Elijah Shiffer: City Of Birds, Volume 3: Fly By Night Blues

Few current composers are as restlessly inventive as saxophonist-clarinetist Elijah Shiffer. Over the past decade, Shiffer has led numerous ensembles and written an ever-expanding catalog of original music, all crafted and thematically tied closely to and informed by distinct aspects of his interests and tastes. Fly by Night Blues, the third volume in his City of Birds series, speaks to all those qualities. Like the previous two offerings, Shiffer uses meticulously transcribed songs and voices from birds native to the greater New York City area as his source and inspiration. This time around, Shiffer especially focussed his efforts on nocturnally active members of the species.     

Environment and natural settings play an integral role in Shiffer's process as does a totality of concept. An active birder in addition to an in-demand performer in the city, he leads birdwatching tours through a number of local parks. Although numerous instances of birdsong as a muse are well-documented across time and genre—from Amy Beech and Olivier Messiaen to perhaps the most obvious example in bebop godfather, Charlie Parker, nicknamed Bird and whose titles included "Yardbird" and "Ornithology"—Shiffer's interests are reflected not merely in straight transcriptions of calls. The various 10 pieces are also nuanced portraits of the birds' behavior, character, and habitat as well as tributes to specific birds including the famous owl escapee, Flaco. This is why the pieces are not merely named "Robin" or Owl" but instead often more evocatively labeled as "Mock Nocturne" and "Who Hoots For Toot?." Finally, Shiffer's cover art for the series softly depicts the various subjects as thoughtfully and serenely as possible. None of this is done in a gimmicky, shallow manner which makes the listening experience all-the-more engaging.

The sequence of music on Fly by Night Blues primarily uses the language and structures of blues and traditional jazz as a stylistic base with Shiffer's individual quirks run like mischievous threads through the forms and heads. "Hawknights" builds on a pouty, single note bass groove with jerky, rising-falling motive for saxophones. The tension here gives one a sense of the heightened drama of an imminent swoop from the hawks. Elsewhere, "Who Hoots For Toot?" earns its title by employing hooting (or more of a squawk really) in the rhythmic manner of the barred owl. "Robins Already" takes a blistering free swing calling to mind a vision of a young Ornette Coleman frantically chasing every robin in sight. "Big John's Pond" is homage to a small water habitat at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge where the native night-herons activate in the wee small hours.     

All of the aforementioned pieces utilize a precise and adept ensemble featuring Shiffer on alto sax, the laser-guided tenor sax of Kevin Sun, and the heavy anchor of bassist Dmitry Ishenko, with Colin Hinton's propulsive drums. While this is the instrumental vehicle for most of Fly by Night Blues, the swing mood is balanced by three spare, dirge-like miniatures that fall at the beginning, middle, and end of the program. Shiffer moves to clarinet for these moments and is supported by lulling guitar from Bruce Acosta. "Scops" opens the album with a hushed, melancholic tone and speaks to the Eastern screech-owl's careful gaze from within hollowed trees. The waltzing "I'm All Ears" takes on a similar subdued nature that evokes a delicate winter forest scene. The album closes with "Postscript for Flaco" which provides a tender reflection of its namesake as well the diverse assortment of the collective portrayed across previous tracks.       

Shiffer is a thorough and considerate observer of these birds and their scenes and does much to give a sense of careful non-invasion in his work. In fact, one can look at these three volumes of music as aural documentaries of a quiet, hidden existence that these creatures lead, which is often not obvious to busy humans but nevertheless vibrant and captivating. Shiffer has executed his concept exquisitely on this recording. The ace band is further brought to life by the vivid and crisp sound of the legendary Van Gelder Studio. As such, Shiffer nods to the tradition of renowned albums made in those rooms while demonstrating how the nuance of jazz composing can be reshaped and fit anew artfully by a rich concept in the right hands. It lives.