September 21–28, 2000

critic pick|jazz

Jim Black’s Alas No Axis

Jim Black has lent his signature sound to literally dozens of different ensembles and projects in the improvised music scene. The drummer-percussionist comprises one-third of both Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio and Ellery Eskelin’s working band. He’s a charter member of Human Feel, PAcHORA and Chris Speed’s Yeah No, as well as Tim Berne’s Bloodcount. As a sideman, he has also worked with the cream of the downtown crop — progressive artists like Michael Formanek, Ben Monder, Tony Malaby and Uri Caine.

But Black made it a point to wipe the slate clean before crafting his own concept. "I really wanted to form a band and make an album that was really just about what I heard that moment, that day," he explains. "If you didn’t have to worry about making money or making an album or pleasing anybody — yourself or musicians in general — remove all the filters and dogma, what have you got left?"

The answer, at least in this case, is Alas No Axis — a quartet with a personal sound distinct from all of the above. Which in itself is a remarkable achievement, since three of its members (Black, clarinetist Chris Speed and electric bassist Skuli Suerrisson) play in two other bands together (PAcHORA and Yeah No). The addition of Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, and the thematic imprint of Black’s compositions, make the crucial difference. Whereas most of Black’s other Skuli Sverrisson gigs involve quick changes and multiple starts and stops, Axis follows a longer arc. The music, available on the soon-to-be-released Alasnoaxis (Winter & Winter), is textural, atmospheric, almost elegiac. Its terrain suggests marshy flatlands instead of the usual ridges and crags.

Black, who composes primarily on guitar, wrote much of this material on the road. "Many times I was like: ‘This is just too simple. I’ve got to scrap this. It’s not gonna make it.’ And that’s total bullshit. It takes confidence in this world sometimes just to bring out those things that actually come out very quickly and honestly. And it wasn’t until I heard the music with the band that I was convinced I was doing the right thing."

—Nate Chinen

Jim Black’s Alas No Axis, Mon., Sept. 25, 9:30 p.m., Plays & Players Theatre Club, 1714 Delancey St., $12, 215-735-0630, visit home.att.net/~lankina/sweetnighter.