Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Mesmerism

2023 release

Originally self-released in 2022 by Sorey in a small pressing, the album nonetheless gained wide critical acclaim, with rave reviews in Pitchfork, NPR, Downbeat, JazzTimes and The Wall Street Journal, who called it "far more than an exercise in nostalgia; it advances contemporary trends." The release was voted #4 album of the year in the influential Francis Davis Jazz Poll of over 150 critics.

Tyshawn Sorey is well known for the meticulous planning and arrangement he puts into his releases. Mesmerism sharply diverts from that process: it was rehearsed only hours before the session began. His trio here includes pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Matt Brewer, musicians Sorey has known for a while but hasn't worked with in-studio before. The set was produced by Sorey's mentor, Michael Carvin.

This six-track set is composed of covers and Great American Songbook standards. They are arranged and performed with swing and Sorey's exploratory M.O. Horace Silver's "Enchantment" (the original is on 1956's Six Pieces of Silver) was recorded by a quintet in a spirited tempo. Sorey's version offers a minimal, classically tinged piano intro before the rhythm section enters. Sorey signals a tempo change at three minutes, as Diehl expounds on the harmony with elegant, Ahmad Jamal-esque vamps and fills and as the band digs through the melody, exposing its Latin and blues roots. Bill Evans' sumptuous ballad "Detour Ahead" follows seamlessly.

The longest cut here at over 14 minutes, it opens with solo Diehl balancing grace and curiosity with reverence. Brewer joins in, accenting and underscoring the progression with taste and restraint. Sorey's brushes don't keep time so much as notate and highlight its passing. Performed at twice its original length, the trio explores modal and tonal architecture in the first half, before exposing and exploring the song-like melody that weds swing and blues. Joseph Kosma's standard "Autumn Leaves' is rendered faithfully during its first few choruses. That said, Sorey's syncopated brushed snares and tom-toms hint that something else is afoot. Diehl traces the melody, accenting and highlighting lyric elements in the turnarounds. Brewer's mid-point solo weaves through the harmony as Sorey, in gentle double time support, makes it dance. When Diehl reintroduces the band, the tempo shifts upwards and the tune begins swinging with a breezy kind of intensity.

Paul Motian's "From Time to Time" (from 1991's Motian In Tokyo) is rendered with all the mystery of the original, and retains the quote from "The Windmills of Your Mind." At once spectral and probing, it gradually investigates the miniscule harmonic frame to reveal a concrete lyric melody. The trio grounds Muhal Richard Abrams' mighty "Two Over One" in bluesy dramatics with a wonderfully evocative bass solo. Diehl employs Abrams' expansive chord voicings to uncover and accent the tune's considerable episodic drama as Sorey gets thunderously inventive on his tom-toms. This reading, easily as inventive as Greg Osby's on 1998's Zero or Chico Freeman's from 1977's Beyond The Rain, is more dynamic and accessible than either.

A funky, grooving read of Duke Ellington's "REM Blues" closes this deeply satisfying set. This trio displays a kinetic spontaneity even as their discipline shines through. As individuals, they are fluid and attentive; they react to and guide one another sensitively, confidently, and instinctively. Under Sorey's leadership, they reveal that these old nuggets still have plenty of mystery in them ripe for discovery in the right hands.

Thom Jurek