There’s a definite guilty pleasure to be had from eavesdropping on a lively, intelligent, and engaging conversation among intimates, which is the type of enjoyment that lies at the heart of the recently released self-titled CD, Department of Good and Evil featuring Rachel Z (Savoy Records, 2007).
Despite the title of the group and CD, the music is jazz, not metal, heavy or otherwise. The 12 tracks are based on the classic jazz trio format of piano (Rachel Nicolazzo, aka, Rachel Z), acoustic bass (Maeve Royce), and drums (Bobbie Rae), with added spice from appearances by Erik Naslund on trumpet and Tony Levin on electric bass and Chapman Stick. Don’t be put off by the word “jazz” or the phrase “classic jazz trio format”; the CD avoids the pitfalls often associated with those labels. This is forward -sounding music.
Yes, pitfalls, by which I mean an hour or so of piano-centric jazz trio music runs the risk of being nothing more than functional – suave martini-sipping background music based on predictable keyboard arpeggios and left hand comping under equally predictable modal tinkling; music that helps create a pleasant ambiance but fails to engage on its own merits. Department rises above the disposable because, instead of serving as a soundtrack for late night conversation, this album engages the listener by being the conversation – a significant discussion among seasoned, witty, insightful musicians who take various interesting topics and share opinions and possibilities. It’s a dialog that inspires attention.
The conversational style of the presentation helps the CD avoid another common pitfall, recording by numbers. The contemporary approach to recording music often leads to an assembly line approach – generic sounding drum and bass tracks with, if we’re lucky, the occasional frill and thrill, over which the pianist performs, which results in little, if any, interplay among the musicians. The result is an hour long monologue.
Throughout Department, the primary conversation is an ongoing dialog between pianist Rachel Z and drummer Bobbie Rae, a musical give and take, point-counterpoint, reminiscent of the live McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones recordings with Coltrane. The Z-Rae discussions are in the vein of Tyner-Jones, but without the Tyner-Jones exclamation marks and bold print. The Z-Rae approach is more subdued, more refined, more dependent upon content for significance than on Tyner-Jones style dynamics.
The flow of the musical conversation between Rachel Z and Bobbie Rae also has much to do with the acoustic bass of Maeve Royce. Her lines serve in a number of ways – she represents a moderator of sorts, sometimes keeping the conversation on track with her solid groove and sometimes pushing the inquiry down a new path. You’ll hear her both finish a thought and raise a question. Shades of Jimmy Garrison? Maybe, which says something about this bassist in her early 20s making her recording debut on this album.
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