Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite 2009 5000 Poems

Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite ~ 5000 Poems ~ 2009
Not Two Records MW 827-2.

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1 Not Their Kind 8:32
2 Sketch 1 8:05
3 Where Are The Heartfelt? 12:28
4 My Myth Of Perfection 14:20
5 The Only Way.Out 15:33
6 Sketch 2 4:01
7 The Darkness Afoot 13:46

Sabir Mateen: alto & tenor saxophones. clarinet, flute
Matthew Heyner: bass
Klaus Kugel: drums
John Blum: piano
Steve Swell: trombone

There was a time when the addition of a chordal instrument such as piano to a horn-led free jazz quartet would have been viewed as a nod to the mainstream. But not the case now and especially not when the pianist in question is John Blum and the group is trombonist Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite. Underground legend Blum stays on board for their fourth outing after his guest appearance on Live At The Vision Festival (Not Two, 2008) and it pays dividends.
Although a studio date, the fulsome 76-minute playing time permits a stretching out as if in performance. Part of Slammin's appeal lies in the trademark simultaneous blowing by Sabir Mateen's mellifluous reeds, ever ready to spiral beyond the treble clef into stratospheric falsetto, and the leader's rough-hewn yet finely nuanced trombone, bolstered now by Blum's careening piano. Even when not soloing the pianist's controlled abandon demands attention. On bass, Matt Heyner breathes life into riffs, quickly deconstructed once ingrained on the listener's consciousness and plots more abstract musings with bow in hand while drummer Klaus Kugel drives the ensembles yet also explores texture, as in his shimmering feature on "The Darkness Afoot."... - John Sharpe, All About Jazz