THE CHICAGO UNDERGROUND TRIO
Flamethrower
Delmark
DE-521

Flamethrower is yet another gripping, adventurous set from the prodigiously skilled Chicago Underground Trio. Don’t let the name fool you, though: with the permanent addition of guitarist Jeff Parker they’re actually a quartet. Being in as many groups as humanly possible must be a Chicago thing. Like McArthur Award winning reedman Ken Vandermark, both Parker and brassman Rob Mazurek are integral members at least half-a-dozen actively gigging, actively recording groups (Tortoise, Isotope 217, Tricolor, The Aesop Quartet, Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls, and Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble, just to name a few). Bassist Noel Kupersmith and drummer Chad Taylor are probably just as busy as the other two guys, come to think of it, since they play in most of the same bands.

These musicians’ ability to thrive in so many different musical environments pays enormous creative dividends on Flamethrower. I am hard-pressed to think of another group that can convincingly put across both the very cool post-bop of "Warm Marsh" and the space age Kraut-tronics of "Triceptikon" and "Fahrenheit 451." In between, there’s the ripping free improv of the title track, the freebopping explorations of "Number 19" and "The Tungflec Treaty," a piece for three overdubbed trumpets ("Arcweld"), and a couple multi-sectioned pieces that skirt around some of the musical areas explored by Isotope 217 ("Woman In Motion," "A Lesson Earned") only without the electronics. I’ve left some things out, but you get the idea.

The real triumph of this CD is the fact that there is a palpable logic to it all: this isn’t genre crossing for the sake of genre crossing. Parker, Mazurek and their colleagues have musical depth to go along with their musical breadth. Another thing the members of this quartet have in common is their willingness to let the music breathe. "Quail," for example, builds tantalizingly from a very simple unison line for bass, guitar and drums into a muscular free-for-all, only to retreat back into the original line. Kupersmith and Taylor are skilled yet economical, and play the rests as well as they play the notes. Taylor’s drumming, like Billy Higgins’, manages to be both light and authoritative. Throughout Flamethrower, I detect a strong Don Cherry influence in Mazurek’s trumpet playing, though the grace and cleanliness of his lines recalls Miles Davis and Booker Little. Jeff Parker has been a favorite of mine since I first heard him on an Ernest Dawkins CD ten years ago. His subtle approach is rather like Jim Hall’s, and you have to listen to him closely in order to appreciate how unique his ideas really are.

It’s delightfully hard to pigeonhole the sound of Flamethrower. Suffice it to say that it will certainly delight anyone who appreciates the groundbreaking sounds that have been coming out of Chicago for the last 35 years, as well as those who know Mazurek, Parker and Co. from their work in Isotope 217 and Tortoise, both less overtly jazz-inspired endeavors.

Dave Wayne

Track Listing: 1. Quail; 2. Fahrenheit 451; 3. Warm Marsh; 4. Antiquity; 5. Flamethrower; 6. Woman in Motion; 7. Triceptikon; 8. A Lesson Earned; 9. Arcweld; 10. Elroy; 11. Number 19; 12. 504; 13. The Tungflec Treaty; 14. The World Has Changed; 15. Elray

Personnel: Rob Mazurek, cornet, electronics; Chad Taylor, drums, vibes, percussion; Noel Kupersmith, bass, electronics; Jeff Parker, guitar, electronics