Sing Me Some Cry by Eric Revis

Eric Revis – Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed, 2017)

The cover to this album picturing a woman in a dress and with a brush for a head looks very avant-garde and the music sounds like it. Bassist Eric Revis is well-known to most jazz listeners having played with singer Betty Carter and saxophonist Branford Marsalis.

To the listeners of the Branford Marsalis quartet Revis is already known as the avant-gardist of the group, not in the way he plays, but it the way he writes. His songs are the quirkiest ones the group has recorded on albums such as Metamorphosen and Four MFs Playing Tunes.

In Marsalis’s quartet Revis’ quirkiness is balanced by the lyricism of the other group members. On his own he has chosen to play with musicians who shares more of his own taste for experimentation. On Sing Me Some Cry they are saxophonist Ken Vandermark, pianist Kris Davis, and drummer Chad Taylor.

Lyrical experimentation

Avant-garde do not mean chaotic or unorganized to these musicians. The music on the contrary sounds highly thought out, even smart or lyrical, but it’s accents and rhythms are not the ones you are used to in general.

On a song like Revis’ minimalistic ballad “Solstice…The Girls”, a mood and a rhythm are sustained for five minutes with Vandermark whispering on the clarinet, Davis plucking the piano strings and Taylor playing the tom-toms.

Most other tracks are a lot more intense with all four members interacting rhythmically and Vandermark switching to his powerful tenor saxophone. The rhythm section of Davis, Revis and Taylor are a wonder. Just listen to the last track “Glyph” where they seamlessly drift from free experimental playing to some of the most lyrical ballad playing you will ever hear.

Take your time to explore this music. It is well worth it.