s measured rhythmic sense and Fujii’s skill at negotiating among surging expositions, pedal point dips and responsive clips add proper balance as well as many unexpected sequences to the narratives.

Smith isn’t the only one honored by the composer either. The late vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, a mutual associate of Smith and Fonda, is remembered with “Like No Other” Perhaps reflecting two parts of Naughton’s personality, the trumpeter’s initial grace notes harmonized with mid-range double bass patterns shake and turn to knife-sharp s triplets as the piece evolves. Joined with equivalent thick strums from Fonda’s bass the theme resonates between the two before the high brass notes and low string strums connect convincingly.

The reverberating forward motion that is conveyed by the quartet is given it’s most extended showcase on “We Need Members Opus #4” as throughout, the group divides into duos and trios and then reassembles. Fujii’s swirling glissandi are united with Fonda’s string thumps until both move up the scale with delicate and almost spiritual sweeps. Pitter patter drumming introduces Smith’s ascending swirls and irregularly accented blats. They are soon joined by keyboard swirls and double bass walking. Parallel to the initially expressed higher-pitched theme a darker counter melody is emphasized until a cymbal crash signal the conclusion.

Other tracks emphasize various devices in Fonda’s composition, whether taken super fast or more languidly. Overall though, weight is given to group interaction.  Along the way space is made for a singular drum solo of rumbling clanks, hand slaps, rebounds and protracted press rolls, surrounded by half-valve trumpet smears and piano key pounding that is as emotional as it is expressive. There’s also another interlude where Fonda’s gentle flute trills are contrasted with trumpet growls, cymbal scratches and suspended piano tones, all without losing the tune’s evolving progress.

Smith’s skill and invention have served him well in many circumstances over the years. His ability to create with flexibility and firmness no matter the circumstances are demonstrated once more on these distinctive discs.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Dét:  Ét Skridt Og Alt Er Forandret 2. Når Tre Bliver Til To Bliver Til Én 3.  Træd På Brættet, Hvor Det Ikke Knækker 4. Pausens Værd Er Pausen Værd 5. Det Banker Stadig På 6. Klip I Papiret, Så Det Bliver Helt 7. Om Det Slutter 8. Sorgen Rammer 9. D​é​t, Som Ikke Kan Kaldes Tilbage

Personnel: Dét:  Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet); Søren Narbo (piano) and Kresten Osgood (drums)

Track Listing: Eyes: 1. Inspiration Opus #1 2. My Song Opus #2 3. We Need Members Opus #4 4. Like No Other 5. Listen To Dr. Cornel West 6. Bright Light Opus #5 7. Eyes On The Horizon Opus #3

Personnel: Eyes: Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet); Satoko Fujii (piano); Joe Fonda (bass and flute) and Tiziano Tononi (drums)