Reut Regev: This Is R*Time (2009)

Martin Longley

Concert/Festival Reviewer since 2007

Martin Longley also writes for the BBC Music website, Jazzwise and The Wire magazines, plus the NYC Jazz Record and Coventry Telegraph newspapers.

Recent articles (165 total)

Published: April 5, 2009

Trombonist Reut Regev moved to New York City from Israel in 1998, and soon began working with Anthony Braxton, Frank London and Butch Morris. Her newest band is R*Time, a quartet that concentrates almost entirely on her original material. She is joined by drummer Igal Foni, bassist Brad Jones and guitarist David Phelps, the latter employing a large range of mood-altering effects boxes. Percussionist Eddie Bobé guests on two tracks.

The opening "Swill" establishes the album's highly pneumatic hectic urban bustle, busily driving into a dramatic theme. Regev is a staccato attacker, playing detailed constructions at high speed against a backdrop of sour guitar riffing and wildly skittering drums. The division is sometimes smeared between so-called jazz solos and a jamband-style propulsive motion. Melody is often taken for a loosened solo run, while solos might contain more than the usual amount of tune content. On "Hula Hula," Regev glides smoothly over a bouncing-bomb groove, but can switch in an instant from gentle enunciation to a brashly blasting outburst. "Nutcase Scenario" offers expressive space for the drums and guitar, with the latter taking on a sitar shimmer for "Balibalaila."

There are stretches where Regev sounds similar to Bruce Fowler with Captain Beefheat's Magic Band, particularly when she's cart-wheeling around a Phelps scratch-riff. "Clean Dirt" is somehow reminiscent of a Charlie Haden atmosphere, followed by the disorientated King Crimson pugilism of "True Story."

Track Listing: Swill; Hula Hula; Nutcase Scenario; Balibalaila; Some Of The Best Fish Are Alive; Faradise; Elephant Steps; Clean Dirt; True Story.

Personnel: Reut Regev: trombone, flugabone; Igal Foni: drums, percussion; Brad Jones: acoustic and electric basses; David Phelps: guitar; Eddie Bobé: guest percussion.

Record Label: Ropeadope
Style: Jam Band