Matt Mitchell - Zealous Angles (Pi Recordings)

Matt Mitchell is a musician never content with finding a groove and sticking to it. Whether in a hired gun context or leading his own band, the pianist constantly challenges himself to move forward, be more adventurous, follow his instincts even when they’re telling him something that seems to make no sense. On his latest album Zealous Angles, Mitchell – joined by his stalwart cohort of bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss – continues down that path, writing tunes that he rips apart and puts back together as the tape rolls.

Check “Zeal,” a ten-minute epic that interpolates classical keyboard rippling with free jazz drumming, shape-shifting bass, and a melody that rolls like a tumbleweed through a wind tunnel. Or “Rejostled,” in which Mitchell comes crashing in with aggressive stabs before receding into the rhythm section’s measured groove, alternating between violence and succor for the rest of the piece. As a sort of breather, “Gauzy” uses pastoral playing to evoke a restful aura, but its dissonant chords and busy cymbals belie any pretense to being laid back. “Angled Languor” lives up to its title, adding sharp corners and unexpected curves to an already winding path of exploratory jazz. “Synch” begins with an accessible melody, but quickly holds its feet to the fire, adjusting the setting from “soothe” to “squirm.”

Perhaps the ultimate cut is the extraordinary “Rapacious,” on which Mitchell, Tordini, and Weiss meld into a single-minded gestalt of hard bop melody and free jazz performance, erasing the boundaries of the tune without ever losing it in the fog. It’s the vision of the entire record distilled into one powerhouse piece. Imaginative and passionate, Zealous Angles is a great example of the kind of record that makes you think, “Daaaamn…I’d forgotten how good this person is.” What planet is this guy from and when can we go visit? The moment you put the record on, of course.