Pearring Sound: My Multiverse

Jeff Pearring has a diverse cross-genre musical background, influencing his development in understated but effective ways. The alto saxophonist/composer, a Colorado native, is based in Brooklyn and had been mentored by the late jazz improviser and pianist Connie Crothers, sharing her tenaciously unconventional approach. Pearring led a group that included Crothers, on her final studio recording, bassist Ken Filiano, and Carlo Costa on drums. The adventurous reed player offers his first solo outing with My Multiverse though recording under the denomination of "Pearring Sound" as he has in each of his leader releases.

Translated from Spanish, "Chiquitita de Latón" is "little brass girl." The kinetic art piece bristles with the vigor and enthusiasm of childlike dance and unbridled emotion. Pearring approaches opposite ends of the chaos spectrum. The Sun Ra homage, "Ooh Ra Ra" imagines space as hectically noisy while the minimal "Waltzing Free" looks at the same space in near solitude. "SatchMO"—one of two nods to Louis Armstrong —alters an archaic phrase with protracted procedures inside a muted note. The spectral "Shelly's Doctor" interprets the epic saga of Frankenstein through a flat-line heartbeat that fades with the doctor's death. The beautifully eerie "Rising" incorporates an otherworldly children's choir sample that takes the piece past the natural constraints of the music. It is imagination in hyperdrive; visual and visceral. The eight-minute, blues-infused travelogue "I Love NYC" closes the album with an evocative aural tour that embodies the variety of the city's environments.

Pearring 's fiercely independent approach is evident even when he dabbles around the edges of tradition. My Multiverse is a series of nine impressionistic soundscapes that touch on dilemma and serenity, often in close proximity. Pearring intuitively guides the improvised movement of these pieces without getting in his own eclectic way. On My Multiverse, Pearring takes the challenge of solo sax head-on and produces his best album to date.

Comments