Jacob Garchik: Ye Olde

In Ye Olde, trombonist Jacob Garchik uses progressive rock, jazz and plenty of imagination to create what might be a mashup of Game of Thrones and 21st century music. He's performed with Henry Threadgill and Lee Konitz and produced the outstanding 2012 solo project The Heavens: The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album (Yestereve Records). These proclivities continue in his fourth date as a leader about an imagined faux-Gothic Flatbush/ Brooklyn architecture brought to fruition by a forward thinking band who handle the unusual subject matter's theme and touch of humor with seriously executed performances.

Not one, but three guitarists (Brandon Seabrook, Jonathan Goldberger, and Mary Halvorson) bring the sweet noise while the tunes are pumped by drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. Things begin with "Ye Olde of Flatbush" and conclude at "The Throne Room of Queen Anne" two unadulterated samples of colorful faux-Medieval themes driven by power amped guitars and Garchik's sonorous horn.

But there's a wealth of other peculiarities. Funk-rock meets 'Nawlins Second Line in "The Sinister Scheme of Mortise Mansard." Brief Harlequin-esque snippets "A Clue Wrought in Stone" and "Stained Glass Transoms Illuminate a Hidden Crypt" are video game-like contain humor, whereas "The Opossum King of Greenwood Forest" is a full-fledged groove of power drums and unusual noises. One of the most memorable tracks is "Post-Modern Revival" a hypnotic tune with Garchik's wailing trombone and some serious guitar shredding. Then there's the joint called "Refuge in the Ruins of Castle Martense" which might be a nod to electronica with its syncopated rhythms and loop sampled trombones making Garchik's progressive jazz-rock fantasy one of the most interesting releases of the year.