Ember – August in March (Imani Records 2023)

The alchemists, infamous masters of symbolism, had claimed that the triangle symbolized the creative spirit, with namesaking it as the fire of consciousness, whose ember lasts forever. For ages, its perfectness allured not only occultists but many, including artists and musicians that are looking for the harmony in life and art.

When, or if, jazz is the art in which performers seek the perfect balance, the triangle, so called as trio, is the closest form to achieving this aim.

Naturally, not all but some triangles, the equilateral ones, offers perfectness. Like Ellington’s Money Jungle Trio or like Bill Evans’ Vanguard Trio.

Frankly saying, the Brooklyn-based collaborative trio Ember joins the party and uses the same formula with outstanding results.

New album, August in March (Imani Records), due out August 11 is third one by the three forward-thinking musicians that make up Ember -multi instrumentalist Caleb Wheeler Curtis, bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Vincent Sperrazza– and like its predecessors, consists entirely of members’ compositions.

The name choosen hints a kind of anachronism but Ember is silent about it. My guess is that they might have wanted the title of the album to express that their music is outside the generally accepted norms. Or they simply wanted it to be open to different interpretations, just like their music. Literally provocative.

Knowing each other from others’ sessions, Curtis, Sperrazza and Garabedian released New Year (via Outside In Music) in 2018, under their individual names. During pandemic, the trio put a name for the collective and recorded follow-up, No One Is Any One (via Sunnyside in 2021) with Orrin Evans appeared as guest in three tracks.

August in March ably reflects the musical, interpersonal and colloborative ideas of Ember.

“This record is the most honest representation of who we are” says Garabedian while the trio heads in the direction of simplicity and exploration. As a result “compositionally this is the clearest expression of who we want to be as a band.”

Ember as the cumulative of three musicians who have the ability to deliver what they want to play in the moment, they approach each other with love and respect.

“Most of the process of playing together is listening to each other, allowing each other to do what we do and finding a way to fit into that,” Curtis explains.

In art, turning the beautiful into the perfect is equivalent to transmuting of base metals into noble one, which is what alchemists aim to do. This is often possible when one pushes the other in different and dangerous ways without calculation, when the state of comfort is disturbed, when the balance is constantly shifting.

In Ember’s delivery, the performances are often pushed to outside, sometimes they pull themselves into three separate corners to come, eventually, together back again as if remembering that a triangle needs three sides to exist, as if proving that differences do not lead to separation but to unification. The balance changes to become another balance. Three melts into one, leaving only the triangle hence full album perfectly embodies the metaphor.

In their leaderless approach, as an equilateral triangle, all three contribute compositions and exchange the leadership roles. Even though the lion’s share seem to belong to Curtis, equally adept on reeds and trumpet, Garabedian and Sperrazza plays pro-active enough that is far from to be labeled as accompanists. More important than playing solo, the two ‘move forward in different directions and try new things‘ in a way that constantly changes the direction of the performance.

Of the pieces, opener Suspense is slow-burner that prepares the following Snake Tune, gorgeous blues mood with modal colors of the Middle East where Curtis is at his best in trumpet. In Frank in the Morning, Garabedian and Sperrazza excels in creating irresistible groove.

Penned by Garabedian, in the title track, August in March, trio discuss in a mystifying conversation, apparently about the title of the album. Angular Saxon is just another instance of the bass and drums’ successful tandem. Driven by the two, Curtis flies even higher in stitch.

Freely improvised No Signal is followed by Coltranesque Easy Win, where they explore the limits of simplicity. In Sink and Swim, the level of interaction among three is in high echelon, so is Curtis’ multi-instrumental solos.

In support of a perseveringly repeated rhythm pattern, Flotation Device and the Shivers is a searcher that finally comes close to find what is being looked for. Very very attractive.

Break Tune is blow-up à la Ornette. Melodic, witfully, well-structured composition becomes tour de force.

Though in different vibe, or being a kind of perfect sweetener, the closer, Sam Cooke, tribute to the seminal soul musician, sounds like a hymn or a forgotten folk tune, again delivered in perfect harmony.

Ember keeps the fire alive.

Similar to what glorious alchemists of jazz have done, the music you will hear on August in March is in a sense making alchemy from chemistry.

And oh no, this is not science but poetry.

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The review of Caleb Wheeler Curtis’ last solo album, Search for an Essence, is HERE in ENGLISH.

Purchase August in March HERE.