Search - Thomas Chapin :: Nightbird Song

In death, it seems, alto saxophonist, flutist, and bandleader Thomas Chapin is being heard flying his flag at its highest. On Night Bird Song, Chapin, who succumbed to cancer in 1998, leads his long-standing trio through a meditative opening sequence and then a melange of hyper-creative, hard-thwacked rhythmic workouts. His alto is typically tight in tone, embracing a wider timbre than bebop acolytes and shining especially brightly when drummer Michael Sarin is driving hard from the drum kit. Bassist Mario Pavone holds a staggering walking beat, stepping along so Chapin has mileposts around which to dart and stagger and reel off fast licks and enjambed lines. Chapin's the most convincing merging agent of disparate postbop alto styles, from Eric Dolphy's wavering, scorchy glissandi to Anthony Braxton's rapid trills and piled note clusters. This last document of the Chapin trio captures the band at its fullest, thriving when it ought to and breezing sublimely when dreamtime kicks in. Losing Chapin at so young an age might seem typical when you consider the droves of gifted jazz geniuses who died in their prime (Dolphy ranking high among those tragic ranks), but that doesn't ease the loss. --Andrew Bartlett