Pianist/composer Myra Melford has had a long and fruitful career, her unique blend of accessible melody, outsider harmony and distinctive keyboard style leading to a large catalog of records ranging from great to really great. But there’s something truly special about her Fire and Water Quintet. Maybe it’s the concept – an ongoing series of songs inspired by maverick American artist Cy Twombly. Or perhaps it’s the band’s superb lineup, with guitarist Mary Halvorson, cellist Tomeka Reid, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, and drummer Lesley Mok all being both strong bandleaders and excellent sidepeople in their own rights.
In reality, it’s both, as demonstrated on the Quintet’s latest album, the brilliantly conceived and awesomely executed Sure Grand Out. Like any good opening number, the title track lays out the album’s vision. The song’s off-kilter rhythm gives it a constantly unfolding foundation, one which accentuates Melford’s weaving melody and lets each musician soar when it’s their time to solo. “A Good Rain” pushes the melody forward a bit, but still keeps the arrangement loose and open, allowing the musicians to bring their own insights to their leader’s proposal. “Flowers Come Fast” lowers the heat to a simmer, slowing down (a bit) and letting the tune undulate like a restless ocean – a perfect setting for tasty lead breaks from Halvorson and Laubrock. Parts I and III of “Interlude” (part II being MIA) act as yin and yang to the notion of a break in the action, “I” dominated by Reid’s soothing textures and “III” by a duet (or it a duel) between sax and guitar. Palette cleared, the record ends with a one-two punch: the fractured march “Transcription Factor” (we’d love to be a fly on the wall for the genesis of that title) and its more playful companion, the delightful “Summer Madness.”
As on the previous records, the ensemble blurs the line between spontaneous and through composition, giving the music the spine of a score and the freedom of wide open arrangements. That’s a space in which every one of these musicians excel, and for which Melford serves as the most generous director any set ever had. Claims arise that Sure Grand Out is the conclusion of the pianist’s Twombly trilogy; if so, here’s hoping that the band sticks together and takes on the next artist (of any sort) on Melford’s list of seminal favorites.
