Pond Life

グラミー賞ノミネート経験もあるギタリスト、ウィル・バーナードの'22年最新作!!
クリス・ライトキャップ(b)、チェス・スミス(ds)という強力リズム隊とのトリオを軸に、ティム・バーン(as)とジョン・メデスキ(p,org)という豪華プレイヤーを招いた話題作の登場です!!
モダン~コンテンポラリージャズのシーンで確かな存在感を放つ名ギタリストだけに実に楽しみな作品となっています!!

Will Bernard(g)
Chris Lightcap(b)
Ches Smith(ds)
Tim Berne(as)
John Medeski(p,org)

Guitarist and composer Will Bernard explores the outer reach of his groove-oriented jazz approach on Pond Life without losing any of its impact. Four of its ten tracks showcase his playing in the company of his always illuminating trio with bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Ches Smith. On the remainder, he reaches farther and wider with assistance alternately from alto saxophonist Tim Berne, and organist/keyboardist John Medeski playing alternately on the remainder. (The latter is returning a favor: Bernard played on 2018s killer John Medeskis Mad Skillet). Opener "Poor Mans Speedball" is a case in point. Bernards angular cadences are framed by Lightcaps upright laying down a deep groove as Medeskis B-3 duels with Smith, offering fat, greasy chords, accents, and chromatic fills winding through the tunes vamp. "Surds" is sultry and funky. Kicked with bluesy funk from Lightcap and Smith, Bernard snakes though the groove with shifting tonalities, biting lines, and chunky chords as the tune moves afield into noir-ish terrain. Just under three-minutes long, "Still Drinkin" features the whole quintet. It spends it first minute in purely improvised abstraction led by Medeskis piano. Bernard charges in with a meaty surf groove before Berne engages the rhythm section in an intense, angular solo. They appear together once more on the single "Four Is More," an altogether straighter affair that emanates freewheeling post-bop before engaging distorted punkish power chords in the closing section. The title tracks intro sounds like its the theme to a mutant 70s cop show. It strips itself down as Berne and Bernard engage in intimate, yet expressive conversation before Smith and Lightcap ratchet the theme back up. "Moving Target" offers a nocturnal Latin tinge as guitarist and drummer wind around Lightcaps burly vamp before pushing the harmonic frame outward. Berne joins the core trio on "That Day," that alternately draws on the twin influences of Ornette Coleman and Music Revelation Ensemble. Its melodic center is extrapolated by Bernards chromatic arpeggios that hover above the rhythm section as Berne interjects soaring micro-melodies in response. "Motooz" is effects-heavy as it lurches and staggers forward toward abstract jazz-rock fusion. Closer "Lake of Greater Remains" showcases the trio in a slightly spooky, yet danceable modal melody with Bernard on acoustic guitar. The interplay between him and Lightcap comprises rag and blues turnarounds amid warm, resonant tones while Smith underscores their iteration with brushed snares, tom-toms, and cymbals. It may be the albums strongest selection; it is certainly the most attractive and lyrical. While there are referents in Bernards catalog for the approach he took on Pond Life (most notably 1999s Medicine Hat, 2007s Party Hats, and especially 2020s Freelance Subversives), none offer the sublime communication, invention, and musicality this set does. ~ Thom Jurek

リーダー作でも「TJカーク」のメンバーとしてもグラミー賞ノミネート歴があり、スタントン・ムーアとの演奏等でも幅広いリスナーを魅了してきた名ギタリスト、ウィル・バーナード。前作はファンキー・ジャズのど真ん中をゆくオルガン・トリオでしたが、この新作はティム・バーンやジョン・メデスキらを迎えて絶妙にアングラ感を漂わせながら、楽しくてカッコよいサウンドが瞬間ごとに紡がれていく一枚。チェス・スミスとクリス・ライトキャップという百戦錬磨なリズムセクションも凄まじく、繰り返し聴いても鮮度が損なわれない傑作です。
intoxicate (C)谷本真悟