Caroline Davis: Alula
New Amsterdam Records

If labeling Alula future jazz seems simplistic, it nevertheless emphasizes the forward-thinking mindset Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist Caroline Davis brings to this 2016-formed trio project. With keyboardist Matt Mitchell and drummer Greg Saunier accompanying her, she pushes the material into a heady experimental realm that sounds like little else currently on offer. Such adventurousness is business as usual, however, for the Singapore-born Davis. The one-time Chicagoan (she moved to New York City in 2013) is involved in a number of projects, including Maitri, Whirlpool, and Persona, the latter with pianist Rob Clearfield, and was recognized in 2018 in the Downbeat Critic's Poll as the top “Rising Star” in the alto sax category.

Inspiration for the band name and album title (the trio's debut) came from her study of an anterior digit on a bird's wing that performs a locomotive function during flight and landing. It's not the first time Davis, who received her doctorate in Music Cognition at Northwestern University in 2010, has brought her intellectual curiosity to a project. Her 2018 Sunnyside Records release, Heart Tonic, grew out of research on the physical workings of the human heart, a study she also undertook for a very personal reason, specifically her father's heart arrhythmia condition. Davis's application of a concept to her music isn't handled superficially. Just as she integrated the ventricular rhythms of the heart into the compositional structures on Heart Tonic, so too does she weave the distinctive movements of a bird's flight patterns into the design of Alula. As a result, some tracks soar gyroscopically, whereas others shift unpredictably. Bolstering the adventurousness of the writing and performances is Mitchell's gear: eschewing acoustic piano, he plays synthesizers exclusively, ARP, Prophet 6, and Modular Synth, and in doing so a whole other side to this in-demand musician is emphasized.

In the absence of bass, grounding for a trio featuring sax, drums, and keyboards would typically fall to the latter, but that's hardly the role Mitchell adopts. As a sign of just how much Davis upends the trio concept, saxophone's the stabilizing force: in voicing a given track's melodies, her playing lends the tune shape, which in turn liberates the others to play freely. That her horn is the calm at the center of the storm is but one of many surprises the recording offers.

The set begins provocatively with “Alula” (palindromically bookended by “alulA” ten tracks later), the inclusion of Davis's wordless voice an unexpected detail. Wending unusual intervallic paths in unison with Mitchell's synthesizer, the parts gradually separate, the voice rising and the keyboardist splattering chords amidst eruptive drumming. Flirting with dissonance, the tune's a throat-clearer of sorts, though it is wilder than most of what follows. “Flight” settles things down thereafter, with Davis's confident alto snaking a path through Saunier's martial-funk groove and Mitchell's glimmering embellishments. “Wingbeat” then reestablishes the take-no-prisoners vibe of the opener before settling into a playful groove and melodic acrobatics one might call sci-fi bop.

Just shy of seven minutes, “Remiges” affords the three ample time to explore and room to maneuver. Following a meditative intro, the playing turns funky, Davis unspooling coiling lines and Saunier augmenting free-flow with a straight-time cowbell. She assumes the Pied Piper role for “Vortex Generator,” an infectious romp that pulls electronica, pop, jazz, and Brazilian swing into its orbit in equal measure. As tumultuous as the playing often is, Alula also makes room for a (relatively) calm moment with “Coverts,” the leader showcasing the warmth of her tone and Mitchell restraining himself to church organ-like textures.

Interestingly, though Davis has acknowledged Steve Coleman as an influence (evidence of which is present on Alula), a few moments arise where the material could be mistaken for Weather Report. When those layered synth chords pair with Davis's singing sax in “Landing,” for instance, the material begins to resemble some lost Zawinul composition from Mr. Gone. While the trio's playing exemplifies many of the earmarks of jazz, rarely does a conventional jazz rhythm surface; Saunier's playing has much to do with that, naturally, but the others also edge beyond the boundaries of the genre. Regardless, a sense of real-time collective creation is established throughout the recording, the music live in the fullest sense. An intrepid artist by nature, Davis isn't hesitant about challenging listeners with Alula, which certainly classifies as one of her most daring recordings. Recorded at Figure 8 in Brooklyn on December 14th, 2017, the set definitely enhances one's appreciation for each musician's range and explorative sensibility.

September 2019