Zach Adleman: We Make: Stories For A New Day

From beginning to end, Zach Adleman's debut as a leader, We Make: Stories For A New Day, fires on all cylinders. The twenty-something drummer inhabits the roles of player, composer, arranger, and bandleader with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran. A hungry, assertive band includes two generations of compatible hands who produce a fresh and vital sound that mirrors the straight-ahead, acoustic jazz tradition

Adleman penned nine compositions that are sturdy, substantive, and melodically rich. We have "Lookin' Up," a witty, insightful nod to Thelonious Monk that precedes an incendiary cover of the master's "Evidence," Adleman's influences are not obvious. "In Between Places," the record's opener, begins with a suspenseful solo piano interlude and transitions into a genial, medium-tempo hard bop line. Ambitious and teeming with ideas, "We Make" displays Adleman's ability to deftly forge connections between several sections. "Ballad For The Night" harks back to the Great American Songbook (minus lyrics) without revealing its exact origins.

Trumpeter Austin Ford, bassist Jared Beckstead-Craan and Adleman, as well as alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan and pianist Luther Allison (both of whom released critically acclaimed records of their own in 2024), comprise the band's rising generation. After decades of accomplishments in the New York City jazz scene and beyond, alto saxophonist/flutist Steve Wilson and trombonist Steve Davis need no introduction. Each cohort plays like they have something to prove. They animate the spirit and substance of the leader's compositions and, as improvisers, manifest equal parts of shrewd organization and emotion. Evincing wisdom beyond his years, Adleman makes the most of their talents by employing arrangements with different instrumental combinations and degrees of complexity.

Adleman's musicality on the drums is proportional to his other virtues. The ability to lock in with Beckstead-Craan's bass line, usually staying just a touch below the bassist in volume, keeps the band moving on an even keel instead of insisting on creating a facile sense of excitement via busy, insistent sticking. By and large, Adleman's snare drum accents make an impact without drawing too much attention or pushing the band into untoward directions. The out head of the swinging "It Always Rains In Michigan" is a fine example of how his comping and fills make themselves heard and dig right into the heart of the music.

In a record chock full of decisive, idiosyncratic soloists, Adleman holds his own. On "Lookin' Up," he stutter-steps around Beckstead- Craan's firm walking line, developing themes that are all the more impressive for his willingness to forsake building to a climax. He flies alone during Cole Porter's "Night And Day," generating momentum by executing loosely connected ideas amidst brief pauses. Working around short, repeated figures by the horns on "It Always Rains In Michigan," he expands but never lets go of a connecting thread.

The record ends on an exhilarating note with a go-for-broke duo treatment by Wilson and Adleman of Thelonious Monk's "Evidence." It is a four-minute rush of edgy, relentless, split-second interaction. Both demand constant attention. Wilson pursues a bebop and beyond course as Adleman executes rhythms around the kit at warp speed while exhibiting an acute awareness of the saxophonist's explosive lines.

We Make: Stories For A New Day sets the bar high for Adleman's future endeavors.

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