AprilCadence2013

2) JIMMY
BENNINGTON/STEVE
COHN,
NO LUNCH IN
HACKENSACK,
Friends of Unseen Rain
9979
AT THE TRACK BY THE SHACK
IN HACKENSACK / WHAT
BOB WANTS TO HEAR / THE
PRESIDENT'S CLUB / STEVEN
/ NO LUNCH IN HACKENSACK
I / QUIET NOW / THE DAYS
OF WINE AND ROSES / NO
LUNCH IN HACKENSACK II /
FOR DEBBIE. 67:13.
Jimmy Bennington (d), Steve
Cohn (p). February 10, 2010,
Hackensack, NJ.
New Issues
144 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
It would be too much to say, thinking of the Monk
tune naming the city of (2)'s title, that Cohn's piano
was an extension of the monastic aesthetic. Yet in this
series of spare, thoughtful duos with the resourceful
drummer Bennington, there's something of the quirky,
self-contained approach to improvisation that we
might loosely trace back to the master. But I hear more
Tristano via Herbie Nichols in Cohn, to tell the truth;
that and a jabbing quality that is halfway between
Cecil and Mengelberg too. Together, the pair deal out
an awful lot of interesting crossing rhythmic patterns
with occasional bombs dropped or rhapsodies heard.
One great place to study Cohn's fragmentary, spaceheavy
approach is in the Zeitlin and Mancini tunes.
But his lengthy intro to “What Bob Wants to Hear” is
quizzical and unexpected in wondrous ways, too. I'm
not quite so sold on Cohn's vocalisms, which are especially
pronounced on the rattling mutant swing of “The
President's Club.” They take a furtive, probing turn on
“Steven” and the first take on the title tune, but they
manage to keep things spacious while still cultivating a
sense of urgency and forward momentum. After some
nice sequences where Bennington impresses with his
finely tuned drums, the album closes out satisfyingly,
with highlights in the heart-on-sleeve “Quite Now” and
a playful, spindly reading of “The Days of Wine and
Roses.”
Jason Bivins