Rob Clearfield and Quin Kirchner: Concentric Orbits

Listeners familiar with the current Chicago jazz scene will need no introduction to pianist Rob Clearfield and drummer Quin Kirchner. Both have been intrinsic to others' projects over the years, such as Matt Ulery's Delicate Charms (Woolgathering, 2019) and Greg Ward's High Alert (Sugah Hoof, 2020), but their most prominent partnership to date is probably Kirchner's own The Shadows and the Light (Astral Spirits, 2020), an absorbing double album with infectious grooves galore, many of which were anchored by Clearfield's rhythmically adroit contributions. During an early meeting prior to that recording session, Clearfield and Kirchner settled in for an impromptu jam with the tape rolling, and the thirty-minute results are captured here, on Concentric Orbits, providing another glimpse of the duo's potent chemistry.

The album involves two improvisations ("Orbit 1" and "Orbit 2"), along with several brief excerpts which are valuable mainly as an additional window into the process of collaboration as it unfolded. "Orbit 1" is the more expansive, not only for its 17-minute duration but because it has the widest trajectory; building from Clearfield's pensive ruminations, and subdued brushwork from Kirchner, the momentum is soon established as Clearfield teases out repeated ostinato phrases which become increasingly complex amidst the climbing intensity. Right alongside is Kirchner, whose patterns take on greater animation and force as Clearfield's develop. The two eventually break free of determined rhythm altogether, yet they somehow remain in sync, letting their ideas flow together until Clearfield once again finds another motif to explore in a gentle reverie to end the track, with only an occasional hint of tension, leaving Kirchner content to provide mostly muted percussion in support.

By comparison, "Orbit 2" has a more immediate impact, as Clearfield uses prepared piano to deliver rhythmically charged staccato passages that Kirchner instinctively matches with his own clipped, rapid-fire patterns, to hypnotic effect. Halfway through the track, Clearfield moves into a more conventional piano approach, using a left-hand ostinato to support elongated right-hand phrases, as Kirchner finds and enhances the groove before guiding the track to its satisfying finish. As with "Orbit 1," what comes across most vividly here is the pair's obvious rapport, a like-minded sensibility that allows them to anticipate and respond to each other immediately and sympathetically.

Much more than a discardable warm-up, Concentric Orbits is an engaging listen in its own right; it supplies effective evidence of how the keyboardist and drummer would work together so compellingly on The Shadows and the Light sessions.

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