Tyshawn Sorey/Kris Davis/Ingrid Laubrock
It’s almost a chore to keep up with the prolific Clean Feed. The Portuguese record label regularly releases albums in batches of 10, features a simple design aesthetic that both alludes to and looks past classic Blue Note covers, and mixes up the roster with well-knowns as well as obscure jazz musicians (often from the label’s native Lisbon). The draw for me on Paradoxical Frog was drummer Tyshawn Sorey, whose quiet Morton Feldman-like compositions are like raindrops falling into oblong ponds. But the discovery here is his two fellow players, pianist Kris Davis and tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. All three share a similar approach to abstract jazz composition and execution: loose and unfolding like a flowering tea, yet full of unexpected color. –NPR Music
Lars Gotrich