Clark Sommers WaBaSH is the debut recording from a quartet that has, in various configurations, been one of Chicago’s most celebrated working bands for nearly two decades. Bassist Sommerstraces his connections with the other members back to the late 1990s when he met tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield and drummer Dana Hall, building relationships that have encompassed hundreds of gigs and numerous recording projects. The WaBaSH lineup itself grew out of two groups: BaSH, Sommers’ trio with Bradfield and Hall first documented on their eponymous 2013 release; and Dana Hall’s spring, a quartet that, with the addition of saxophonist John Wojciechowski, logged a two-year residency at Andy’s Jazz Club and appearances at the Chicago and Hyde Park Jazz Festivals.
“The music represents a level of musical exploration built on trust only possible through many years of playing as an ensemble,” says Sommers. “It embodies the full manifestation of individual and collective growth of a refined musical vision shared amongst close friends and collaborators.”
All four members of WaBaSH contribute original compositions, each bringing a strongly individual voice to the program. Sommers authored three pieces, including the expansive opener “Points of Reduction,” and his improvised solo bass interludes frame Hall’s brooding “Kasbah” and his own blues-drenched “That Was Then.” Wojo’s more tongue-in-cheek offerings, like “Ornette-Type-Tune,” a wry nod to the free jazz pioneer whose influence runs throughout the band’s approach, provide contrasting and complementary energies. Bradfield’s “Contemplation,” featuring bass clarinet and flute with hints of exotica, rounds out the originals before Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way” closes the set in a thoroughly modernist reading. Drawing from John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, and Elvin Jones, WaBaSH builds on the jazz tradition while staking out firmly its own territory.
“The music represents a level of musical exploration built on trust only possible through many years of playing as an ensemble,” says Sommers. “It embodies the full manifestation of individual and collective growth of a refined musical vision shared amongst close friends and collaborators.”
All four members of WaBaSH contribute original compositions, each bringing a strongly individual voice to the program. Sommers authored three pieces, including the expansive opener “Points of Reduction,” and his improvised solo bass interludes frame Hall’s brooding “Kasbah” and his own blues-drenched “That Was Then.” Wojo’s more tongue-in-cheek offerings, like “Ornette-Type-Tune,” a wry nod to the free jazz pioneer whose influence runs throughout the band’s approach, provide contrasting and complementary energies. Bradfield’s “Contemplation,” featuring bass clarinet and flute with hints of exotica, rounds out the originals before Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way” closes the set in a thoroughly modernist reading. Drawing from John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, and Elvin Jones, WaBaSH builds on the jazz tradition while staking out firmly its own territory.
