Last night, all the musical elements aligned in the performance of the Kris Davis' Capricorn Climber group at Bohemian Caverns in Washington DC: the individual musicians played beautifully; the group played collectively in inspired fashion; and, Ms. Davis' music was intelligent, complex and yet open and encouraging of strong playing.
Capricorn Climber consists of, beside Ms. Davis, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor sax, Mat Maneri on viola, Michael Formanek (replacing Trevor Dunn) on bass, and Tom Rainey on drums.
I stayed through both sets and there was not a bad or dull or clumsy moment. Ms. Davis is a pianist with a precise touch; her approach was to set the musical framework. The driving energy of the group was supplied by Laubrock and Rainey in conjunction, playing strong but controlled. Rainey strikes me as the best free jazz drummer on the scene today. Having bass and viola is a bit unusual, but Formanek and Maneri provided a lot of texture. Mat told us during the break that he had been hit by a car the previous day before the group's Philadelphia show. Apparently a very close call. That Mat went on with the performances is really a testament to him.
To say this is the best show of the year is not saying much in February. But I do think this will be the show against which all others will be measured in the forthcoming months. It was that good.
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