Bobby Naughton: Housatonic Rumble - Live at Charlie's Tap

Vibraphonist Bobby Naughton helms a finely attuned trio on Housatonic Rumble, a 1985 live recording drawn from previously unissued tapes discovered in his archive. Although he worked extensively with edge-loving adventurers such as Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith, and co-founded the Connecticut-based Creative Musicians' Improvisers Forum, this live set affirms a commitment to accessibility which does not constrain group interaction. Drawn from two performances at Charlie's Tap in Cambridge MA, the program showcases bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Randy Kaye on a mix of Naughton originals and two well-chosen covers.

Naughton leaves ample space for the rhythm team to shine through. While Kaye first appeared with the innovative mallet player in 1971, Fonda came into his orbit a decade later. The bassist recounts the somewhat daunting circumstances in the liners to his Eyes On The Horizon (Long Song, 2024). But notwithstanding initial impressions, his propulsive phrasing and sturdy counterpoint mesh perfectly with the leader's glinting speech-like lines. Kaye's interval-aware approach to the kit complements the vibraphonist's ear for a tune, while his crisp accents brook no complacency. Although all three deliver standout moments, the wonderful ensemble playing founded on responsive listening forms the main reason to hear this disc.

The sprung rhythms of the aptly named "Bounce" promote an infectious introduction to the set. Like all Naughton's artful pieces, many of which appeared on contemporaneous releases issued on his own Otic label and now long out of print, it carries enough melodic hooks to anchor individual features and supporting lines into a cohesive whole. "Calves" offers another pertinent example, as a series of stepwise unisons gradually drift out of sync into a three-way dialogue, which constantly harks back to the theme. Elsewhere both Fonda and Kaye sustain a beat that rarely falters, doing just enough, even during their solos, to maintain momentum.

Even better than Naughton's charts are the ringers. Braxton's jaunty free-bop "Composition 23J" launches with urgency, all dash and verve, encouraging a particularly nimble swaggering contribution from the bassist, while Fonda invents a nagging underpinning to Carla Bley's brooding "Vashkar" and Naughton's subsequent undulating waves of notes. The club setting promotes a relaxed informal vibe, and though audience chatter occasionally intrudes, it never overshadows the music. The only other point worth noting is some confusion in the track credits, where the Bley and Braxton tunes are transposed on the sleeve, and the final cut, listed as "Shepaug Strut (version 2)" sounds rather more like a second run at "Vashkar," albeit with Fonda extemporizing a different accompaniment. None of this detracts from a top notch outing.