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Simon Nabatov with Chris Speed, Herb Robertson, John Hébert, Tom Rainey: Plain
ByFor Plain the pianist has reunited with Robertson and Rainey, plus added reedist Chris Speed, and bassist John Hébert. Of the seven tracks, five were composed by Nabatov, one is freely improvised, and the disc concludes with the pianist hero, Herbie Nichols' "House Party Starting." The title track "Plain," not meaning unembellished but indisputable, weaves thoroughly composed music with feral passages. What begins with an elegant duo between Speed's clarinet and Nabatov's piano opens into Robertson's muted trumpet romp and Rainey's near stochastic pounding. With Nabatov's music, what is seemingly detonated always finds its center, maintaining is coherence. Maybe it is the small gestures this music provides. "Cry From Hell" rewards the listeners' patience with the quintet's meandering. The composition flows from randomness to a Brazilian sway. "Break" works a kind of Aaron Copland Americana into the sweep of the composition, flirting with the blues and streams of orchestrated energy. The two outliers here are the collective improvisation "Ramblin' On" and Herbie Nichols' cover "House Party Starting." The former features Robertson reciting (poetry?) through a bullhorn over an oxymoronic dissonant harmony. The Nichols' track is played practically straightforward, glowing in its plain-spoken beauty. Just another doll within a doll within a doll within a doll...
Track Listing
Plain; Copy That; Cry From Hell; Break; Ramblin’ On; Slow Thinker; House Party Starting.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Herb Robertson: vocals, cornet; Chris Speed: clarinet.
Album information
Title: Plain | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records
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Simon Nabatov
TONY MALABY
Brandon Seabrook
Michael Formanek
Gerald Cleaver
Herb Robertson
Mark Feldman
Mark Helias
Tom Rainey
Chris Speed
John Hebert
Herbie Nichols