That’s made my day, week, year so far, listening to Førage, new from pianist Matt Mitchell and released next month. There is a hearty chunk of it, above.
Mitchell is one of those very hard to describe avant pianists who carry out autopsies on the spaces between the notes say in the aftermath of where Vijay Iyer and David Virelles have recently operated.
Trace it all back and you’ll pass the spirit of Soul Note period Paul Bley and way back Cecil Taylor who wielded the original scalpel. Yes, it's dense and a tough listen: Mitchell like Craig Taborn knows how to iron out all obvious constructions and loads oblique lines so you lose sense of any direction, it’s more a circling of the object, a puzzle, hugely abstract and earthy yet never cold as ice.
The concept here is a Tim Berne focus: the saxophonist’s compositions translated for solo piano. Mitchell knows Berne well as he is in Snakeoil so it is an insider's view and adds to the fascination. A must.