Jason Nazary - Spring Collection (We Jazz)

Drummer Jason Nazary has a resumé that glides all over the map, from the indie rock of Bear in Heaven to the avant-jazz of Anteloper to side person work with the likes of jazz musicians Darius Jones and Noah Kaplan. The pandemic put paid to his live work with other folks, so he turned to his home setup of percussion and electronics to craft his first solo album, Spring Collection. Bleeping synthesizers and clattery percussion seem to be the order of the day on “Telefunk” and “Weird Little Gopher,” with melody and rhythm obeying rules that only Nazary hears in his head. The drummer is joined (remotely) by friends and bandmates here and there, with keyboardist Matt Mitchell and trumpeter Jaimie Branch (also Nazary’s partner in Anteloper) contributing to the nervous din of “Dust Moths,” Greg McMurray strumming on the crosshatched “Days & Nights, For Em,” and David Leon adding various flutes and piccolo to the throbbing “Pulses of Wind, Real Or Imagined.” Having as much in common with the unsettling synthmania of Aphex Twin as the avant-garde improvisation of Tim Berne, the adventurous jazztronica of Spring Collection presents both knowing commiseration and an honest challenge to anyone suffering from Covid-related cabin fever.