Thomas Morgan has a cool, centered style on acoustic bass, as people who love his playing with Bill Frisell and Ron Miles know. His debut as a leader came out just a month ago, and it is a beguiling, unusual offering. The center of the recording is the sound of an algorithmic synthesizer that he programmed himself. He calls it WOODS (hence the album title, Around You is a Forest), and it is set in duets with incredible guests: Ambrose Akinmusire, Henry Threadgill, Bill Frisell, Dan Weiss, Gerald Cleaver, Immanuel Wilkins, and Craig Taborn. The sound of the synth is closer to a kalimba (the African thumb piano) than a keyboard instrument.
This is not a conventional “jazz” album — the tracks don’t feature composed melodic heads, chord changes, and all that. It is a series of interconnected moods and tonal centers that are largely defined by the interaction between Morgan and his guests.
I’m not sure that I’m longing for a series of WOODS-based sessions from Morgan, but I am thankful to have this one, which sounds like little else out there.
