Ghost Trees: Intercept Method

John Coltrane and Rashied Ali might not have been the first to record as a free jazz duo with Interstellar Space (Impulse!,1974), but the pair did set the bar for future performances from the likes of Frank Lowe and Rashied Ali, Peter Brötzmann/Peeter Uuskyla, Anthony Braxton/Max Roach, and Joe McPhee/Hamid Drake. Admittedly, this genre of music might send many a traditional jazz listener packing.

Fear not. The duo Ghost Trees creates accessible free jazz, and the use of that term is not an oxymoron. Intercept Method from Tenor saxophonist Brent Bagwell and drummer Seth Nanaa create approachable music, similar to that of say, Bill McHenry and Andrew Cyrille or Joe Lovano and Billy Hart.

What distinguishes the music of Ghost Trees from the above duos is Bagwell and Nanaa's preparation for their performance. Intercept Method is a double LP, the duo's fourth full-length LP and it follows the self-released Universal Topics (2021), both of which were recorded at the infamous Rudy Van Gelder studio. The pair worked and reworked their music while practicing during the pandemic. Their method was not unlike the style of the punk band Fugazi. Like Ian Mackaye's process, Bagwell and Nanaa did not so much put pen to paper composing music as they experimented, rephrased, and refined their improvising language.

That is evident with the first track "Carnation" with Bagwell's languid tenor coaxed along by the pulse. Nanaa's drumming is the accelerator here and throughout the recording. They exercise some energy music with "Spherical" and "Meanwhile Gesture" plus an insouciant blues "Lessons in Renunciation." The tension on display is purposeful and it serves the duo's mission, be it delivering an Albert Ayler—like simple melody "Lymars" or the chamber music of "Station Keeping." Like the finest musicians, Bagwell and Nanaa have developed their own language, one that can be appreciated by all.