Assail Axon? No Sax Alias!

Photos appear courtesy of Greg Aiello

I first encountered Jim Black a dozen years ago in Philly, on a gig with Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio. His playing nailed me to the spot, in a way that it hadn’t on record: he was capable of so much texture in the midst of so much propulsion. I soon sought out more of his sideman work -- Tim Berne had just issued an obscenely aggressive Bloodcount box, Unwound, that was in heavy rotation for over a year -- and caught dozens more gigs, especially after I made the jump to New York. *  

AlasNoAxis, Black’s improv-enabled indie-rock band, dropped out of the sky not long after this. And it prompted me to reconsider him yet again. Here was a rounded, yearningly forthright, deeply modern-sounding music, nearly devoid of the craggy complexities Black was usually compelled to tackle. “It takes confidence in this world sometimes just to bring out those things that actually come out very quickly and honestly,” he told me in 2000, before the band’s Philadelphia debut. “And it wasn’t until I heard the music with the band that I was convinced I was doing the right thing.”

He should be secure in that conviction by now. AlasNoAxis released its fifth album, Houseplant, on June 9. (Europe got it first; I Playlisted it last month.) At the Bowery Poetry Club last night, Black announced that the album had sold out its run, going into a second printing. As if that weren’t encouragement enough, his show -- presented by Adam Schatz’s organization Search and Restore -- was legitimately packed.

About half of the first set involved music from Houseplant, and it was brightly engrossing stuff: strong, committed, incident-rich. Tenor saxophonist Chris Speed functioned partly as a vocal surrogate, fleshing out long-tone melodies over a shifting series of drones. The Icelandic half of the group, bassist Skúli Sverrisson and guitarist Hilmar Jensson, brought deep-saturated color to their open chords and flinty arpeggios. Driving the bus was Black, who imbued each of his backbeat grooves with micro-variations; his hookup with Sverrisson often hit upon a shrewdly woozy disorientation.

I once described Black’s sonic ideal with the group as “Paul Motian via Kevin Shields,” and that bit of insider taxonomy still seems to apply. But the pendulum has also swung slightly since the earlier AlasNoAxis records, which seemed at times like a negation of busyness. There’s a lot going on in these grooves, at and below the surface. What’s most obvious is the intense cohesion of the band, stronger now than probably ever before.

(Incidentally, Black was in the house at last week’s McHenry gig; he said he had also been there the night before. I saw him again at this week’s astounding Norwegian trumpet summit.)

AlasNoAxis will perform next Tuesday at Skirl Party VI, the latest installment of shows pegged to Speed’s admirable Brooklyn label. Also on hand: Tyft (Black, Jensson and Andrew D’Angelo), celebrating a new release with Speed and trumpeter Peter Evans; and the tunefully subversive duo of Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone. 

*(My first live show as a New Yorker was at Tonic, with Black and Berne plus pianist Uri Caine and bassist Drew Gress. Cover was $5, and the overhead lights stayed on the whole time. There was no liquor license yet, but there were vegan sandwiches for sale. The audience barely outnumbered the band.)

Comments

[Jesse Neuman]

"Dropped out of the sky" indeed! When the first Alas... album came out, I can honestly say it blew my mind. The first few bas drum hits (which sounded more like wolf barks) are permanently burned in my brain, and when the tempo speeds up at the middle part of "Maybe" I was up off the couch with my fists in the air. Thank god for Jim Black!

[Phil DiPietro]

Saw them here at the Lily-Pad Cambridge, MA last week. That small venue, holding less than a hundred, was sold out/PACKED. Providing this year's Boston "jazz" performance highlight this year, I'd go so far as to say AlasNoAxis is the Radiohead of modern jazz, with Chris Speed as Thom Yorke the singer and Jim Black as both Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, the band's auteurs.

And you're right, Jim Black live does seem like a different beast than on record, unless you turn those record up LOUD!!! Then it all makes even more sense. Kudos to you for content and Black for forging onward.