Whether leading his own groups or playing sideman to some of the most creative talents in jazz, drummer/composer Whit Dickey has been one of the music's most compelling artists since the early '90s. Morph is actually two separate albums cut for ESP-Disk two months apart in 2019. The first, entitled Reckoning , is a duo with longtime collaborator, pianist Matthew Shipp. The second, Pacific Noir , was recorded in June as a trio with trumpeter Nate Wooley joining them. Given their long association, the intimacy and depth of ...
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Whether leading his own groups or playing sideman to some of the most creative talents in jazz, drummer/composer Whit Dickey has been one of the music's most compelling artists since the early '90s. Morph is actually two separate albums cut for ESP-Disk two months apart in 2019. The first, entitled Reckoning , is a duo with longtime collaborator, pianist Matthew Shipp. The second, Pacific Noir , was recorded in June as a trio with trumpeter Nate Wooley joining them. Given their long association, the intimacy and depth of interplay between Dickey and Shipp on Reckoning is excellent. The eight pieces range from less than four to nearly nine minutes and communicate the drummer's ranging aesthetic view. "Blue Threads" emerges from modal post-bop as Dickey dances on snares, toms, rims, and hi-hat and Shipp digs deep into blues and swings. "Thick" is its polar opposite, with fat, dark minor chords erupting from the keyboard's middle and lower registers as Dickey delivers kickdrum and tom-tom fills to extrapolate all this dissonant motion into other regions of sound and dynamic. "Firmament" initially sounds like a mutant gospel hymn before fragmenting in improvisation that bridges dynamic, space, and texture in its ghost trace melody. Pacific Noir gives Wooley plenty of room. "Noir" is a four-part composition that bookends the album with two parts on either end. "Noir 1" is relatively upbeat. Shipp offers cascading rounds of gorgeous chord voicings atop Dickey's striated, rolling tom-tom and snare accents. When Wooley enters, he's vulnerable, open, and tentative. His solo, while knotty, asks questions of his bandmates with generosity and humility. "Take the Wild Train" commences with a bluesy horn solo before clattering snares and cymbals abstract the trumpeter's lines. Shipp's syncopated fills and chords play right at the drummer, who answers with implied swing and complex dynamics. The collective's sense of humor asserts itself on "Epiphany," with Wooley splattering trumpet lines with glee and Shipp pounding out tight skeins of notes atop Dickey's rolls. The interplay shifts gears as rumbling low-register piano chords and Dickey's tapped cymbal bells resonate. The piece transforms into a circular, harmonious modal investigation. The skeletal intro to "Space Trance" sets the field for a frenetic avant improv with all three players on stun. The lyricism in Wooley's playing on "Noir 3" elicits elegant rhythmic feints from Dickey as Shipp finds meaning in the seemingly empty, mysterious spaces that lie between the keys. There is a pulse from single notes offered in varying order until chords emerge from the ether to drive the tune. What unites these demanding yet utterly enjoyable visions on Morph and knits them together are, unsurprisingly, imagination and unparalleled fluidity. He is not only an empathic drummer but a motivational one, too. While Morph is not really an easy listen, it is as warm and welcoming as it is thought-provoking. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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