David G White: While You Were Sleeping

Guitarist David G. White has an independent streak in him that has endured from his early days on the scene in Boston and New York in the 1990s. Grounded, like most fusion-oriented players, in bebop language, White learned the nuances of jazz improvisation from his mentor Charlie Shoemake in Los Angeles. Now based in Oakland, his journey led him to Seattle and the band David White and Big Neighborhood in the 2000s, a tenure that led to a pair of albums on the acclaimed Origin Records label. There he experimented with guitar-synth sounds and composed on the edge music that bordered on neo-classical and jazz-rock fusion themes.

While You Were Sleeping (Burning Chair, 2025) is a direct-to-disk session recorded live in the studio without overdubs, in four hours of time. It is as if White has taken all of his perceived boundary-breaking intent and filtered it down to what intrinsically defines modern jazz: the ephemeral experience of the here-and-now, expressing emotive gestures in real time. Joined by bassist John Lockwood and drummer Mark Walker, the session seems to possess that northern California vibe of free expression while perceptually rooted to the constant of White's personal journey in music.

The title track is the opener and promptly reveals much about what is to come over the course of the album's nine original compositions. The tune features dynamic changes that drift from colorful rural musings to extended chordal harmony, subtly brushing Walker's rhythmic offering. The central melody is expressed in broad strokes by Lockwood's fluid bow work. The blending of sound between the three participants sounds very organic, a sensitive interaction between electric guitar and two acoustic counterparts. White's sensitivity to the group mind allows his adventuresome spirit to interface without resistance, welcomed in by the collective spirit of a bass-and-drums combo that is almost folklike, with a gray day/early winter sound that is very visual.

"Close the Door" finds White in exploration mode, performing this expansive piece with two partners who had at best spent a couple hours with the music. The result is eight minutes of open group improvisation, spoken spontaneously in melodic figures and their logical extensions. White's approach includes lightning-quick runs connecting passages that could each qualify as the central theme of the piece. The live studio recording really hits its mark in allowing for creative freedom in real time.

White utilizes a synth-driven sound on "Still Swinging at 100," leading into and following a nimble bass solo from Lockwood. White transitions into creating a canvas of sound that defies groove and allows Walker to play with great elasticity in terms of time. The trio revolves around a common center that is swept away in an instant by White's shape shifted ending.

This is a recording where the listener needs to meet the artists halfway. If the first listen is in any way distracted, you may not receive the intent of the music. A true listen reveals much; there is a somberness to some of the music and revival in other moments. The intricacy of the playing and the mindfulness that produced it is in the finer portions of the session. An author of eight albums as a leader, White continues in the finer practice of non-conformity. On While You Were Sleeping he has found a trio with a similar grasp on creative and performative insight. A very satisfying and expansive listen in all. 

Comments