Zack Clarke Trio: Vertical Shores
Clean Feed

With double bassist Kim Cass and drummer Dre Hocevar as engaged co-pilots, Zack Clarke continues his bold reimagining of the jazz piano trio tradition on his third release for Clean Feed. A stellar follow-up to the earlier Random Acts of Order and Mesophase releases, Vertical Shores, recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn on October 13th, 2017, sees the New York-based pianist operating within purely acoustic territory and intrepidly expanding the boundaries of possibility therein. The album title alone alludes to the upturning of convention that is for Clarke the realm his playing naturally inhabits. Like tides, the music rises and falls in accordance with the trio's playing.

The three dig into his nine pieces with conviction, the level of focused in-the-moment concentration remarkable to witness. In his liner notes, the pianist refers to improvisation as a “juggling act,” and the description effectively captures what's happening as the trio advances through each performance. The playing's marked by fluidity, with segues between different styles occurring as smoothly as colours changing within a chemical bath. Clarke isn't averse to referencing long-established jazz forms, but they're never evoked by rote. The three embrace the trio format as a starting point out of which previously uncharted explorations develop. Operating at such a high level demands technical proficiency and kindred sensibilities, both of which the participants demonstrate.

While Clarke's credited as the music's composer and no doubt guidelines were in place to direct the performances, the tracks exude an improvisatory character. Adherence to regulated metre is downplayed for a free-flowing feel where rhythm's treated as elastically as melody. Responsiveness is key, with Cass and Hocevar not only reacting to Clarke's lead but also willfully shaping the music's direction. The pianist is an ever-resourceful player capable of drawing on a deep command of the keyboard, and his playing's marked by density or spaciousness as demanded.

Track titles such as “Toward Helios” and “Outer Orbit” convey the explorative daring on offer, while “Shadows of Ancient Bodies” and “Orphean Wind” allude to the music's time-transcending quality. During “Aggressive Déjà Vu,” Clarke alternates between a needling theme and elaborate, roller coaster runs, Hocevar's scurrying brushes following the pianist's lead and Cass offering a grounding counterpoint. Representative of the fluid execution at which the trio excels, the music suddenly segues into a bluesy section before returning to comparatively abstract territory. The moment also startles when the hint of a walking bass line surfaces in “Lost in Ripples,” the nod to tradition offset by the bold harmonic explorations pursued by Clarke. It's not uncommon for a number of sequences of such kind to occur within a performance, but they never appear as distinctly demarcated passages.

December 2019