Chris Varga: Breathe
Calligram Records

One of the more intriguing things about Chris Varga's Breathe is the vibraphonist's admission that much of its material was influenced by ‘80s pop music. Whereas “Durantula” might seem to namecheck a certain English new wave band (it's actually a tribute to basketball star Kevin Durant), some tracks do, in fact, reference Tears For Fears and Depeche Mode. Yet while there is a brooding quality to “Framing the Dragon” that hints at the latter and “TMI” does subtly echo the uplift of “Head Over Heels” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Varga's hope that said influences would be incorporated so seamlessly as to be invisible was achieved. Rather than coming across like some watered-down pop-jazz fusion that's less than the sum of its parts, Breathe engages as a spirited set of freewheeling modern jazz by Varga, guitarist Dave Miller, bassist Clark Sommers, drummer Neil Hemphill, and, on half of the eight tracks, tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield. One ultimately spends less time looking for pop music traces than focusing on the inspired interplay.

The album hits hard from the drop when Sommers introduces “Durantula” with a driving pulse and the others join him with their own frothy contributions. With the bassist and Hemphill kicking the swinging groove along, Varga, Bradfield, and Miller serve up fiery solos that soar alongside the eruptive heat fulminating around them. Contrasting episodes emerge that see the five furiously attacking one moment and laying back the next before resuming the attack. Delivered at a slow and sultry pace, the inwardly probing “Breathe” offers a splendid showcase for Varga's gleaming shimmer, Bradfield's late-night soulfulness, and Miller's blues-tinged twang. Hemphill propels “Framing the Dragon” with a furious, jungle-inflected pulse that contrasts dramatically with the ominous figures Bradfield and Varga drape across it. Interestingly, a few moments occur during the samba-driven “TMI” when Hemphill powers Bradfield in a way that recalls Ed Blackwell doing the same for Ornette Coleman on 1962's Ornette on Tenor (the explosive trade-offs between the leader and Miller towards the track's end are worth mentioning too).

As a composer, Varga writes serviceable tunes that are intricately structured yet still allow ample space for individual creativity and soloing. The ones featuring the tenor saxophonist effectively combine his authoritative attack with the cool acrobatics of the leader, but the four without him are no less satisfying. An unusual change in metre (from 4/4 to 9/8) gives the funky “Lid” an ear-catching character, but it's Miller's fleet fretwork, Varga's dancing vibes, and the band's deft acclimation to the tune's mercurial tidal shifts that most distinguish the track. In a change of pace, the four cast “Passing Remark” as a thoughtful rubato meditation, the interplay between the players strong and connected; the harmonious lyricism of “This System of Things,” on the other hand, calls forth a funkier expression. Just as he opens the album unaccompanied, Sommers does the same at its end to introduce “Gentle Vicissitudes,” Varga's moody adaptation of the Korean folk song “About 500 Years.” Such material lends itself especially well to the atmospheric allure the vibraphone's so capable of producing.

April 2025