James Wengrow: Emissary

On Emissary, his debut as a bandleader, guitarist and composer James Wengrow unleashes a collection of angular micro-symphonies that inhabit an abstract space while remaining meticulously detailed. Joined by a pair of brilliantly adept and aesthetically flexible musicians in bassist Mathias Højgaard Jensen and drummer James Paul Nadien, Crypsis trio can thoroughly explore, develop and present Wengrow's labyrinthine ideas in a fascinating and complex joyride of a set. The trio thrives on razor-sharp detours and constant pivots without sacrificing continuity. Even at their most fractured, the compositions feel complete individually while contributing to a unified whole. 

Wengrow originally hails from Brisbane, Australia and has made New York City his home base. A disciple of Vic Juris, John Rodgers, and John Abercrombie, his voice on the guitar occupies a space between the intricate harmonic space of Ben Monder and the raw, bone-dry stabs of Hilmar Jensson. He is more than matched in energy, precision, and inventiveness by his comrades on this document. Drummer James Paul Nadien possesses a vast and bold hyperactive vocabulary on the kit that lends tremendous presence and dimension to the compositions. Jensen, a Danish upright bassist, provides a solid anchor to the group with his refined, well-paced choices, which are tastefully employed throughout the album. Emissary is the latest full-length release on the Endectomorph imprint and makes a comfortable addition to their roster of cerebral and adventurous output over the past decade.  

Each piece on Emissary is centered around a set of atonal motives laid out in sharp angles to one another and, in this sense, it is hard not to draw more to modernist painting than to conventional jazz forms. Opener "Jacket Barter" groans to life with Jensen's sawing arco before the group establishes a soupy drone-based texture that breathes shakily through Wengrow's intermittent chordal harmonies and gestural swells from Nadien. This approach felt especially reminiscent of the great ECM Records quasi-ambient guitar canon (particularly Terje Rypdal), with ghostly figures that sneakily manifest and bloom into primary themes from scattered bits of the introduction. The nature of the music sweeps the listener out. "Aflame Inside in Public" begins with a frenetic, odd-time groove that seems to boil over on all sides simultaneously before simmering back to allow for Wengrow to launch into a fiery round of ecstatic soloing. This is followed by a relatively faithful rendition of John McLaughlin's "This Is For Us to Share" from his 1969 debut entitled Extrapolation (Challenge Jazz, 1991), and this allows for a needed breath before pressing back into the remaining sonic vortex that lies ahead.    

"Cropsey Cabin" manages to weave an emotive, lyrical thread into a latticework of relatively chaotic rhythms that felt like a surrounding world crumbling around the ensemble. The delicate balance between extreme elements in this track makes it a standout of the set and possibly the clearest example of Wengrow's unique concept. This evidence is further corroborated in "Arborealpolitik" which pushes a hobbled riff through a series of grossly mutating pulses and time-feels that sound like the aural equivalent of a large bug desperately fighting not to be squished to death. The group follows this with a blown-apart, rubato take on Thelonious Monk's "Let's Call This" and proves that the group can dial back activity and still develop an entire world with their compelling dialogue. This version manages to retain the composer's playful, but sophisticated mischief and humor, while Crypsis nearly stretches it into a lulling mist of its original form. "Deadline Junky" acts itself out as described as a series of frantic breaks and instrumental tantrums before allowing Jensen a platform for a brilliant solo himself. The final track, "Emissary" is an outlier in being perhaps the closest the trio gets to a full- on ballad that is based around a searching, exposed arpeggio from Wengrow before seeming to disintegrate into several slow, thick diads that linger in the air like echoes from another dimension. 

Wengrow's many aspects as a voice in the greater jazz scene are evident at all times throughout Emissary. His compositions are precise and methodical in their tone while also accommodating space for complete improvisational abandon. Few records move this comfortably between contemporary chamber jazz, free improvisation, and abrasive experimental rock. Listeners drawn equally to Paul Motian, Behold... the Arctopus, or Lightning Bolt should find plenty to admire here.