Saxophonist Caroline Davis and pianist Rob Clearfield’s quartet, Persona, takes its name from the Ingmar Bergman film by that title. In the existentialist thriller, the two leading characters muddle the boundaries that separate their individual psyches; as the story progresses, their hold on reality begins to dissolve in the blur of beautiful black-and-white images.
Davis and Clearfield use a similar dissolving technique on their new album, Anthems (Sunnyside), as they move between classical and jazz idioms, sentimentality and rigor, structure and freedom. The dialectics they’re exploring are most pronounced on the two renditions of the title track, one acoustic and one electronic. On the first, the composition’s staccato, disjointed melody supports the dominance of the rhythmic figure. On the reprisal, played at a slower pace, however, the tune’s bright harmonies and nuanced bass line move more clearly into focus, this time defying the tune’s assertive pulse. Together, these two renditions provide a cipher for understanding this album: each musical impulse will eventually yield to its contrast.
The album’s auteurs manage to squeeze all of this musical information into a small space—the acoustic title track clocks in at less than one-and-a-half minutes. But “Secrets”—more than 10 minutes long—shows how they express their dualistic natures in long form. The composition opens with the plaintive strains of Davis’ wide-vibrato soloing against Clearfield’s impressionistic chords as he escalates into a restive groove; in a smooth handoff, Davis re-enters with the melody to lead the piece into a gentle denouement.
At times, though, as on “A Soothing, Melancholy Breeze,” the co-leaders fall into a closely synchronized pattern where it’s hard to tell who’s leading and who’s following. These are some of the finest moments on the album, when these two artists meet in a blur, somewhere in between their respective polarities.—Suzanne Lorge
Anthems: People Look Like Tanks; Bots; Anthem; Miss Ann; A Soothing, Melancholy Breeze; Anthem [reprise]; Secrets; Lithe. (43:59)
Personnel: Caroline Davis, saxophone; Rob Clearfield, piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog synthesizer; Sam Weber, acoustic & electric bass; Jay Sawyer, drums.
Ordering info: www.sunnysiderecords.com
(Reprinted from the December 2019 issue of Downbeat magazine.)