Since relocating to Brooklyn a few years ago, Toronto-born drummer-composer Harris Eisenstadt has forged important musical partnerships with trumpeter Nate Wooley, tenor saxophonist Matt Bauder, vibraphonist Chris Dingman and bassist Eivind Opsvik, all of whom appear on this, Eisenstadt’s ninth recording overall and first for the Canadian Songlines label. From the energized contrapuntal opener, “Cobble Hook,” to the slow-grooving “To Seventeen” and the suite-like “Now Longer,” this quintet is in some ways the Brooklyn counterpart to Chicago-based Jason Adasiewicz’s Rolldown: a group of provocative soloists who write with the sort of compositional integrity that holds up under repeated listenings. Wooley lets loose on “To See” and the raucous “To Eh,” while Bauder delivers audacious tenor tones on the luminous “To Be” and vibraphonist Dingman adds an exhilarating solo on “Judo With Tokyo Joe (for John Zorn).” Throughout, Eisenstadt expertly shapes the proceedings from behind the kit.
Originally PublishedHarris Eisenstadt: Canada Day II
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