Jason Lindner: Live/UK

Lindner, a fixture on the New York scene since the mid-1990s, continues to demonstrate his intriguing take on Latin and Afro-Cuban music by placing these styles into odd-metered contexts. "The Five Elements & The Natural Trinity, Part I," for example, breathes new life into a tried-and-true formula by placing the clave into a 5/4 time signature. Saxophonist Jimmy Greene, heard on this track playing flute, navigates the somewhat choppy yet natural-feeling rhythmic landscape, provided by bassist Omer Avital and Marlon Browden, with complete confidence. Browden, an up-and-coming drummer from the Greg Osby circle, is a muscular player who is as at ease with up-tempo burners like 'Suheir' as he is with the down-and-funky gospel of 'Take It To Church.' With too few recordings to his credit to date, he is a player to watch.

Lindner is a bold player who exploits the full range of the piano. Premonition established his credentials as a triple-threat composer/arranger/leader of note; Live/UK proves that he is, in fact, a quadruple-threat, with a piano style that is rhythm-heavy without sacrificing a strong sense of melody. The independence of his left and right hands is downright scary; his solo on the modal workout, 'Meditation on Two Chords,' brings to mind a young McCoy Tyner but with a broader reach. He takes simple motifs and gradually, almost painstakingly, develops and enhances them until they take on a completely new shape. Melodic lines ignore bar boundaries and build elliptically.

While Latin music is a strong informer of Lindner's music, it is clear that his harmonic sensibility extends beyond. 'Information Kiss' is based around a relatively simple scalar idea, but with misplaced rhythmic emphasis giving it an odd-metered feel even though it is actually in 4/4. Avital and Browden gradually build it into a funky groove that gives Greene a chance to stretch out on tenor, demonstrating a relaxed approach that takes away some of the tension from the rhythm section.

Live/UK continues to affirm what the New York scene already knows: that Jason Lindner is an emerging force that demands to be heard. With a penchant for rhythmic intrigue and melodic invention, one can only hope that there will be less time between releases, and that Lindner's reputation will continue to build.

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