An inscrutable whirlwind
Jazz is rarely approachable when placed outside the confines of a Starbucks. It often finds itself either tossed completely to the side or curated as an oddity for hipsters to establish credibility in circles that they couldn’t possibly hope to run in. As such, jazz finds itself in a strange place where it eludes the general public’s eye, maintains prestige due to a long standing tradition in America and is welcome to be experimental as possible. Catherine Sikora and Brain Chase take great advantage of that freedom to create some truly mind boggling music.
Untitled: After is purported to be inspired by the ancient tale of Beowulf, and while due to the instrumentation the narrative is effectively inscrutable, the instrumentation is undeniable. On tracks like “Dear As He Was” and “Hand-to-Hand” Brian Chase proves himself to be one of a select few musicians whose composition and technical skills behind a drum kit allow him to carry pace with Sikora. The tracks are oddly plodding and often filled with shrieks of saxophone that cut through the arrhythmic percussion like butter, adding a piercing accent on each track. “Rigged” shows Chase taking a backseat for the most part, though his drumming still serves as an excellent glue for the track, and allows Sikora to truly impress listeners with her blistering saxophone. The blizzard of notes may prove to be unassailable for those new to jazz, but then again this music certainly isn’t for new listeners.
Sometimes the music does rise to levels of madness that make it difficult to discern what is happening and it feels like experimentation for the sake of it. Glimpses of this come through on “Death” and “Brightly Forged,” which feature some of the more intense saxophone sections on the record. Yet, even at its wildest, the record manages to impress with its cutting edge technicality.
Avant-garde is what it is for a reason. One is supposed to have a background in these things before walking its hallowed halls. However, the payoff is noticeable once a listener rises up beyond the casual appreciation of music into the mind bending experience of the absurd, they’re apt to improve their enjoyment of nearly all that they listen to. This record is no exception, and for all its madness there is much to enjoy, perhaps even for the uninitiated.
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