Tony Malaby's Tubacello - Scorpion Eater (2014)

"This band has a different type of gravity that playing with just a bassist simply doesn't have," writes Tony Malaby about Tubacello, the group behind his latest Clean Feed recording Scorpion Eater. Needless to say, Tubacello, a new configuration for the saxophonist, is a bottom heavy combination - with tuba and cello adding new textures and sounds that are not too often heard in free jazz.

The group joining Malaby is Chris Hoffman on cello, Dan Peck on tuba and John Hollenbeck on drums. It's not just the instrumentation that make it different, but really in how they jell. In fact, after giving this a listen, I am reminded a bit of how the fantastic Dogon A.D. from Julius Hemphill made my jaw drop when I first heard it - especially in regards to how the cello introduced such rough hewn textures to the lurching grooves. Forty three years later, Scorpion Eater, though a much different recording, still introduces something unexpected and moving in its rich sonority.

The low frequency of the combo is really quite versatile and gives Malaby a lot of room to experiment. For example, on ''Buried', which opens the recording, the track beings mid sentence, so to speak. The group, already in full motion, shows off its full range of sound and fury between a syncopated melody that introduces and ends the short piece, and leads into the uptempo 'Trout Shot'. The track 'Fur' is a textural piece with sounds floating in the background as the instruments play slow measured lines. 'March (For Izumi)' sees the sax playing in the upper register with the cello providing counter motion in the lower middle, while Peck ably handles the bass role. 'Bearded Braid' slows things down. The ambient piece unfolds slowly, each instrument taking an extended solo as the song builds to an intense climax.

Tubacello's instrumentation opens a lot of interesting possibilities - whether it's providing a ambient canvass on which to build his ideas slowly, or creating deep and effective grooves, the combination works.