Trombonist and composer Kalia Vandever is a musical polymath, taking a plethora of influences (jazz, Latin music, rock, avant-garde) and turning them into her own distinctive vision. She’s already proved this with her 2022 marvel Regrowth, and does so again with her latest album Another View.
Inspired by author Carmen Maria Machado’s harrowing, imaginative memoir In the Dream House, Vandever pens a set of moody tunes massaged by the multi-talented ensemble she’s assembled in support. Bassist Kanoa Mendhenhall and drummer Kayvon Gordon set up a flexible foundation for the melody women, shifting from nervous energy to sedate tranquility with neither muss nor fuss. Guitarist Mary Halvorson serves as the leader’s main creative foil, her distinctively dry, acoustic/electric tone conjuring an airy atmosphere that leaves no room for emotional or melodic obfuscation. Vandever herself shines as always, her bighearted tone caressing her tunes with loving care without discounting the possibility of a witty aside or a fiery solo. Before the first song is done, you’ll find yourself hoping this grouping continues their odyssey beyond this album.
None of this would matter, of course, if not for the music Vandever wrote. Equal parts emotionally challenging and mellifluously accessible, “Cycle in Mourning,” “Withholding,” and “In My Dream House” engage the heart and the head with equal standing. This is music we’ll come back to because it hits the ears so well, but we’ll stay for the discovery of new details and fresh emotional resonance with every spin. A bravura accomplishment, Another View lifts Kalia Vandever to the next level of greatness.
