The drummer and composer John Hollenbeck inhabits a world of gleaming modernity, and Eternal Interlude (Sunnyside), the second album featuring his Large Ensemble, reflects both the clarity and brightness of his vision. Timbre is his forte as much as rhythm: his strategies for the band often involve an autumnal rustle of woodwinds and a billowing swirl of brass. On the superb 19-minute title track he creates a gossamer shimmer of flutes, clarinets, piano and marimba; on The Cloud he finds use for a chorus of whistlers. Theres room for robust improvising in his music the tenor saxophonists Tony Malaby and Ellery Eskelin both make hay on Perseverance but it always feels transitional, like a means to an end. So too does Mr. Hollenbecks interaction with the jazz canon here, as when he beams Thelonious Monks Four in One through a complex prism, yielding something meaningfully titled Foreign One.
Ben Perowsky Quartet
Ben Perowsky is another drummer-composer who drifts in and out of jazz circles, though his style skews brawnier and more direct. On his absorbingly rugged new album, Esopus Opus (Skirl), he leads a band with the accordionist Ted Reichman, the bassist Drew Gress and the multireedist Chris Speed musicians who also happen to work in Mr. Hollenbecks signature group, the Claudia Quintet. That overlap is a minor distraction on the album, noticeable mainly at insinuative tempos, like the one that guides George Harrisons Within You Without You. On more knockabout fare, including a swaggering take on Manic Depression, by Jimi Hendrix, the band clears its own space, sounding wily and athletic. The playing is sharp, the rapport effortless, and the original tunes, variously busy or bleary, are worth hearing for the commitment they inspire.
