Dan Weiss's "Even Odds"

A lot of records I dig these days are primarily documents of a live event (whether said event took place in a studio or in front of an audience), but when I stumble on a record that involves an innovative compositional or conceptual approach, or a unique presentation, I often see producer David Breskin's name in the credits -- most recently on albums by Ches Smith, Brandon Seabrook, and Patricia Brennan. Breskin co-produced 2022's Dedication, the fourth album by drummer-composer Dan Weiss's trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and pianist Jacob Sacks. On Weiss's latest album, Even Odds, out on Cygnus (the label run by Weiss and guitarist Miles Okazaki) on March 29, the format is similar, albeit with different players, but the compositional stakes are higher.

Weiss brought a half dozen fully composed pieces to the sessions. The opening "It Is What It Is" gallops and skitters with a tension that belies its apathetic title (a mantra for many during the pandemic years); it's followed by a somber memorial for "The Children of Uvalde." "Ititrefen" pays homage to Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti," while "Max Roach" is based on the bebop pioneer's masterwork on Charlie Parker's "Klactoveesedstene." "Fathers and Daughters" is a tender evocation of love for Weiss's daughter Vivienne (for whom his publishing company is named). Equally versed in bebop and classical Indian tabla, Weiss pays homage to other forebears in the improvised "Bu" (inspired by an idea of Art Blakey's) and "Nusrat" (based on a Qawwali rhythm and dedicated to Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan).

Other pieces were based on drum patterns which Weiss recorded solo, then gave to his trio mates -- Grammy nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur fellow Miguel Zenon on saxophone and versatile pianist Matt Mitchell -- to improvise over. The results are presented in juxtaposed fashion, with three of the drum sketches preceding their trio realizations, while the delicate sax-piano interplay of "Horizontal Lifestyle" is heard before the full trio "Vertical Lifestyle" from which it came. The solo "Recover the Mindset" features Weiss at his most Tony Williams-esque, which Zenon and Mitchell transform into the tumbling, turbulent "M and M." The Elvin Jones swagger of "Too Many Outs" sparked the impressionistic "Runner-Runner," while the repetitive groove "Bribes and Ultimatums" inspired the minimalist "Royal Beatings." The track "Conversing with Stillness" begins with the full trio, muting Weiss's drums midway to end with a spacious meditation. Weiss's trust in his collaborators' creative impulses is amply rewarded by the depth of expression in their responses.

Add Dan Weiss to the short list of outstanding composing drummers, alongside the young Tony Williams, DeJohnette, Motian, and Sorey, in addition to his musical ancestors here acknowledged. And one can't help wonder what a Weiss-Breskin co-production on Weiss's large ensemble would sound like.