Roy's World by Jason Adasiewicz

At the beginning of 2017, Chicago vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz brought a quintet into the hallowed halls of Electrical Audio, Steve Albini's legendary studio. The project was intended as a session to wax music for a new film, Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago (https://www.roysworldfilm.com/), a documentary by Rob Christopher based on the Roy's World series of short stories by Barry Gifford. With Christopher producing and providing guidance in terms of imagery, but without a film to cut to, Adasiewicz wrote music aimed at creating a specific set of atmospheres, basically making a record before any footage was chosen. "In a way, it was always a record, since I didn't have anything to look at or to hamper me," says Adasiewicz. "I had to write the tunes, that was it." For the session, he brought together a crack team to bring the charts to life, a task they more than accomplished. Hamid Drake is one of the most storied drummers in creative music, here alloying with bassist Joshua Abrams, whose own Natural Information Society once included Adasiewicz in its ranks. Together, the rhythm section's momentum is unstoppable, and when they stretch out or dig into a sizzling swing, as on "Rudy's Basement," their thirst is unquenchable. Adasiewicz switches to balafon on "Blue People" and the groove bubbles and pops with the force of a Fela Kuti burner. On the front line, saxophonist Jonathan Doyle (now based in Port Townsend, Washington) brings a slinky joy to Jason's tunes, and cornetist Josh Berman adds his own tart inventions to the mix. Doyle, Berman, and Adasiewicz have worked together since the late nineties when they started An Diamo, a band that never released a proper record. Adasiewicz hangs back a bit in terms of soloing – it's really an ensemble effort, the spotlight on the gorgeous compositions and spacious sensibility, a perfect complement to Christopher's fascinating, beautiful film, which has a noir vibe set in a fifties version of the Windy City conjured by means of vintage found footage, narration by Willam Dafoe, Matt Dillon, and Lili Taylor, and Adasiewicz's score. Bluesy, swingful charts with elements that might recall the post-hard-bop Blue Note records of folks like Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, and Grachan Moncur III, Roy's World is more than a great soundtrack record, it's a killer program of new tunes played by a monstrously strong band recorded and mixed at one of the world's finest facilities. Add to this "The Recital," a never-published story by Gifford printed in the LP gatefold, and this puppy positively comes out swinging, landing a solid KO.

Vibraphonist, drummer, and composer Jason Adasiewicz is an essential player in Chicago’s avant-garde and improvised jazz scenes. He has played alongside Mike Reed, Rob Mazurek, Josh Berman, Nicole Mitchell, James Falzone, Ingebrigt Häker Flaten, and Ken Vandermark, and has founded groups including Rolldown, the Jason Adasiewicz Duo, and (with Nate McBride and Mike Reed) the trio Sun Rooms.