Tonight we headed down to the Issue Project Room to see Australian improv jazz experimentalists The Necks play the second of their two shows at the venue. It was a cold and windy night, and the journey from north Brooklyn was a fairly lengthy one, but it was completely worth it. The Necks are an astounding trio, and seeing them in the intimate confines of Issue Project was a thrilling experience.
Resonant bass plucks from Lloyd Swanton began the group's first set, with pianist Chris Abrahams and drummer Tony Buck gradually easing their way into the mix. The music shifted and morphed, building up brilliant layers and shedding them for new ones just as quickly. Abraham looked serious behind his keys as he transformed those ivories into organic flurries of melody and tonal texture. Buck's percussion was texture-heavy as well, with bells and cymbals getting lots of use. The set rose with a patient progression and finally glided to its natural conclusion.
The Necks' second set was a more raucous and ecstatic affair, and, while we were impressed with the first one, this was the one that really hit us. Buck established a propulsive beat early on, and much of the set orbited around that pulse. The group let the rhythm fade to nothing at one point, only to resurrect it after a few moments of ambient floating. The pulse eventually built into a crashing, martial movement, with Buck assaulting his floor tom with a network of wood blocks, Swanton strumming, plucking and bowing his double bass with vigor, and Abrahams pounding his keys into a dense wall of sound. Having maintained serious faces for most of the night, the trio finally revealed some more emotional expressions as their music reached its peak.
The two nights at Issue Project Room marked only the trio's third trip to the United States, and, as of now, they don't have any additional stateside gigs scheduled. When these amazing Australians do return, however, we highly recommend you check them out. It's a moving musical experience that you won't get from anyone else.
