Jason Stein: Anchors

Six years after releasing his previous album, bass clarinetist Jason Stein returns with a new trio recording that goes outside the realm of conventional jazz. He has been undergoing healing therapy in those six years to combat physical injury and this album is inspired by that process. Aided by bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Gerald Cleaver, Stein constructs trio music that is both meditative and explosive, with the three musicians tightly focused on their collective sound.

Stein's playing expertly toggles between the serene and the noisy. His sound is a sensitive warble against slow rhythm movements on "Crystalline." "Cold Water" starts with a frantic trio squabble, but the bass clarinet squawks gradually compress into, first a thick yodel, then a rich stretch of melody over spaced-out bass and drum sounds.

On "An Origin" Stein bellows like a foghorn with an intensity that brings Peter Brötzmann to mind, receding temporarily to let Abrams shine with heavy bowed groaning. "Holding Breath" has the leader crying repeated phrases out of an indeterminate swirl of sound before sliding into a playful melody that is firmed up into recognizable jazz by Abrams' and Cleaver's easy swinging beat.

This album exudes a sense of turmoil gradually emerging into order. Stein's playing is consistently powerful and stimulating and the music seems to pass from darkness into light as the album unfolds. It can be hair-raising in spots but in the end, it shines with restorative beauty. Jason Stein has created some of the most profound work of his career.

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