Caroline Davis & Rob Clearfield's Persona: Anthems
Sunnyside Records

Listeners coming to alto saxophonist Caroline Davis's collaboration with Persona co-leader and pianist Rob Clearfield after hearing her earlier 2019 release Alula, a trio date with Matt Mitchell on synthesizers and drummer Greg Saunier, won't be met with anything as experimental and boundary-pushing. But if Anthems is neither of those things, that doesn't make it any the less satisfying musically; if anything, it might be the more pleasurable listen of the two. It's definitely apples and oranges, however: the two outfits and projects are so unlike, they defy easy comparison.

Davis met the pianist while attending Chicago's Northwestern University, Clearfield by then an established figure through associations with Matt Ulery, Greg Ward, and others. Oddly, it was only after Davis moved to New York City in 2013 that the idea of a formal collaboration took hold, and two years later they began booking gigs as co-leaders, the shared endeavour gradually turning into an enduring proposition. Though Clearfield currently has a home base in France, he's stateside often enough to keep the project going.

Selecting Persona as the group name was no accident, by the way, the word of course calling to mind the Ingmar Bergman film from 1966 that deals with two characters, a mute actress cared for by a nurse, and the eventual merging of their personalities. The line connecting the film concept to the band Persona is clearly short and straight, with Davis's and Clearfield's own identities conjoined in common purpose. Consistent with their shared ownership of the group, compositions are split between them, Davis credited with five, Clearfield three, and “Miss Ann” by Eric Dolphy bringing the total to nine.

Clearfield supplements piano with Fender Rhodes and Moog synthesizer on the date, while Davis plays with as much authority and personality here as on the earlier trio set; interestingly, while her attack on Anthems is less fiery, her playing is generally consistent from one album to the other: it's the context, in other words, that changes. With Persona rounded out by bassist Sam Weber (acoustic and electric) and drummer Jay Sawyer, the flexible unit's comfortable tackling any number of styles and moods.

Davis's “People Look Like Tanks” starts things off, the tune inspired by the work of artist Carlo Zinelli, who suffered from PTSD (not, of course, diagnosed as such at the time) from his experiences in the Spanish Civil War. In this brief scene-setter, Clearfield's resonant chords pair with Davis's keening expressions, the pianist providing an insistent ostinato for the altoist's musings. A more substantial piece follows, Davis's wistful “Bots,” which nicely juxtaposes her reflective musings with understated accompaniment by the pianist. Even at this early stage in the album, one is presented, it seems, with the conjunction of different musical personas, Davis emphasizing melody and Clearfield textural elegance. A fractured, stop-start exercise in playful post-bop, her “Anthem” changes things up dramatically, the miniature also rhythmically different from a breezy, swinging take on “Miss Ann” where the two trade solos and the rhythm section provides the requisite drive. (A second short riff on “Anthem” returns later on the recording, this time an electrified version that's funkier than the first.)

The pianist's three compositions are ruminative affairs that accentuate wistfulness and melancholy to a greater degree than Davis's. Drawing for inspiration from Brahms and Chopin, Clearfield's classical technique emerges in the gorgeous “A Soothing, Melancholy Breeze,” a lyrical duet that sees his lilting arpeggios complemented by an at times hushed and emotionally expressive Davis. Pushing past ten minutes, “Secrets” patiently builds from plaintive, subtly gospel-inflected beginnings into an oceanic spiritual expression. Affecting too is “Green,” which again puts the combination of piano and alto in a flattering light. While Weber and Sawyer are largely content on the album to support the frontliners, their playing shouldn't be overlooked. Weber contributes a splendid solo to “Green,” for example, and the drummer's brushes and cymbals add a rich stream of colour to the performance.

November 2019