JAZZTRAIL: Brian Krock’s Liddle + Caroline Davis’ Alula At Nublu, NYC, May 30
JAZZTRAIL: Brian Krock’s Liddle + Caroline Davis’ Alula At Nublu, NYC, May 30
BY FILIP FREITAS
“Caroline Davis’ Alula is a forward-thinking synth-infused trio that just released their debut album on New Amsterdam Records. Besides Davis on alto saxophone and electronics, the group comprises keyboard wizard Matt Mitchell, and drummer Greg Saunier, who was absent that night. His chair was taken by the proficient and no less vibrant Dan Weiss.
Alula boasts a contemporary aesthetics that is as beautiful as it is intriguing, contaminating the attentive and highly receptive audience with its energetic sonorities. Davis was all muscle, timbre, and verve, revealing a tremendous confidence on every spiky line deposited on top of Weiss’ killing rhythms and the incredibly controlled textures delineated by Mitchell, who kept operating with expertise the three keyboards at his disposal - ARP analog synth, Prophet-6 and Fender Rhodes. Infectious funk with circular spins, impeccable rhythmic accents and variations, smart and fresh ways of swinging within a new context, fragmentations and occasional deliberate dissonances, psychedelic effects and scorching electro-rock grooves were enjoyed on tunes such as the program's opener “Scapulars”, the frisky “Vortex Generator”, or the relentless “Remiges”. Ambient waves were generated with “Landings”, while “Wingbeat” concluded the set with electrifying hyperactivity. This was a memorable concert, a smart and often hypnotic amalgamation of jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, and electronica elements.”