Wheelhouse: House and Home

Saxophonist, producer, composer, event organizer and label chief Dave Rempis circles back to one of his most essential ensembles. In 2012, Aerophonic Records released Boss of the Plains by the drummer-less trio of Rempis, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, and bassist Nate McBride.

Formed in 2005, when McBride moved to Chicago from Boston, the trio spent a decade exploring the possibilities of a free-improvising chamber sound. But in 2013, Wheelhouse went on hiatus after McBride returned to his hometown. In the years between that pause and this 2024 reunion tour, the world endured a global pandemic, and both McBride and Adasiewicz stepped away from music to pursue other careers.

Let us just say that absence has made the music sound even fonder.

The trio picks up exactly where it left off on these six tracks, recorded live in Chicago and Milwaukee. Since their first release—when Rempis played alto and baritone saxophones—he has expanded his palette to include tenor and soprano, further enriching the group's tonal range. Wheelhouse's magic formula remains unchanged: no rush to fill space, no grandstanding solos, no forced gestures. Rempis employs multiphonics and overblowing not as decorative flourishes but as organic developments within the improvisation. His crisp, compact solo, which opens "Gingerbread," invites McBride's articulate plucked response and Adasiewicz's resonant vibraphone retort. As the piece gains momentum, the trio locks into a unified conception that feels inevitable.

Every track here showcases their extraordinary collective intuition. The brief "Saltbox" has the air of a desolate blues, McBride's bowed and plucked lines meeting Adasiewicz's ringing overtones and Rempis's plaintive saxophone in a quiet conversation.

While the notion of 'deep listening' is often invoked when describing free improvisation, here it is unmistakable: These three musicians are tuned to each other with complete trust and awareness. "Arrest" glows with a shared sense of purpose as they weave reverberant textures into a luminous, unhurried conclusion. House And Home is a testament to the enduring vitality of a trio whose patient interplay only deepens with time.

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