Jacob Anderskov. Courtesy Hans Reitzema/Edu Media Web

by John Cook

Jacob Anderskov
Twins Jazz
Mar. 22, 2011

Danish composer and pianist Jacob Anderskov led the illustrious quartet featured on his latest album, Agnostic Revelations, in a Twins Jazz performance last Tuesday organized by the New Atlantis Collective. While New Atlantis is justly recognized as one of D.C.’s leading curators of free-improvised music, Anderskov’s group presented two sets of the leader’s finely honed compositions, played essentially as written for performance by the all-acoustic quartet.

The evening’s music covered a wide swath of territory, from the contemplatively abstract to the crisply swinging. Though he has a light touch, Anderskov prowled the piano with the quiet intensity of a panther, displaying great command, an expressive style and, every so often, the characteristic flourishes he used to cue the band. Saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed added most of the rest of the evening’s solos. Speed’s facility on the latter showed that however rarely it is heard these days, the clarinet can be quite vital and expressive.

The stellar rhythm section of bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Gerald Cleaver greatly enhanced the music’s dynamic range, gently locking in on the subtle grooves within the more delicate pieces and propelling the music forward. Fortunately, with him teaching at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, we have more opportunities than most to see Formanek – often as a unit with Cleaver. Both are consistently excellent, and quite attuned to each other’s playing. As the Washington City Paper recently noted, the bass scene in D.C. is thriving – especially as far as straight-ahead jazz goes – but Formanek brings something a bit different. 

The first set was a highly focused series of compositions that featured the ensemble as a group, with occasional leads from Anderskov and Speed where they arose in the original compositions. The opener served as an introduction to music that invites the listener to focus as much as the musicians did. Though composed, the music was clearly challenging enough that one could not fully digest it in a single listening. Additional reflection and listening to the CD afterward brought me to even further appreciate the evening.

The compositions presented in the second set were a little more expansive, with the rhythm section getting some opportunity to interject its voices into the lead. Cleaver’s wonderful solo late in that set was a masterpiece of understated economy, transmitting much in precious few strokes.

The two completely different, hour-long sets offered considerably more music than the CD, and the program was well honed to provide a nice insight into the artistry of its author. A very successful fusion of many strands of composition and performance, this music was far from free improv but remarkably innovative in its own right.

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