Peripheral Vision: More Songs About Error and Shame
Peripheral Vision

Toronto-based jazz quartet Peripheral Vision is co-led by double bassist Michael Herring and guitarist Don Scott, but all four parts are integral to the outfit's, well, vision. Drummer Nick Fraser and tenor saxophonist Trevor Hogg have been with the band since its 2008 inception and are considerably more than hired hands; if anything, the rapport demonstrated by the four in its latest album's seven performances indicates that each member deserves equal billing, even if the tunes are written by the co-leaders.

What makes the quartet's playing especially impressive is that Herring and Scott's compositions aren't simply blowing vehicles but rather intricate timepieces filled with shifting tempi and clever counterpoint and whose execution demands a high level of musicianship from the participants. Even better, not only are the four up to the task, they do so without any compromise to the music's rhythmic thrust. It's high-wire material, in short, that, however complex, swings and mightily at that. No doubt the group's many years of gigs in Canada and tours throughout Europe have done much to turn Peripheral Vision into the well-oiled machine captured on this latest release, which the co-leaders produced with Jean Martin.

Herring and Scott take their music seriously without being overly precious or pretentious about it. The title of their fourth Peripheral Vision full-length, for example, is a riff on the title of Talking Heads' second album, and among the influences they drew upon for More Songs About Error and Shame are Catalonian artist Miró, British comedian Stewart Lee, and favourite rock bands from years past. Both Herring and Scott have irons in the fire outside of Peripheral Vision: Herring's a leader or co-leader of a dizzying array of eclectic projects, including the Michael Herring Quartet, Way North, Michael Herring's Vertigo, The Uplifters, and Harrington; for his part, Scott's heard in an equally diverse number of setting, among them the Don Scott Trio, the Radiohead-themed Idioteque, Limerence Quartet, and Rebecca Hennessy's FOG Brass Band.

Strong from start to finish, More Songs About Error and Shame should do much to further solidify Peripheral Vision's rep. While soloing is plentiful, it arises within intricate, through-composed structures that sees the others as engaged as the soloist. As Hogg solos, for example, Herring and Scott might voice unison patterns that allow Fraser to play more freely. Occasionally three drop out to grant the fourth a solo spotlight before gradually reentering, quietly at first before dialing up the temperature. Each brings something special to the shared endeavour: Scott often colours the material with ambient textures, at times bending and liquefying his notes in a manner reminiscent of Mary Halvorson and at others adopting a harder, distortion-tinged edge (see “Chubby Cello”); with his deep throated attack, Hogg adds an authoritative and incisive lead voice to the presentation; Herring's pulse solidly grounds the music in even its wildest moments; and Fraser likewise anchors the material with ever-inventive playing that's on-point yet exudes looseness and spontaneity. Years of playing together have enabled the four to switch roles, modulate dynamics, and move between foreground and background with deftness and seeming ease. That they're able to navigate such intricate charts so naturally and freewheelingly says much about the high level at which the four operate.

April 2018