Though the latest album from Chicago-based alto saxophonist, composer and educator Amos Gillespie is entitled Unstructured Time, that doesn’t mean the music therein is a rhythmic free-for-all. Instead, Gillespie references the time we face during our overstuffed, overstimulated days on Earth, where multiple sounds, sights and sensations compete for our attention. The album asks the question: how do we find peace when we’re under constant bombardment? Though the answer is left to each individual listener, Gillespie and his ensemble offer ideas through the songs.
Serving as a sort of overture, opener “Shades of Red” swings hard, changing colors over the course of its ten-plus minutes, and letting the band members express themselves individually as well as collectively. There’s a lot going on in this cut, just like in daily life, but Gillespie keeps it well-organized. The energetic rhumba “Tangerine Road” looks for tranquility outside of the regular hustle and bustle, while the brooding but beautiful “Nothing Changes” digs hope out of despair. Sung by Alexandra Olsavsky, 6/8 ballad “Like a Blossom” contemplates the fragility of life, the implication being that it’s too precious to waste, while the soulful “Silence is Your Own” recommends taking control of the chaos by abandoning pointless activities.
Gillespie ends the record with “Juiced,” a joyous Latin-flavored swinger celebrating release from quarantine (though it now seems premature). Like “Shades,” it serves as an affirmative signpost, reinforcing the idea that the album is nothing if not positive. Most people will get what they want out of Unstructured Time, but if they take nothing else away, it will be that light continues to shine through the clutter of everyday existence.
