Sunday, July 16, 2017

USA: Tyshawn Sorey-Verisimilitude (2017)


Verisimilitude 
Verisimilitude is the latest development in drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey's effort to shatter the jazz piano trio tradition by extending the form to encompass the influence of the likes of Feldman, Debussy and Xenakis. One of the most in-demand drummers in jazz he has in recent years collaborated extensively with the likes of John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Roscoe Mitchell, among myriad others --  Sorey is also in the vanguard of artists working at the juncture of composed and improvised music. His 2015 release The Inner Spectrum of Variables, which also features his core trio of Cory Smyth on piano and Chris Tordini on drums joined by a string trio, was called 'devastatingly gorgeous' by the Chicago Reader and 'a genuine masterwork' by Stereogum.

Verisimilitude utilizes a wider array of percussion effects, along with judicious use of electronics to explore a broader textural soundscape. The result is a far-reaching and intensely beautiful work that daringly blurs the boundaries between composition and improvisation.