Craig Weinrib Recital

However hard some try to force a contrivance of a 'correct' way to play jazz, invariably we all arrive at different ways of approaching the music. To some, jazz's uniqueness lies in abstraction in rhythm and harmony. By this, I mean the creation of a duality between what we hear and the structure of the song. The structure exists independently of what we play. This allows for syncopation and cross rhythms, as well as harmonic detours to create tension between what we hear and the underlying form that we maintain in our heads, as musicians and as listeners.

These two notions, harmonic abstraction and rhythmic abstraction, however, do not necessarily go hand in hand. Jazz has long been characterized by rhythmic liberties, but before the development of bebop, improvised solos rarely strayed far from the harmony prescribed by the basic chord movement.

At Friday night's recital, I saw a close friend and colleague, Craig Weinrib, explore this approach with a group of like-minded musicians at Columbia University's Dodge Hall. The music was clearly modern. The harmony's were often unconventional. But the compositions were clearly written primarily with the sounds themselves in mind, not the structure they supported. Similarly, the solos aborted the path of harmonic abstraction, focusing instead on the physical sounds of the instruments. Raffi growled, explored harmonics, bent notes, but seldom moved in the direction of Parker or Coltrane. Eddie Barbash and Danny Lubin-Laden provided a complementary approach, emphasizing melody over texture. But the central theme remained constant across all soloists; the visceral experience of the sound was paramount, not the harmonic soundscape.

Underneath this lush but direct approach to melody and harmony, the rhythm diverged in approach, alternately supporting and clashing against the meter. Craig modulated fluidly between idioms, alternately swinging with a bass-drum beat, playing a backbeat and employing varied polyrhythms. This duality between the melodically direct and rhythmically provocative was compelling. A reflection of the concert's success, I left with more questions than answers.