By Don Phipps
While not adverse to playing inside, Craig Taborn has always been open to stretching out his vocabulary of jazz piano and employing edgy electronics in his creations. Take his work in the Aughts with Tim Berne. In the critically acclaimed Shell Game (Thirsty Ear 2001) and Science Friction (Screwgun 2002) Taborn used piano and electronics to expand the harmonic settings of Berne’s compositions. It was also in that decade he recorded Crosscurrents (AUM Fidelity 2008) with the late great Sam Rivers. Later, in the 10s, he brought his ability to form engaging soundscapes to two acclaimed Michael Formanek recordings, The Rub and Spare Change (ECM 2010) and Small Places (ECM 2012).
Even earlier, Taborn worked with AACM alum Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory on the free jazz album Nine to Get Ready (ECM 1999) – his first recording with ECM. In addition to other works with Mitchell, he recorded Conversations IandConversationsII (both released on Wide Hive Records in 2014). Later in the decade there was his wonderful and lauded stream of consciousness collaboration with Kris Davis on Octopus (Pyroclastic Records, 2018). And it would be an oversight not to mention his insightful contribution to Dave Holland’s double album Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records, 2018), where, in addition to Holland, he improvised with free jazz luminary Evan Parker and gifted drummer Ches Smith.
On Dream Archives(ECM 2026), he joins Tomeka Reid (cello) and Ches Smith (drums, vibraphone, percussion, and electronics) to form lines of transcendent beauty, bluesy abstractions, dynamic flows, and haunting subtleties. Taborn composed four of the tracks, and the remaining two are covers (written by the late greats Geri Allen (“When Kabuya Dances”) and Paul Motian (“Mumbo Jumbo”).
Building on a legacy is always a hurdle. But Taborn is up to the task. Take the early morning harbor setting which opens the first track, “Coordinates For The Absent.” The fog is lifting; boats are heading out to sea. The piano overtones are heard, and Reid adds rapid bowing as Smith generates electronic ditties and taps lightly on the vibraphone. Taborn asserts himself as the piece progresses. His precise wandering attacks, pedal-infused single notes, masterful strikes, and rolling arpeggios generate ethereal atmospherics.
Then there’s the free form “Feeding Maps To The Fire,” where Taborn employs both bluesy and classical idioms. His inquisitive rapid rotation and his gentle chordal abstractions sit atop Smith’s subtle background drumming and Reid’s bowing. Smith then takes the foreground – brushwork and adroit bass pedal, tom tom bounces, and rimshot strikes all provide color to the cycle.
The title cut, “Dream Archive,” has a staggered opening. Smith shines with his inventive vibraphone offerings. There’s a surreal effect – cranking electronic noises and Taborn’s leaky-faucet drip on the piano. The development extends outward to some unknown horizon. Are we in a dark labyrinth facing off against some unknown minotaur? Reid’s haunting subtleties blend with Taborn’s solo - the musical equivalent of staring into the darkness – the mind playing tricks. And “Enchant,” with its fairy tale opening and Reid’s Bach-ian bowed dissonance, are but preludes to the bright red sun morning piano lines that emerge. The piece ends resolutely – a sequence that feels like flying gracefully across a wide bright blue skyline.
Finally, on “Kabuya,” Taborn and crew craft a fine romp. Smith’s work on the toms and cymbals contribute mightily to the dancing rhythm. And on “Mumbo,” Reid finds just the right notes around Taborn’s pounding precision – like waves striking a rocky shoreline.
If one were to archive one’s dreams, just what would they say? Would they increase one’s perception of what is real or illusion? Would they lead to more self-awareness or confusion? Would they be time-stamped? And how would they be classified, stored, and retrieved? Perhaps Taborn’s efforts on Dream Archive are meant to shed light on these questions - the tuneful subconscious revealed and cataloged. Enjoy!
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