Sam Newsome: Tubes

Tubes, a riotous investigation into the sonic by outlaw soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome and provocateur bassist Max Johnson, burps to life with "Dust" and proceeds assuredly down its own peculiar byways and highways. It is a real treat. The track closes with Newsome's prepared horn pondering like a bluesman on his lone, lonely harp. It is a real neat treat too.

That is pretty much the blueprint for Tubes. However, it is not as simple as that and it is certainly nothing to just scoff at. As Newsome (who previously played with Daniel Carter, Dave Liebman and Jean-Michel Pilc) blubbers, stutters, flutters, and yowls, he rings primordial, like a language we all know but some (most?) have forgotten. Or sold off. Or traded in for something more comfortable, more form fitting.

Johnson—whose bio includes Anthony Braxton, Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey and John Zorn—has an enervating tone to his playing. So its elliptical, arching counterpoint cuts the electric air with a frenzy of molecules ("Grizzly Bear") while it saws and riles. He ripples Newsome's calm surface and provides the undertow for the saxophonist's penetrating winces ("Helicopter Exit") and his spirited stroll through {{Thelonious Monk}'s personal favorite "Blue Monk." That a slippery form such as "Tubes and Keys" follows such a controlled moment is a study in logic which could take a lifetime to glean. But moments such as this come easy and often on Tubes.