Charlie Hunter, Scott Amendola, and Ben Goldberg emerged from an
adventurous Bay Area jazz scene that flowered in the 1990s, but went
off in different directions. Hunter took his custom-made eight-string
guitar into hip-hop, then fusion, and ultimately formed a group that
straddles the line between blues-rock and jazz. Meanwhile, Goldberg and
Amendola became prominent in the more rarefied free-jazz world, and
eventually formed the Thelonious Monk-inspired group Plays Monk with
bassist Devin Hoff. Denver-based Ron Miles also became known for having
an ecumenical approach in his collaborations with guitarist Bill
Frisell. Recently the four musicians convened as Go Home, releasing a
four-track recording that isn’t quite an album, but does make for a
fascinating side project.
What unites these guys is their ability to oscillate between forms
and traditions. Not beholden to any particular scene or trend, they can
start with a straight-ahead tune and follow it with a track that
rejects all conventions — including tonal unity. “All Chords
Stand for Other Chords” has Miles and Goldberg playing in tandem
— sometimes the same melody line, sometimes slight variations on
a melody that swirl around each other, like two voices in a Bach fugue.
Amendola and Hunter fill in the spaces between notes, creating a
clattery exchange that never quite coalesces into a tune, but still
sounds like the result of four musicians listening carefully to one
another. The other tracks — including a jazz-rock number, “D
Minor Groove,” and a tango-ish song, “Root and Branch” — sound
less abstract, and use generic drum and bass patterns. (In fact,
Hunters’ bass lines often blur out the drums.)
All told, it’s an interesting experiment that shows the breadth and
range of these guys as individuals, but doesn’t do justice to any of
them as composers. Still, it’s a good listen.
