Christian Dillingham: Halcyon

On the intriguing Halcyon, his second release as a leader, Chicago bassist Christian Dillingham explores folkish motifs in a haunting ambience. The music here is a mix of his own compositions and covers of diverse backgrounds that showcase, once again, his versatility. The band has quite a unique sound, thanks to its collective virtuosity, with guitarist Matt Gold's incandescent pedal steel giving it a rootsy flavor.

For instance, singer-songwriter Gillian Welch's "Lowlands" has a buoyant and a tad wistful mood. Gold plays the main theme with laid-back warmth while pianist Julius Tucker adds an undercurrent of effervescence to it. Dillingham and drummer Quin Kirchner lay down a lilting groove as the quartet embellishes the melody with elegance, demonstrating in the facility of their interactions a seamless camaraderie.

This synergy is one of the hallmarks of the album. Irving Berlin's "What Will I Do," is imbued with subtle melancholy. It features Dillingham and Gold's successive lyrical solos, which transition flawlessly from one to the other. Tucker's chiming tones and Kirchner's hushed beats support their colleagues and enhance the poetry of the standard.

The originals, once again, demonstrate the ingenuity of Dillingham's pen. "Dimepiece," dedicated to Dillingham's wife, is a mellifluous, shimmering piece. Tucker improvises with suavity over the dynamic group interplay. Gold punctuates the music with resonant, twangy, lines while Dillingham creates a simmering undercurrent with his hauntingly reverberating strings. Kirchner takes center stage with agile polyrhythms before a return to the cinematic conclusion.

SImilarly, the serene title track starts off with Tucker's and Dillingham's undulating exchanges. After Kirchner and Gold join the others, the performance goes from a quiet lullaby to a blues-drenched four-way conversation brimming with spontaneity. The tune closes with captivating soulfulness and intricately constructed group refrains.

This absorbing recording aptly concludes with songsmith and poet Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather." Vocalist Jodee Lewis interprets the expressive lyrics with yearning charm as Gold's sparkling strums highlight her dulcet voice. Halcyon, with its genre-bending experimentation, is both inventive and accessible and a worthy follow up to Dillingham's superlative debut Cascades (Greenleaf, 2023).