Ben Goldberg’s New Duo Album with Drums

Cover for Pentimento (from the Bandcamp Web page for the album)

This past October jazz clarinetist Ben Goldberg released a new album entitled Downward Spiral, consisting of ten duo tracks performed with trumpeter Andrew Stephens. This past Friday he released his latest album, which is another recording of duo performances. This one is entitled Pentimento, and the other performer is drummer Vijay Anderson. As many will expect, the hyperlink on the title will lead to a Bandcamp Web page, where the album is available for download and unlimited streaming.

In the absence of liner notes, one can usually count on Bandcamp to provide some account of the content to be downloaded. For this particular album, that account has been distilled down to “100% improvised.” There are eleven tracks, all with all-caps titles. Those titles are as follows:

1. EMBELLISHMENT
2. IMPEDIMENT
3. PREDICAMENT
4. REQUIREMENT
5. TESTAMENT
6. LINIMENT
7. ENTANGLEMENT
8. INSTALLMENT
9. ELEMENT
10. PENTAMENT
11. BLANDISHMENT

I am a bit tempted to suggest that the album deserves a subtitle: “Studies of a Suffix!”

The first three improvisations are less than three minutes in duration. Assuming that the ordering of the tracks was as spontaneous as the improvisations themselves, they seem to serve as a “warmup” for “TESTAMENT,” which endures for almost nine minutes. Over the course of the remaining tracks, the improvisers seem to be exploring different approaches to duration. Discerning any connections to the track titles will be left as an exercise for the listener.

If there is a bit (if not more) of playfulness in this account, the reader should take it as a reflection on the playfulness of the performers. Mind you, the improvisations cover a wide range of subjective dispositions; and I was struck by how easily those dispositions are shared by the two improvisers. However diverse those dispositions may be, the tracks, taken as a whole, will bring an impressive assortment of expressive qualities to the attentive listener. Those that like the metaphor of a journey may find that the series of improvisations may tend to wander. Nevertheless, one is likely to appreciate the satisfaction of conclusion at the end of the “BLANDISHMENT” track!