Chicago continues to be a hotbed for artists interested in pushing jazz forward, and the young trio Threadbare is no exception! The group is currently readying their debut LP Silver Dollar for release on May 29th via the Lithuanian Free Jazz label NoBusiness Records. Threadbare is comprised of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, guitarist Ben Cruz, and drummer Emerson Hunton, and their upcoming 8-track effort was recorded by Scott Steinman at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio.
The bulk of Silver Dollar features songs composed by Cruz and Hunton respectively, with the album’s final track “Untitled” written in tandem by the two players. There’s something effortless in the way the pair make this music both heady and emotionally engaging. With a focus around the interplay between bass clarinet and guitar, the compositions are sonorous and somatic, at times even drawing in references to more rock-oriented forms.
The album’s title track, billed as what a “metal band comprised of bass clarinet, guitar, and drums” might sound like, definitely does draw attention to Threadbare’s ability to access stylistic influences outside the realm of jazz; but the track’s “raw” and “brutal” elements also stand in contrast to Silver Dollar‘s ability to conjure beauty from bellowing low-end and tumbling rhythm. Instead, a lament seems to replace a joy for the lively chaos here as a droning roar provides the backdrop for the sometimes furious ululations of a desperate horn, while a storm of guitar and pounding drums are more than willing to join the merciless fray.
